Today we’d like to introduce you to Elizabeth Rodriguez.
Elizabeth, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I began Eza Arts officially in August of 2022. However, my whole life I have been creating. I earned a Bachelor’s degree from Kent State University in Studio Art and received two minors; one in psychology and one in arts entrepreneurship. In May of 2022, I graduated a year early and at the time was set on attending graduate school. Just a few weeks before it began, I decided I was going to take a chance on myself instead. I owed it to myself to see if there was a way I could turn my passion into my career. What better time than when you’re 21 with opportunities all around you! This decision seemed spontaneous but was an answer to my prayers asking for direction. With a tremendous support group, I began applying to Art/craft shows. Each time I left feeling empowered and capable. Each event was a success, whether that meant my artwork had sold or connections were made. I moved on to hosting Paint and Sip classes. The response was overwhelming, the chairs were filling up. With more marketing and events being held, private events began to happen as well. Meanwhile, responses from art shows led to commissions. I recently completed a 2.5′ x 7′ oil painting that made its way to West Virginia. In the next few months, I will be airbrushing my art on a tailgate. The most exciting thing about Eza Arts is there are no boundaries. I am free to explore so many different avenues of art. This includes acrylic and oil paint, ceramics, and flame-worked glass. I’ve realized that if there is a will there is a way. God will open the doors! I’m proud of what I have created in the past few months and work every day at it. The power to make dreams happen is possible if you are willing to put those dreams to action.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Beginning Eza Arts seemed like the most difficult part. I felt terrified to start, to put myself out there, and to show my art to the world. However, my desire for freedom to live my passion outweighed the fear. As soon as I began and started telling people about Eza Arts, I had so many available resources, contacts, and blessings to make this a reality. I am forever grateful. Some of the struggles right now are figuring out how to market beyond social media so I can reach a wider audience. Because my passion is for creating, my challenges arise in the paperwork and details of the business structure. This will be something I continually learn and will have to work at. At times I feel overwhelmed, but I always feel confident it will all work out. The passion for Eza Arts and my vision for where it will lead make the struggle worth it.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
There are two different avenues of Eza Arts; services and my personal work. As for services, I host pop-up Paint and Sip events where I lead a step-by-step instruction to help each person leave with a painting, they are proud of. These events are public but can be private as well. I can bring the event to you. These events can be for any age group, gathering, or occasion. In the upcoming year, I am hoping to begin art journaling classes. Art journaling is a beautiful way to navigate life and unpack your heart. This is one of my favorite ways to create. I also am open for commissions, custom pieces of art. These can range from ceramics, paintings on canvas, wood, metal, etc., and murals.
Eza Arts is not known for one specific product but has been called eccentric because of the many avenues and shapes that art takes in the business. I am proud of the services that Eza Arts offers. I hope to share the healing, stillness, and freedom found through the art-making process.
As for my personal work, I love working with oil paints, creating functional ceramic pieces and delicate glass objects through flame working. My artist statement shares my inspiration.
“The framework for my art resides in carefully constructed compositions and dynamic figure-ground relationships that are utilized to create movement. Expressive line quality loosens the tension produced by a complex structural undertone, allowing for texture and depth to coincide. Intentionally abstracted shapes bring negative space into focus. The addition of both contrasting and analogous color that vary in intensity enhance what the work communicates.
As an individual, I too have a complex framework that structures who I am. It has been through loss that I have experienced the healing power of art. With a heightened sense of empathy for those around me, I have experienced confusion in separating my emotions from the emotions of others. Art brings clarity to the confusion.
I believe the most powerful forms of expression require no words at all. Art is my language. It allows for communication between my conscious and subconscious mind. It is an opportunity for me to better understand myself, whether that be personal, in relation to another, or in relation to my place in the world.
I believe emotions and thoughts cannot be wrong; they simply exist. To understand who you are, you must first heal. Heal from anything that keeps you from growing. Growth is uncomfortable but necessary.
My artwork is representative of journeys: journeys to better understand myself emotionally and journeys to better understand those around me. By viewing the natural world as a metaphor for our emotional states, abstracted shapes are often found in my work that are representative of natural elements. In wonder and awe of both the creation of the world around me and the complexity of the human mind, my art resides deeper than the abstract aesthetic. The process of creating the work tells of a journey from thought to action, it is essential.
Living in a world of constant motion and movement, it is vital to take the opportunity to still one’s mind. I have discovered this through various art processes that have allowed me to reach a mental stillness. When water flows down a river, it is moving but there is a sense of stillness.
The same is true for the process of art, and the same is true for the viewer. By trying to embody the stillness one feels when sitting beside the water, my intention is to connect to the viewer through my art. To provide them with just a moment of mental stillness and give them the opportunity to allow their mind to wander.
Both the juxtapositions of movement and stillness and complexity and abstraction remain the foundation which my work is built upon. It is the process of creating art and the discovery found along the way that make the end product increasingly meaningful.”
How can people work with you, collaborate with you, or support you?
People can support me by sharing my name, contact information, and posts online. I encourage you to check out an event and see Eza Arts in action.
Pricing:
- $35.00 per person for Private Paint Events + additional fee if event is brought to you
- Commission prices vary
Contact Info:
- Website: ezaarts.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eza.arts/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eza.arts22
- Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/EzaArts | https://www.eventbrite.com/o/54456303313
