Meet Cas Guevara | Fiber artist & Author

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

Hi Cas, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
Being self-employed has a lot of benefits, namely that I can set my own schedule. Sometimes this looks like working through the night and canceling plans because I’m trying to meet a deadline, other times it means I can take a rest day or two without having to argue for why it’s necessary. Burnout and I are old friends at this point– even earlier this year I made the mistake of trying to work through burnout and only made myself less productive by not letting myself rest, so I’m well acquainted with how necessary it is to take time for friends, sleep, and downtime. Making space for those things is what gets me the energy to get business-related things done– though having market deadlines definitely helps keep me on track! I’m pretty happy with where my balance is these days, it was definitely a skill I’m glad I learned.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’ve been working as a professional artist for my entire working career. I started in 2016 as a 2D artist for a small video game company, and while there wasn’t a whole lot of upward movement I did learn quite a bit while I was there. I also did a number of commission work for various clients– all this to say that after eight years straight of making art for others I wanted to shift back to making art for myself, and working market stalls seemed the best way to do it. My original plan had been to sell art prints, but I couldn’t quite thread the needle (pun intended) in a way that was satisfying to me. So, when I suddenly had the idea to switch to embroidery art while I was recovering from heat exhaustion, I leaped at the chance. Costume design and fiber arts have been my hobby for decades at this point, so shifting into making art with my sewing skills just felt correct. It’s fun, I find I can focus more on design work in a way that’s satisfying while keeping things loose and fresh, and there’s something nice about stabbing a piece of fabric a million times and making a flower out of it! I’ve always loved nature designs and motifs so I try and weave (pun also intended) those ideas into my work, which is why there’s so many plants, bugs, and animal skulls. I wouldn’t say that the career shift is even a particularly hard one; all the experience and lessons I’ve learned from visual art (color, composition, linework even) come into play with my designs, it’s just a different medium. If you’ve ever thought about giving embroidery a try (or any fiber art really!), I highly encourage you to do so. There’s nothing quite like being able to hold your art in your hands and feel the texture and have it be something functional in your space.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
The San Diego Zoo for sure, always a winner. Raised by Wolves in UTC is also a great time, good drinks, great atmosphere, the nicest bathrooms I’ve ever seen anywhere in my life. If they’re out of state, or out of the Socal area, I’d definitely take them to one of the local taquerias to show them what good Mexican food tastes like. Depending on the time of year I’d also probably drag them to whatever event is going on– there’s so many fun markets and concerts and fairs and events going on, there’s bound to be something to do!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Sitoe Tham, owner of Unknot, opened the door to small business ownership for me, and for that I could not be more grateful! And also, of course, my parents who have helped and supported me on numerous steps along the way.

Instagram: mousemosss

Other: https://kras-nebula.itch.io/