Today we’d like to introduce you to Benjamin Sorrell Longoria.
Hi Benjamin, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I’m Benjamin Rene Sorrell Longoria, and I am a printmaker and textile artist with a heavy interest in contemporary craft and visible mending.
I’ve been interested in making art pretty much all my life, but it wasn’t until well into college I made any definitive choice about that. I was making work and taking art classes at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, thinking it was a good way to build up my skills and fundamentals and had a chunk of time thinking I could be a Geology major too – I wasn’t thinking about becoming an “artist” in a full-time sense. It was when I took a printmaking course that my mind had changed- there was this amazing way of making art that I had never really thought about, and it makes multiples! I spent all my time in that studio, making new friends, talking about ways we could get our art out into the world.
After graduating from Del Mar with my Associates’, I went to Texas A&M University Corpus Christi and continued my printmaking practice there. That was where another aspect of printmaking really opened up for me- a sort of social, community practice. We would make and attend and entertain at art shows, vendor events, expos and conferences. I started coming to Austin more and more, where so many fantastic printmakers lived and worked. Getting involved with PrintAustin was really special and an important part of that community practice that put me out there more.
While in school, I took up garment mending on my own clothes. I very quickly fell down a rabbit hole of craft and creative reuse, exploring ways of extending the life of clothing and remaking it to fit my lifestyle and needs. As I got more interested in hand sewing, I learned (and still learn) from lots of other artists and craftspeople, connecting my print work to these new interests and valuing a more ecological, low-waste form of making art. With that, I moved my practice to Austin.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
There’s always problems to solve or to learn to live within each step of the road. I cannot fix everything, and it would be arrogant to say I can overcome all challenges. I think it’s important to remember that in many, many ways, I’ve been quite privileged. That being said, there are things that I have struggled with and continue to struggle with. Making art is not the most lucrative profession for most people, and there are other struggles, namely mental health and coming to a place of peace in the world we find ourselves in.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a multidisciplinary artist. I focus on woodcut and linocut printmaking and textile art. They aren’t the only ways I make art, but they certainly are what I make the most. When it comes to printmaking, I have a few interests in imagery – my earlier work was mostly abstract, lots of playing with color and layers. Out of school, the prints had more definable imagery to them, slogans and words that meant something to the subject, and sort of promoting using what you have, environmental and worker justice. A new body of work I’m making is still very much in progress, but it’s more personal- it’s about grief and things like the people I miss or places I want to go. I’m also learning how to quilt. I’ve only made a couple, but I like the format- also, making things very much meant to be used feels right to me.
I also mend clothing by commission. I think it’s arguably more what I might be “known” for and what I’ve put a lot of focus into. People will have something they just love too much to stop wearing or using, or it reminds them of a loved one- those are the best jobs. It’s a little transformative to mend something. Mending isn’t totally creating something new but changing the existing thing and adding to its story, and I’m more interested in that process than I am in making something entirely “new” to the world. It’s all about creating a sense of contentedness.
When it comes to the question of what I’m most proud of, it’s hard to say. I’m proud that I’m able to do a lot of different things- mending, quilting, printmaking in multiple mediums, natural plant dyes, things like that. Sometimes I think doing all these different things can make my work seem less “focused” or inconsistent, but I hope that changes with time and practice. The desire to do lots of different little things and learn along the way is what puts me out there.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
My main way I show art right now is through Instagram. I have my own website but it goes a long time between updates, and I need to get better about that. I don’t want the work of several years to be hosted only on a social media app.
Books- My life these days is full of mostly art books. I have some “how-to” books like the basics of quilting or certain kinds of embroidery or stitch work, but artist’s books are my favorite. “Whole Cloth”, by Mildred Constantine, books from the Karun Thakar collection, and ones about specific artists like Mata Ortiz, Junko Oki, or Keith Haring.
I tend to listen to podcasts a lot when printing or sewing- And Introducing, Revolutions, Austin Art Talk, Ram Dass Here and Now, Clotheshorse, and Seam Side.
Otherwise, it’s a lot of keeping in touch with other artists and keeping an open and kind place to talk about our work (and lives) together. I hope it doesn’t sound like my life is all work, haha.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://bensorrellart.weebly.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/printsandmends/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bensorrellart/
Image Credits
Image: explosion_untitled.jpg (photo credit Carlos Villareal) all other images by the Artist
