Rising Stars: Meet Ruth Monjaras

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ruth Monjaras.

Hi Ruth, 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?
There have been a lot of ups and downs in my life that led me to where I am today, however I have wanted to be an artist since I was in elementary school. I remember watching an old childhood friend draw fanart of Sailor Moon and I instantly grew a curiosity in drawing. My love for art snowballed from there and found myself drawing fanart of my favorite cartoon characters, checking out How-to-Draw-Manga books from the library, and eventually, I took art classes in high school.

I was going to attend Kansas City Art Institute after high school but found I couldn’t afford it. Despite the scholarships offered, it was unrealistic for me to go, so I started working to save up for school. In 2017, I was accepted into Texas Woman’s University’s Visual Arts Program in Denton, TX and am graduating this May with a BFA in Studio Art. Even though the department is small, I loved the experience and education I received in my time here at TWU. All the professors and instructors were so passionate about their professions and made the classes fulfilling and enjoyable, I even grew interest in other art mediums like printmaking and ceramics and forms of alternative drawing. The close-knit community and small classes made it so much easier for me to connect with my peers and instructors, which helped me grow as an artist.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The road was definitely bumpy, nothing came easy but I am proud of myself for getting so far. When I was about 11 years old, both my parents were detained by ICE. We were separated for about three months and my twin sister, my little sister, and I spent our time in Southlake with our uncle during that time. My dad was deported, but thankfully my mom stayed, so we were reunited with her. Our relationship with my dad was rocky already, so since then, it’s just been my mom, my sisters, and I and eventually my little brother.

We had a hard time adjusting to school in Southlake, and with my uncle’s growing family, we eventually moved back to Irving. Adjusting in Irving was a little easier because it was familiar to us, but my mom being a single parent, now impacted us financially. We made the best with what we had, and I wouldn’t say life was terrible. I have made such amazing, supportive, and kind friends that helped along the way. It’s wild thinking back now as a 23-year-old about to graduate from college at how far we’ve come and how far I’ve come. The traumatic experiences I dealt with in childhood impacted my mental health pretty badly, so I didn’t foresee myself this far into life, but I’m happy with how I am progressing and going through my journey in life. I still continue to battle with anxiety and depression, but taking things day by day and reflecting on my accomplishments help me push forward.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a Studio Artist and I specialize in painting and drawing; however, I have grown interests in other mediums like illustration, ceramics, printmaking, paper pulling, bookbinding, and collage. I use my art to explore emotion and vulnerability by painting portraits that utilize facial expression and body language to communicate fleeting yet recurring negative emotions that are amplified by mental illness. My paintings are known for having a stylized, cartoonish approach with the use of flat but vibrant colors and bold black outlines.

I am the most proud of my “Identity Crisis” series because it was the first body of works where I consciously explored my emotional and mental state. It was also my first series to have a solo exhibition at the TWU Student Galleries in April 2019 an October 2020. Additionally, one of the pieces in this series won 3rd place in the John Weinkein Student Juried Exhibition held at TWU. A big, current accomplishment is my BFA Student Exhibition series titled “The Motions of My Emotions.” It’s a group exhibition where my peers (who are graduating with me) and I get to display the series of works we worked on this semester as part of our senior show.

I’m never sure how to answer what sets me apart from others as an artists because there are so many styles and techniques as well as themes that artists use. If I had to say what sets me apart, I think it’s my stylization. Although my goal is to express emotion in my art, I use a style that makes my paintings seem digitally drawn, so the expressive quality is more in what is depicted rather than in expressive mark-making. I use line art, flat colors and cel-shading, a shading technique commonly used in animation, in my paintings which make my work look flat and cartoonish. It’s a sort of contemporary twist of expressionist and pop art styles.

Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
I’ve learned that navigating the art world is so lonely and difficult during the pandemic, but I’ve also learned that art can be approached in multiple ways that make it more accessible. The fact that we live in a digital age makes it so much easier to actually share our work and get it seen, however the algorithm of different platforms can affect how many people see it. Still, things like virtual galleries make art so much more widely accessible, it’s awesome! Additionally, I’ve learned about how different artists adapted to the sudden changes due to COVID. When we weren’t allowed to return to campus, a lot of art students had to suddenly leave behind projects and some lost studio space to work. My ceramics instructor, who is a current grad student, adapted to this by working in video and making performance art. Some people who like to draw traditionally have started using Procreate to make their work! It’s interesting seeing how people have been impacted and adapt. I’ve also had to learn how to adapt since I didn’t have a studio space to work in anymore, but I’ve also found other forms of art that I enjoyed and that didn’t take up so much space like painting does!

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: http://huevo-triste.weebly.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tristehuevo/, http://instagram.com/huevo_triste