Today we’d like to introduce you to Claudia Sierra.
Hi CLAUDIA, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
Hello, Thank you for having me!
I always wanted to be an artist, since I was a child I loved drawing and making things. However, I lost sight of that after becoming a single mom. I focused on graduating from college and being the only provider in the home. Once I entered the corporate world I had no time for the things I really wanted to do – not an uncommon thing for single parents.
Before I realised it, decades had passed in which I had not created much art at all; then I became ill. I started having PTSD episodes and panic attacks – to add onto the chronic pain I had already been ignoring for months. My physical and mental health continued to decline and created my perfect storm. I hit rock bottom.
To make a long story short, art was reintroduced into my life as part of my recovery therapy in 2018. At first, it was really hard to create anything at all – most of what I started ended up being thrown away. Slowly I started to finish pieces, and even to take pride in them. Art is now a big focus of my life, I feel the need to do something creative almost every day. Especially when I feel my mind going to dark places, I pick up a pencil or a brush and concentrate on the art instead of paying attention to my thoughts. Painting has given me a new focus and I honestly believe it has saved my life.
Art in general is healing, and I’m living proof of it.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Far from it.
I deal with multiple physical and mental health issues that cause me pain daily and make it hard to create as much art as I would like to. On the really bad days I cannot do any work at all. Also, these issues limit me to work in small formats, since it’s hard for me to handle bulky or heavy pieces. I would love to work in large formats: larger than life canvases, murals, etc. However, I’m just not physically able to do so anymore and, due to my diagnoses I don’t think it will be possible for me to ever do so again.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Nature is my biggest inspiration and even my abstract work often turns out feeling organic. I try to let the paint tell me where it wants to go and go with it.
I don’t have one specific medium or theme; I want to feel free to create whatever I feel inspired to create at any moment. Although I innately try to celebrate nature through my work, I have found inspiration in a plethora of things and places – from a crack on the pavement to anime, song lyrics, etc. I don’t want to limit my creative freedom with one genre, medium, or subject matter. I do what makes me happy…
Alright, so before we go, can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
Please feel free to contact me with questions, comments or suggestions via email at CMSierraStudio@gmail.com, Instagram: @cmsierras, or buy me coffee: https://ko-fi.com/cmsierra.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.cmsierra.com
- Instagram: @cmsierras
- Other: https://ko-fi.com/cmsierra
Image Credits
Dana Al-Musallam
Claudia Sierra
