The arts are a major source of economy for the U.S., providing over $150 billion in economic activity in 2022, driving tourism, and playing a key role in the vitality of our cities. And artists are the heartbeat of the fast-growing industry. One such talent, Lucía Rodríguez Mota, a Mexican-born flameworking artist, is using her art to help impact American culture while playing a role in shining a spotlight on mental health.
For Lucía, the most important thing about building a business as an artist has been knowing who she is. Originally from Mexico, Lucía grew up in a family where strong, undesirable emotions were pushed down and mental health wasn’t always taken seriously. Through experiences of grief and loss that she and her family shared, Lucía began to lay the groundwork for multigeneration healing by creating art that spoke to those pains. Now, her passion is to inspire other artists to embrace the surge of awareness that comes with accepting all emotions as they are. She also promotes this mindset in the work she crafts and sells.
Lucía has a passion for her art that she works each day to turn into a living, which sometimes means stepping outside of her comfort zone. She incorporates business principles into creating and marketing her art by selling both larger pieces and smaller items, such as jewelry and home accessories. Lucía stands by only doing what is true to her because she knows not everything that she produces will appeal to everyone; still, she does what she can to make her creations more accessible to a wider audience. “Not every single opportunity or project is right for you,” Lucía says. “Dealing with rejection is hard but it is part of both business and art.”
Having a business mindset hasn’t always come naturally to Lucía, but her desire to get her work onto the scene and collaborate with fellow artists has made it easier. Being bold and promoting her work on social media has been integral to her involvement in the glass community, and now she is able to join forces with other creators and have an even wider reach. As for the teaching side of her career, that’s a place Lucía thrives. She is able to inspire future artists with the possibilities of material and techniques they can use by showing examples of her own work and items from other classes.
Coping with the weight of her own personal battles, Lucía has learned to welcome the nuances that come with mental illness. “Dealing with mental health is part of my story, and my struggles with it have shaped who I am today,” she says. “More than thinking of it as a cause attached to what I do, I think it has to do with honesty about myself.” She hopes that through her influence in the American art scene, others will hear her story and feel less lonely.
Lucía is currently promoting her latest project, “Quien te Quiere Como Yo,” which was inspired by her relationship with her grandmother. The flameworked piece includes much of the networking technique that she frequently utilizes in her work, but it also features some non-permanent elements such as natural flowers and borax crystals. Crystallization is a technique Lucía used for the first time in this piece.
Lucía also currently oversees the Richard Hill Glass Studio at the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts. There, she teaches glass-blowing techniques to students and encourages them to bring awareness to mental health through the pieces they create. She’s looking to make her mark on the American art scene and leave a lasting impact with her extraordinary ability as a flameworker. From creating pieces she’s proud of to passing on her knowledge and skills to others, Lucía has been able to create a career for herself by doing what she was born to do.
The work of an artist is unbendingly connected to the artist emotionally; their stories and the things they’ve experienced are told through what they create. Lucía works through her own mental health struggles through her art, in each piece continuing to push up against the stigma surrounding them. Through passion, she is able to display her art for the world to know and teach others in a thriving business fueled by hard work and devotion to her authentic self.
Brianna Ruelas is a Dallas-based account executive and news desk editor at Grit Daily. She is also a motivational speaker and singer, creative cultivator, and bestselling author. Reach her at [email protected].
