Today we’d like to introduce you to Siena Rose.
Hi Siena, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I have always been an avid enjoyer of art. I still remember the days when I would archive a lot of pictures I found on Tumblr, Pinterest, and Google that became my source of inspiration and dreams. Little did I know that I would be standing on the other side of the screen today, taking pictures like those that I used to admire and creating designs that I could only wish to even think about at the time.
Perhaps what became the game-changer for me once and for all was an impulsive decision that I made in my junior year in college, which was adding a graphic design major to my program of study. Yet, this impulsive act of mine is something I cannot bring myself to ignore for the love of my life, and thank God I stick with it since I never feel more complete than I am now.
However, my focus is never solely on graphic design stuff. I have always had a vision for myself to be an art director as well as a full-time contemporary artist. As someone who happens to believe that the core of human development is in its progress of arts & culture and is interested in being an active player in such a creative movement, I want to make art for the betterment of the world. Yes, I admit that this might sound naive, but what drives people to live? It is neither math nor physics; it is the arts, be it poetry, music, films, photographs, or paintings. Hence, I am committed to creating and sharing my art, both graphic design stuff as well as photography with the world to speak about life, ranging from the pure aesthetics aspect to the more utilitarian or even the more philosophical.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Facing the reality of being a Chinese-Indonesian (“Chindo”), a minority, in both my home country, Indonesia, and here in the United States, I have to say that it hasn’t been the smoothest journey for me. Growing up, my desire and passion to be an artist had never seemed to be a feasible thing to do since it appears that it would be hard for a minority to “make it” in the art world; not to mention the cost and connection my family and I never possess to begin with. Plus, although it was never straightforwardly mentioned by my parents, I think they would prefer me to choose a more financially stable career.
None of that matters though. I have always been fully aware of just how challenging being an artist can be, especially the financial stuff. While I do agree that money is indeed important in life, I think there is so much more to life than that. That is why I am willing to invest my time, energy, and money as well in my art-making, and I know I am not alone in this–shoutout to all creatives out there! But perhaps the hardest obstacle so far is not getting full-on support from my family about my art-making. Even though they are not blatantly rejecting my pursuit of art, they seem to have a hard time understanding my art. I don’t blame them; seeing art and appreciating are is hard. We need training. So, what I am going to keep doing is creating and sharing my art. Who knows? One day, they will get it; I really hope so.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I mainly do graphic design and photography. As for my graphic design stuff, I do a little bit of everything, starting from logo design, packaging design, typography, and poster design, but my favorite would be working with posters; they are a lot of fun. For photography, I specialize in portrait photography.
My proudest work would be “The Semiotics Trytptych poster series based on Joji’s Glimpse of Us.” “Hand-rendered alphabet book project for the Netflix series Love, Death, and Robots” and “Soul-Searching” (all can be found on my portfolio website datchindogurl.com). From these three works of mine, I guess it could be said that what sets me apart from others is my persistence and courage in imagining and experimenting with the limits of asymmetrical compositions as well as the power of symbolism. I am both stern and flexible when it comes to my art-making, meaning that although I might start with a specific concept in mind, I am very much interested in seeing how it develops along the way. What can I say? The ideation process is so much fun.
What are your plans for the future?
I am 100% excited and 100% petrified of what the future looks like for me. I do want to end up working in a design agency where artistic freedom is granted in a larger percentage compared to if I ended up working as a graphic designer in a company. Yet, I also would like to invest my other time, energy, and money in the art-making of contemporary arts, mainly photography and digital manipulation. Hence, currently, as I am going to start my internship as a graphic designer with INDIRAP, “a full-service video production, growth marketing, and performance advertising agency” in Chicago (INDIRAP), this January, I will still be applying to graphic design jobs as well as looking for available artist residencies programs in art galleries around the United States. Worst come to worst? I am going home to Indonesia, but oh well, I think I will still try for both of those options even in Indonesia. One thing I know for sure is that I do not want to give up my art-making.
Contact Info:
- Website: datchindogurl.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenightmareofdaydreams/
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/siena-rose-31261320a
Image Credits
Siena Rose
