Today we’d like to introduce you to Micah Ruiz.
Hi Micah, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I think I’ve always been a creative person. I’ve always been drawn to art, but I never really planned on being an artist. I certainly never had it in mind that I would start a business for my art. When I think back to how I got here, it’s really been a slow gradual process. I started posting my art publicly in high school. Mostly just for myself. The encouragement from others is what motivated me to get myself out there a bit more. In 2019, I was commissioned by a middle school friend to draw Coraline fan art. When I posted it, people were interested in buying stickers of my drawing. That’s what started my art selling career. It was purely chance, in a way.
It took years for me to open an official shop. I wasn’t thinking about it, even when I first started selling stickers. I think a lot of people focus on where to start professionally when they think of putting themselves out there, but for me, it’s always been about following the drive to create. In the world that we live in today, everyone feels the need to monetize themselves and it can really kill the creative process. I think my journey has been organic. I never planned on it at all. I feel lucky.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road getting to where I am. Artistically and in my everyday life, there have been a lot of road bumps. I come from a family of addicts. There’s not really any way to sugar coat that. It really sets you apart from everyone else in ways you don’t really understand as a kid. I think my loneliness was why I was so drawn into art. I didn’t understand. I still don’t. I have a lot of trauma. To cope with everything, I began self harming at a very young age. It’s what ultimately landed me in foster care at age 12. Then, I was diagnosed with MS in 2021. All of that really changes how you interact with and view the world. As an artist with a disability, it also changes your relationship with the creative process. I’m often in a lot of pain and I have to adapt to it. It sucks, but part of life is navigating things like this. You kinda have to roll with the punches, no matter what.
In terms of art, I have definitely seen a huge shift in the past couple of years where a lot of people aren’t in the position to buy art anymore. It can be really discouraging when there are quiet months. As a really small creator, I can sense the absence in my shop. Especially in my sticker club. Losing a member is very glaring when you have 12 subscribers. It’s hard to not let it discourage you. That’s when I have to sit and evaluate why I’m creating in the first place. Despite whatever challenges arise, there’s something deep in me that has the inclination to be creative. Above everything else, I have to follow that.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m in a really weird position with my art right now. When I first started sharing my art publicly, I did mostly digital portraits. Those progressed a lot from the early days where it would be mostly line art, eventually turning into a hyper realistic style where I could emulate a photograph. I think once I mastered that, I got really bored with it. I am proud that I was able to have that journey with art in that way, but as I’ve been experimenting with different mediums the past few years, I’ve found a lot more pleasure in making art.
While I’m known for my digital portraits and the nostalgic stickers I make for my monthly sticker club, I’m currently most proud of my willingness to be an amateur. A few years ago I decided to start junk journaling, and it’s been one of my most enjoyable artistic endeavors. I think the thing that I like when making something in my junk journal is that it kind of can’t be perfect no matter how hard you try. Something that I have to remind myself when making these collages is that nothing is sacred if everything is. In other words, you have to actually use your supplies. Whether it’s really fancy paper or washi tape, or just junk mail you saved from the fate of the recycling bin.
I don’t really know what sets me apart from others. I think something can be said for my tenacity. But that goes with my life in general. I’ve never really had the privilege of an easy existence. Not from my childhood and not from my life as an adult living with a disability, or as a trans person, or as someone that struggled extensively with depression and suicidal ideation. I could go on. But it’s mostly presence. I think there’s inspiration in just existing, especially in a world that would rather I be silent.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
That’s a really hard one for me. Sometimes it feels like years of my life are missing. And as I look through the rubble, it’s kind of hard for me to find those moments of joy. But I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how my interests were nurtured by my grandmother. Especially reading. She was a huge reader, and we went to the library every week. I have so many foundational memories thanks to her and the Linda Vista Library. It absolutely had an impact. I always thought of myself as a writer over being an artist. Which I guess is sorta one and the same, depending on how you look at it.
I find myself marked by grief a lot. It almost feels like my birthright. It was so deeply ingrained into my childhood. I feel like I handle it a lot better than many people who don’t lose anyone until they’re comfortably into adulthood. I was 22 when I got MS and both my parents died, all in the span of seven months. Still, losing my grandma felt like uncharted territory in many ways. I guess I can find some comfort in thinking about every possible universe out there. Especially the ones in which she still has my embarrassing high school art framed on her bedroom shelf.
Pricing:
- $30 an hour digital art commisions
- $3 – $10 monthly sticker club
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ko-fi.com/micahruiz
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/micahruiz
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MicahRuizArt/
