Today we’d like to introduce you to Lorena Roque.
Lorena, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I was born in Los Angeles but grew up in El Salvador for the first 18 years of my life. I’ve been blessed with amazing and loving parents who have been very supportive of my choices all along the way and because of them, I’ve been able to get where I’m at today. I came back to LA after I finished high school in 2014 to go to college and pursue my dreams. I graduated as a Graphic Designer from Cal State Northridge in 2018. My passion for Graphic Design started as a hobby when I was in 7th grade, I slowly started to educate myself on the topic, then for some reason when I graduated from high school I changed my mind at last minute to study Journalism because, at that time, my biggest dream was being able to be on tv, so I decided to go into the major of Journalism but after my second semester, I realized it was not for me so I changed to Graphic Design and it was the best decision of my life.
As an only child, living moving so far away from home was a tough decision to make, because it meant leaving my family and friends behind, but it helped me realize how much I missed my culture and how much I took it for granted for such a long time. I felt a big part of me was missing but I didn’t know how to feel better about it until I recently discovered that what helps me feel closer to El Salvador and the Salvadorean community is designing and illustrating Salvadorean phrases and optimistic quotes. I’m very thankful for all the support and that people feel identified with my work. It’s definitely a challenge to be away from home and from the ones that you love, but it has helped me grow, and it gave me Ele Erre (which is my shop).
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I’m happy to say that I do a little bit of everything of what I want to do. I have a full-time job as an in-house graphic designer at a vegan company. At night I work on my freelance projects, creating content for Ele Erre and manage my Etsy shop. Yes, I end up feeling super tired, but I’m happy I get to do something I genuinely LOVE. And for those who don’t know what Ele Erre is, let me tell you that it is a Salvadorean Online Gift Shop, where you will find contemporary, dynamic and lifestyle Salvadorean souvenirs designed by me.
Ele Erre started with my El Salvador Enamel Pin, and then I thought something else was missing so I slowly started to introduce my illustrations, lettering, and designs of Salvadorean slang and positive quotes, which can be seen on my Instagram. By creating this type of work I feel connected to my culture and helps me feel close to home because when you live in such a diverse place like Los Angeles is easy to lose your essence and I didn’t want that to happen to me, so by creating this type of content I don’t only help myself but I also help other people to keep in touch with their Salvadorean roots. I consider myself someone very optimistic, I try to see a positive outcome on everything no matter how bad the situation is, and because of that, I like to also include positive phrases on my work, so we can lift each other. I honestly never thought people would love my content as much as I do and for that, I’m super thankful, so shoutout to everyone who supports my art.
I love being an artist, but especially being a Graphic Designer and if there is something you need to know about my artwork is that I put 100% of my heart and soul into every single piece I do, so I hope that everyone that sees my work walks away with a little bit of happiness and hope.
Artists face many challenges, but what do you feel is the most pressing among them?
I don’t want to say this applies to every single artist but I have met a lot of people and talked to a lot of my friends and I feel that one of the most common challenges among us is Insecurity, not believing in your talents.
I encounter this every time I’m about to release a new product or post a new image I always ask myself, “will people like this? Is it good enough for someone to buy it?” And many more questions come up in my head but the challenge is to not let that feeling override your desire to create and to keep experimenting with what you like to do. So keep creating, keep trying, keep learning from your mistakes because that is the only way to become great at what you want to do.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
Nope, no events or exhibitions, but if anyone wants to invite let me know. Most of my content can be seen on my Instagram https://www.
If you are interested in purchasing something from my store you can take a look at my Etsy shop https://www.etsy.com/
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.
eleerredesign.com/ - Email: lorenaroquee@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.
instagram.com/lrdesign_/ - Facebook: https://www.
facebook.com/lrdesign1/ - Other: https://www.etsy.com/
shop/eleerreshop/
Image Credit:
Photography by Esther Requeno ( Greq studio)
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