Today we’d like to introduce you to Sharon Berebichez.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was born in Mexico City and since I can remember my life was filled with art. My mother did sculpture and painting and my father loved art, he used to take me and my sisters to art museums, art fairs and to see the Mexican artisans across the country develop their crafts with ancient techniques.
I started to draw and paint at a very young age. I remember when my grandmother was sick living in our house, there was a nurse taking care of her and she was embroidering while my grandma was asleep. I remember telling her, Dalila, I want to learn how to embroider. She bought me my first mini embroidery loops at 8 years old and taught me how to use them. I remember coming back from school every day to sit next to Dalila and embroider together for hours to go…
I graduate as a Graphic Designer but I was always inclined to the creative and artistic side of the practice, not so much the technical. While I was studying, I continued with painting, figure drawing, and ceramics.
I continued to study different art techniques until I decided I wanted to dedicate my life to be an artist. That’s when I started my own practice.
I remember asking my father if it will be ok for me to take over the first floor of our house to convert it into a painting studio, without a doubt he said yes… Not long after I put the entire living room and dining room into storage and converted my father’s house in a beautiful art studio. That’s when I started my first teaching studio, it was called “Paraiso Tierra’ (Heaven on earth) It was an art studio for kids that I enjoyed and remember dearly.
In 2013 I moved to Miami with my husband and 3 kids. After moving around from place to place I finally established my art Studio where I follow my practice and I teach art to kids and adults.
I exhibit my art any time I have the opportunity to do so and I encourage everyone to support artists all around the globe.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s never a smooth road… there’s always struggle as in anything you do passionately in life… There’s always doubt, am I good enough, should I continue in this road, is it worth all the hours… there’s no a direct path to success in art, so it’s hard to know where to go or how to approach… It takes a lot of NOs until you start getting the YES… And then there’s the financial struggle because as an artist it’s hard to know if you’re going to sell something in your next exhibit, next month or next year… so you have to look for other financial income, that’s why I started to teach, not only because I absolutely love teaching art, but because it also gives me a more stable income…
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m a multidisciplinary artist whose larger practice intersects ecological and ecofeminist ideas on women’s relationship to society and the cultural values that assert the domination of nature and women. The home and the domestic space are used subversively as inherent features of my subject matter that permit an opening for motherhood and professionality as a woman artist.
In my mixed-media pieces that utilize fabric and embroidery, I emphasize the materiality of the process, exploring connections to the textuality of the elemental compositions, the language of color, and the affective and sensorial relationships with the mediums. As a process-based artist, I rely on the repetition of movement and the creation of patterns, a generative and meditative process that permits me to stay present and mindful, exploring deeper correspondences with my identity as a woman.
I think many people know me as the ”CHAIRS” artist or the ”CORALS”, I have lots of other series but I guess this two are the ones that made more impact.
I also have an art studio where I teach everything, I know to my amazing students that I love, I try to make it a place of creativity and freedom, where everyone can feel like they can do anything they propose to and at the same time to experiment with materials or techniques that they probably won’t find in their homes.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts, or blogs that help you do your best?
My favorite app is INSTAGRAM because I get to see what every other artist in the world is making. I know some of them, some are my friends and some I feel like I know them because I’ve been following them for so long.
I use to read historical novels, which are my favorite, but lately, I don’t have time for that, so I try to read whatever I can find that enriches my art practice:
-La civilización del espectáculo by Mario Vargas Llosa
-The subversive stitch by Rozsika Parker
-Feminist City by Leslie Kern
-Los Cuatro Acuerdos by Don Miguel Ruiz
-Breaking the Habit of being You, Becoming Supernatural, you are the Placebo all by Joe Dispenza
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sharonberebichez.com
- Instagram: @sharonbere
- Facebook: @sharonberebichez
