Meet Sophie Pearson | fine artist

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

Hi Sophie, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Risk taking plays a very large role within my work. Most all of the work I make, I make with the idea in mind that I have no clue how folks will react. In some of my earlier works where I focused primarily on body image, I had to come to peace with the fact that the chance of negative perception would be high, especially on social media. In my more recent series, I’m exploring themes of trauma within childhood and my relationship to my caregivers. Every time I post a piece, I risk negative reactions from different folks in my life.

All that being said, I think risk is what makes for an authentic experience within the process of art making. Regardless of what you make, you don’t know with 100% certainty how people will react. When you do get negative reactions, those make for great discussion, whether that means your art brought up some feelings they weren’t comfortable with, or you just brought up a topic that deserved some attention.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’ve been a creative since I can remember. As a child, much of my free time was spent making. You could find me drawing, painting t shirts, playing with Klutz books, and more. As I reached my teen years I found myself drawing for hours everyday, doodling on every single assignment and piece of homework, and finding the most joy in my art classes. Art was an escape for me. I was struggling deeply with my mental health and home life in middle and high school. Doodling in class kept me awake, helped me listen to my lessons, and kept me from getting lost in my thoughts. After deciding to go to art school, creating continued to be an imperative part of my wellbeing. Towards the end of school (my last 1.5 years were during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic), I started making pieces that more closely related to my life experiences, instead of still lives or figure studies. After graduating I jumped into exploring my body image within my art. I felt a strong pull to make these pieces, like I had to, like there was a need to get them out of me. It’s been about two years since graduation and thats still my process; I only make a piece when I feel like I really have to, and with that comes a lot of passion.

There have definitely been struggles. I’m someone who tends to lean towards comparison, and in art school, that was a death sentence. I was constantly comparing myself to my peers, those in grades above me, my professors, and people I was seeing on social media. I didn’t believe I would ever be a “good” artist. Eventually something just clicked, and I realized that after years of practice, I finally had the skillset to make the images I wanted to. Though I still struggle with comparison, I’m able to look back at how far I’ve come. There’s nothing like putting your freshman year self portraits next to one from a month ago!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I actually just moved to Worcester, so it’s all a bit new to me! That could also be the beauty of it, we could explore the city together, both of us fresh. There are plenty of food places I’ve tried or wanted to try since moving here, including Rocco’s Donuts (my last birthday cake was a giant donut), Min’s Wok, Fuel America Grove Street, and Ziggy Bombs. If we were looking for something to do, my first recommendation would of course be to see whatever show was currently at ArtsWorcester (hopefully I’m in it) and then maybe explore the Worcester Art Museum, which I’ve never been to! A trip to see the WooSox at Polar Park would be fun, too. Lastly, as a bit of a homebody, I would have to include some home time with my two cats, Milton and Daphne, and my dog, Doc.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My husband is the #1 reason I’m able to make my work. He has been nothing other than supportive from day one. In my first year of art school, you would’ve thought my crappy still life drawings were masterpieces if you were judging them off his reactions. Given most of my current work is exploring themes of trauma within my life, it’s also imperative that I have a strong support system to help keep my mind healthy, and he’s a huge part of that. Without him, his encouragement, and his validation, I’m not sure I would fully have the strength to create what I do.

Website: https://linktr.ee/sophiepearson

Instagram: @creating.sophie

Facebook: @creating.sophie, Sophie Pearson Artist

Youtube: @creating.sophie

Other: Tiktok: @creating.sophie