Meet Jimena Urquiza | Multidisciplinary Textile Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jimena Urquiza and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jimena, what are you inspired by?
I have always been inspired by my own culture and from the places I have traveled, I love to immerse in new cultures. But when Covid hit and the world stopped, I had to find inspiration from somewhere else because I was feeling a little bit lost. After a period I had of artist’s block, I was working on a project and as I was making it, I realized it was a visual representation of how I was shaped by all the experiences and people that I have come across in my life. I’ve always thought that my work is an expansion of myself, so I started to expand on this with my next projects. My inspiration comes from all of the people, places and experiences that have helped me become the person that I am today.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am a senior at the Savannah College of Art and Design and I am almost finishing my B.F.A. in Fibers. I think the Fibers department is such a big world, you can’t even imagine the variety of work that fits in here. At the beginning I never thought I would end up liking working the digital part of Fibers because I love doing things with my hands, like weaving and embroidery. But after doing many projects I realized I love it as much as the tactile things. It has not been an easy three years, but what I am most proud of my work is that no matter what is happening in my life, I always put my 100% in my work. I’ve learned to create a visual communication that I never thought I could do. I am not really good with expressing myself with words, but I have found that when I express myself through my work it is really easy for people to understand what I am talking about. I have learned many lessons through out this years, but I think the most important one is to always stay true to myself and to follow my intuition.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I currently live in Savannah, Georgia and I can easily say it has become one of my favorite places in the world. If one of my friends from back home where to visit, I would definitely take them to brunch at Collins Quarter, and then we would walk Bull St. and take them to E. Shaver Booksellers. We would stroll around Chippewa Square, Lafayette Square and would end up at Forsyth park. Forsyth is my favorite place in the world because it fills me with energy. Then we would go to River street to watch the sunset. After this I would like to introduce them to my friends, which are like my little Savannah family, and we would go for a drink at Electric Moon, or Peregrine. I would definitely love to show them the SCAD MOA, and Pepe Hall which is the Fibers building.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to dedicate this Shoutout to my parents because if it weren’t from them I would never be at my dream school doing what I love. They have always encouraged me to follow my dreams no matter what. They have always supported me no matter how hard it gets, and I know that they’ve had to sacrifice many things for me to be where I am, so I would really like to thank them for always being there for me and being my number one fans.

Image Credits
THe image of the mask was taken by Domenica Basantes, all the other pictures I took them.