In Conversation With... Mina Wright

So tell us a bit about yourself

Hello, my name is Mina Wright. I was born and raised in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. In a small village where I grew up surrounded by nature, which I have a lot of respect for.

 

Tell us about your creative journey as a visual artist so far

It's actually quite funny how I started my path as a visual artist, because I went through many disciplines without thinking about it too much but always taking it very seriously, from street art to ceramics. In my beginnings when I finished my degree in Graphic Design I focused for many years on illustration and painting which opened the door for my work to be more recognised and to work with big studios such as Slowdown Studio and Hunker Home in L.A.

Eventually my desire to level up my craft grew sporadically and at that time a very big wave was coming out in 3D, so I saw it as very feasible to translate my shapes and style to 3D, thus forming these unique sculptures, always evoking the organic and my affinity for the natural.

 

Tell us about your inspirations

I think one of my biggest direct inspirations and that is very obvious in my work is Henri Matisse, I always mention him, however, as I grow and explore other places, right now I can say that they come mostly from the cinema, I love this dynamic because it allows me to articulate in a very personal way that feeling or state that a film leaves me and create these different scenarios (generally very calm) combining them with my vases and sculptures, obviously I can mention Brancusi, Noguchi and Georgia O'Keeffe as well.

 

And you are making some major moves in the 3d space... Tell us more

There is a quote that goes “The grass is always greener” and I like to stop and think how one thing will always lead to another thing, the key is to always be in motion, the same thing happened to me once when I was very into 3D, that urgency was reborn and the need for the physical, the tangible and as being a Milena it was very necessary.

 

 

This is how I started my path with ceramics, I love it and I still try to continue making pieces but I realised that at that time it was not achievable for what I was looking for due to accessibility issues since at that time I had this Ruff Lamp project, which was initially born after a series of 3D objects that I made in 2023. This lamp specifically is very inspired by the collar that people wore very fashionable in the 1700s under the same name and obviously in many paintings by Velasquez and films of the time such as Marie Antoinette by Sophia Coppola.

On a vacation out of town I visited my brother and fortunately he had a 3D printer and my idea was to use it as a base to continue it in ceramics but when I saw the first prototype I realized that it was really functional and looked quite accurate to the main idea. (And maybe, who knows, at some point we’ll have a ceramic Ruff.)

So I got to work with the help of my partner, I started with this new field in 3D printing, after 7 months of development and work today the Ruff is already a tangible object, it is available for sale and I am amazed at the good reception it has had and continues to have after 3 months since its launch.



 

What's your process?

My process it is quite simple, I love boards so I always make a collection of everything that inspires me at that moment, then I make very simple sketches in my notebook. Once I have this base I start with the digital, music is very important, having a playlist for that moment is key.

 

 

What are you currently up to?

I’m currently still making 3D objects but integrating them into scenarios with a specific mood. I’m also working on a mini collection of vases and possibly a new lamp. When I feel like I'm getting a little off track, I try to go back to my roots, to my illustrations with paint and remember that essence of simplicity, calmness and nature.

 

Any advice for creatives?

If I could give one piece of advice it would be: try everything that is out there, learn from your mistakes and embrace your virtues. There is no rush, everything takes time and sometimes life itself gives you the clues and tools to create wonderful things and leave a small mark on this huge life, it is just a matter of being willing to.