Today we’d like to introduce you to Romi Myers.
Hi Romi, 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 am Japanese + Italian, born in São Paulo, Brazil, and grew up between São Paulo and Miami. After graduating from Florida State University with an interior design degree, I spent 22 years living in Seattle, WA, designing a variety of commercial interior spaces, aircraft interiors for major international airlines as a design consultant for The Boeing Company, to eventually becoming a creative director for an experience design firm.
October 2019 was a pivotal month for me. I began to seriously research what it would take for me to transition from the corporate world to becoming a full-time visual artist. This is how “mundo_da_romi” was born. Portuguese for “Romi’s world”, I wanted my website to reflect how I interpret my world through my art, based on my multifaceted cultural background and upbringing.
In June 2020, the universe began to present signs that it was time for a change. I was laid off from my creative director position as a result of the pandemic. It freed me up to focus on my body of work, which was the silver lining for such an unfortunate circumstance we were all facing at the time. I spent the remaining half of 2020, taking as many small business courses as possible, along with learning how to build my website in anticipation of my new future.
By August 2021, my family and I had moved back to Miami, not only to be closer to family but also to pursue my true passion on a full-time basis – becoming the visual artist I have always dreamed of.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I feel life itself can be a challenge and at the same time, an opportunity for spiritual growth of some kind. None of it has been easy but as I look back, I am still grateful to have experienced it all. Our 3900-mile journey from Seattle to Miami was filled with quite a few unexpected hiccups along the way. It taught me to let go of my former “corporate” ego, and how to be present in the moment by not focusing so much on the “what if’s” life presented us with.
Most importantly, it taught me to make the best out of any type of situation, however crazy it may have been. I learned to see how there is always something good that comes out of every bad situation. All in all, the road trip gave me an opportunity for true self-reflection of who I was meant to be as a human being, which I found to be very cathartic.
And as life would have it, the biggest life-changing event occurred when my mom passed away unexpectedly, only 2 days before our scheduled arrival in Miami. I was fortunate enough to be able to fly home and spend our last few days together. It still affects me when I think about it. What was supposed to be an exciting moment for celebration, quickly became a dark period of shock, sadness, and pure chaos for me.
This experience shook me to the core in ways I would have never expected or could even begin to describe. It made me realize how short our life span on this earth really is, and how much we take for granted. But most importantly, it gave me an opportunity to recognize that I owed it to myself and my mom to continue to follow my passion as a visual artist and be part of the solution in lieu of part of the problem in such a chaotic society.
It has taken me some time to grow the strength to pick up where I had left off with my body of work. I finally began to move forward again in early 2022, and have been working at it ever since, in between homeschooling my son. I know my mom would not have wanted me to grieve for much longer as my Brazilian/Japanese side of the family has always recognized that death is a natural part of our life cycle, however painful the experience may be during such a transition.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My overall vision is to facilitate open and thought-provoking discussions about the nature of reality and how humans interpret it. This goal inspired the creation of the “My Emojions” series, which explores the intersection between emotions and the ubiquitous emoji.
Through this series, I plan to produce 222 unique pieces that capture the essence of society in a playful and lighthearted way. The number 222 is significant to me because of its association with good fortune and life balance, which I believe are a few crucial elements for individuals to achieve happiness, and fulfillment in life. All of my originals and limited edition pieces are individually numbered, dated, signed, and stamped with a stamp I hand-carved myself (a blend of the Japanese syllables for “ro” and “mi” combined together).
My artistic style has been heavily influenced by Takashi Murakami and the Superflat Movement, both of which have inspired me to incorporate vibrant colors and bold, cartoon-like imagery into my body of work. Subsequently, I incorporate my distinctive “Superflat Sparkle” embellishments using a range of mixed media, thus endowing every unique artwork with an extra element of surprise for onlookers to enjoy.
I am fascinated by augmented reality and its ability to bridge the gap between the digital and physical worlds, so all my newer pieces have some element of surprise for those who collect my work through the use of an app called Artivive. It is free to download, and I pay for my collectors + enthusiasts alike to have access to this feature. Furthermore, because I am very fascinated with all things Web3 and NFT related, I have recently begun offering a corresponding NFT to any art piece sold, as an added certificate of authenticity at no additional cost to the collector.
As an artist with synesthesia (a neurological condition where I see my numbers and letters in different colors), I am particularly interested in exploring the ways in which sensory experiences can be intertwined and manipulated through art in subtle ways. By blending the visual and emotional languages of emojis with my own unique synesthetic perceptions, I hope to create evocative and engaging works that inspire viewers to reflect on their own relationships with reality and emotion.
I am also a huge advocate for sustainability and environmental awareness. This is why my current medium of choice has been predominantly in digital format, produced onto archival quality fine art paper derived from bamboo, a commonly known rapidly renewable resource, in support of exploring more alternative and sustainable ways of expressing my artistic vision. I am also committed to helping conserve our environment by donating 10% of sales towards planting trees.
Ultimately, my art aims to promote empathy, connection, and understanding while showcasing the beauty and complexity of the human experience through playful titles, and a little tongue-in-cheek humor.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
Trusting one’s gut is so important when searching for a mentor or networking in general. If the energy is off, it is likely the universe letting you know it may not be a good fit. One good mentor can far surpass ten mediocre mentors combined.
When you find them, you know they’ll be there for life. I’ve known my mentor + dear friend for well over 23 years now. We met in Seattle, and she now lives in Australia, yet when we catch up in life, we are able to pick up where we left off, almost as if we had seen each other the day prior.
In terms of networking, I have found my body of work has been an incredible conduit and catalyst for me to open up to others. The most important aspect I found to work well for me, is being my authentic self, and not taking it personally if someone doesn’t resonate with who I am.
Pricing:
- $15 – $4500
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mundodaromi.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mundodaromi
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mundodaromi
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mundodaromi
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/mundo_da_romi
Image Credits
Jessica de Vreeze and Rosio Chapa
