Today we’d like to introduce you to Dania Sierra.
Hi Dania, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My creative interest instinctively grew as I grew. Being born in Cuba, surrounded by lush tropical foliage, the island’s amazingly vivid colors and modernist architectural elements were seared in me at a very early age. In hindsight, I truly believe this is where my color palette and style evolved from. As a youngster I would spend a lot of my time with my brother doodling, creating structures out of cardboard boxes, building and painting model kits or making puppets out of paper mâché for our next puppet show. I found I was happiest when I was working with my hands in a creative way. Both my grandparents were published poets, so creativity ran in the family, and they encouraged it at every moment.
Once I started Art classes in elementary school and continued them in secondary school, my passion was fueled. During high school I was awarded a scholarship to take various art courses at the University of Miami. Experiencing this higher learning institute made me embrace the thought of pursuing a professional artistic career after graduating from high school. My mother, being the wise women she was, suggested getting into an art field like commercial art, then branching into the fine arts little by little. Today, I can say her advice was eye opening. I continued my studies in commercial art, fine art and here I am sitting on two fruitful careers, both being creative avenues for my inner voice.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
An artist has many obstacles as they go through their artistic career and one of these is finding their own voice and signature style. Once you have found it, creativity becomes vast, and the journey becomes much clearer moving forward. Another challenge with this career is getting gallery representation. Because of this, a lot of artists like me turn to self-representing through the internet and all social media sites. The internet has really opened the world to one’s art and makes self-representing much easier than before.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a professional fine artist and graphic designer living in Miami, Florida. My studio time rotates from easel to iPad for my graphic design and/or sketching for my next body of work. I stay busy working on commission work, exhibiting in outdoor festivals and group exhibitions. My art also graces the streets of Miami as art in public places projects. In recent years, I have completed the following; a mural that embraces the entrance to the JFK Public Library in Hialeah, Florida, a dog sculpture, Smarty Dogs for Smart Schools City of Pinecrest Florida, another outdoor sculpture, Tales of the Surfside Turtle, for the City of Surfside Florida, and most recently I have two outdoor sculptures in a permanent exhibition in the Bayfront Park Dogs & Cats Walkway Sculpture Gardens at Maurice Ferre Park in Miami.
The creative process is never ending. When it comes to my paintings, I get my inspiration from an endless stream of experiences intertwined with present emotions. Nature, animals and human connections also play a big part in my pieces. I thrive to establish a dialogue with everyone observing my artwork, and awaken emotions within them of nurturing, love, pain, freedom, immortality and hope, that lie within us. I love working with a vivid color palette, as it is the voice which fuses my cubist / expressionist style in my compositions.
I am most known for my brilliant execution of color and design, this has earned me the respect and admiration of collectors and colleagues, as well as setting me apart from other local artists.
My graphic design field encompasses services like illustration work, marketing, advertising, branding, product designing, website design and art direction. The creative process of interpreting someone else’s vision and making it come alive is what I enjoy the most in this field. One of my most memorable jobs back in 1988 was designing a Kinetic Robot for Carnaval’s Crystal Palace Resort and Casino in Nassau Bahamas. Her name was Ursula, a sci-fi robot servant, greeting and showing you around the $25,000 a night Galactic Fantasy suite and its high-tech gadgets. It was quite out of this world!
With my art career I’m most proud of believing in myself, that I had the drive and fortitude to express my feelings to complete strangers without fear or insecurities to do so. My art is an extension of my soul, its language may not touch some, but when it does, it’s the satisfaction of that innate human connection I most enjoy.
Art has no color, no language, no religion. It’s the absence of words and the fleeting moments of time. It unites us on the most profound level of spirituality and humanity.
Equally rewarding is having that special connection with the collector that believed in my art. It’s very humbling to have my pieces hang in homes throughout the world, hopefully enjoyed for years and passed down to others to admire.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I love Miami, I was raised here and have seen the growth of my city. Miami is the melting pot and gateway for so many people. Its’ diverse mixture of culture, style, cuisine and art, makes it a unique city. Miami embraced my family and I when fleeing from a communist country and for that I am very grateful. What I like least about Miami is the weather. The heat and humidity can get stifling at some points of the year, but you learn to live with it.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.sierrafineart.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/Sierrafineart
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dania-Sierra-Fine-Art/80314823318
Image Credits
Dania Sierra
