Meet Yari Mena | Artist

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

Hi Yari, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
I think I’ve learned to balance my time according to my priorities or values. There were periods where I focused too much on one thing or things that were not right for me.

When I was in college, I focused a lot of my time on school, my art projects, extracurriculars, friends, and my family. When I had to prioritize my internships, I dropped my extracurriculars. In hindsight, it came naturally at the time, and I didn’t have to consider balance much until I started my first full-time job.

Once that happened, it became increasingly difficult to clearly identify what was important to me. I saw my friends less often, my family about the same amount, and spent 40 hours a week at work (not including the commute). I had to navigate new ways to find balance in my life as a working person and an artist.

Now, I have gotten into the habit of assessing my top ten values every year or so (or anytime I have to make a big change). I use a paper planner and my Google Calendar to color-code my schedule. Especially when I have recurring tasks or places I need to be, it helps give me one less thing to do when I use my digital planner. Visualizing where my time goes, what I need to do, and where I need to be helps me make sure I make the time to be there for my loved ones, my professional duties, and self-care.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My paintings investigate how memories change to protect us, our relationships, and aid our survival. I alter photographs from my personal and family archive using materials that erode the ink, like heat, sandpaper, and solvents, as well as materials that embellish the photograph, like paint, acrylic ink, glitter, and other photographs. The blended photo-painting becomes a tangible landscape of changing memory, relationships, and identity.

In addition to my fine art works, I sell some of my more affordable ceramic and print works.

I also teach workshops on using personal imagery in abstract painting and printmaking with gel plates.

It’s been so exciting to move out of my comfort zone and try new techniques and materials in my work. I’ve also been fortunate enough to learn new mediums in the past couple of years, like woodcut printmaking, gel plate printmaking, and wheel throwing. Currently, I’m learning how to (more officially) start and run a small business in a course through the Mexican Consulate. My goal is to apply what I learn to better market my art.

I graduated with an art degree in 2019. I learned so much as an artist, but I didn’t learn or retain much in the realm of art-business. Then I experienced a two-year artist block during the pandemic. In 2021, I had the exciting opportunity to help paint the Brite Bodies furniture collection by Hayes Little Studio. Seeing other creatives manifest their vision was a great experience that inspired a return to my own work, eventually. In 2022, I left my day job and moved to Colorado for a summer internship at Anderson Ranch Arts Center. I assisted a different artist in their class each week for about four months and absorbed so much. I ended up spending that autumn and winter making, seeing, and breathing art in the Rocky Mountains. I returned to Atlanta last May to help and be closer to my parents and siblings.

Since my return, juggling art making with a day job, family responsibilities, a relationship, courses, exhibitions, and workshops has been a huge challenge. But the way things have turned out, I realize it is also a huge privilege. There were a few times in my life where I thought I had to choose or sacrifice one thing or another. I feel so fortunate to have space for all of these things in my life, despite the hardships and heartaches. I’ve learned that careful planning, hard work, and the stubborn will to push forward will go a long way in the right circumstances.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Typically, when friends come to visit, I make sure they try a restaurant on Buford Highway. My go-to’s are Taco Veloz, Arepa Grill, and So Kong Dong Tofu soup when it is chilly. Tea Leaf Creamery is a wonderful boba shop (conveniently not far from either of these restaurants). My new favorite coffeeshop to take friends to isn’t exactly in Atlanta, but its so lovely that I try to take friends there often: Alcove Coffeehouse on Stone Mountain Highway.

Some other great (and free) spots to visit are the Hapeville Depot Museum before or after taking a walk at Jess Lucas Park across the street. Atlanta Contemporary Art Center is another great place to visit!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There are so many people to whom I want to dedicate my shoutout too! I’ve had some really wonderful mentors and support from loved ones. I would like to shout out all the wonderful friends I made at Anderson Ranch, my Atlanta friends, the Thanksgiving resident cohort at the Hambidge Center, my family, my boyfriend Michael, and the artists I’ve had the privilege of working with.

The following people specifically helped launch me or settle me back into my home state, ready to balance life and art (whether they realized it or not): Liz Ferrill, Amy and Ashley Todey, Kristin Carothers, Allison Hill, and Samantha Singleton at the Hapeville Depot Museum.
Other artists who have directly influenced my work over the past couple of years include: Sophia Sabsowitz, Mary Margaret Sims, Taylor Hedrick, Tori Tinsley.

Website: https://www.yarimena.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yari.mena/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yari-mena

Other: https://linktr.ee/yarimena

Image Credits
Mads Madore
Amanda Greene
Yari Mena