Meeting Mia — A Chat About Art and Moving to Portland

So what are you into work wise, what’s your story?

I work at the Weston, I’m a busser at the restaurant on Congress where I started working a couple of months ago.

I moved to Portland at the end of January. I’m from Burlington, Vermont originally.

Oh cool! That's really far away.

Yeah it’s like four and a half hours.

What made you move out here?

I went into rehab in New Hampshire last August and then they send a lot of people from there for Sober Living in Portland. I came here originally for Sober Living.

I see, and do you like the area? I guess it’s really beautiful.

Yeah, it’s a lot like Burlington. It’s just the ocean instead of the lake, so it’s pretty cool and nice by the water.

And how has that transition been for you? Moving to Portland?

It’s been good, I miss my family. My mom’s a teacher so she has summers off and has been able to visit. My sister came up a couple of weeks ago. Aside from that I have a lot of friends here in the sober community so I feel like I still know a lot of people up here.

I see. Besides your work what do you do in your free time?

Not that much right now. I like to go running and I draw. I’m an artist, I was an art major in school, hang out with my boyfriend, sometimes I write just for fun. I want to go back to school eventually, probably in the spring or next fall.

I see, what major would you want to go into again?

Possibly art. I definitely want to take more art classes: painting, photography. But I also really like writing. Especially like poetry. I don’t… like an art major, you can’t really do that much with it.

I see. I usually get a photo of people to put at the top of the story. At the end would you mind if I also take a photo of your doodles to also add it in?

Yeah that’s fine.

Oh cool! Actually, I’m curious to see it right now if you don’t mind.

Oh I was just… That’s all that I did right now [shows a symmetrical pattern of squares and triangles sketched in purple pen on a scrape piece of paper].

Oh wow, that’s beautiful.

Thank you.

Do you have any inspiration or it just comes to you as you doodle?

No, it just comes to me. I don’t really plan it out or anything. I haven’t, I went to school like three or four years ago and I was a lot more inspired when I had assignments and I had more of my own living space to keep all of my supplies. But since coming to Portland like I don’t really have any paints with me or canvases, so it’s just my pen and paper.

It’s funny just yesterday I was walking into this store [points across the street], I guess I wanted to get paint supplies and stuff but they were way too expensive. But I ended up just getting a bunch of lead holders and stuff and I’ve never used them before, they’re pretty cool. So I guess it’s funny to me that you’re in the same position, you like painting but it’s just hard to carry around and stuff. Expensive too.

Yeah it’s really expensive.

I like those that patterns that I saw, because I like to do the same sort of stuff [opens my notebook].

Oh wow! That’s really cool.

Yeah and I guess that’s why I asked if you have any inspiration because I know with me there’s nothing that I’m thinking about. It just comes.

Yeah exactly, I mean painting is probably my favorite medium and I like doing abstract because I like acrylic paints.

“I like just throwing stuff on the canvas and building up layer by layer and not knowing what it’s going to be until I finish it.”

I’ve always liked drawing in high school, I guess I noticed that I had like a talent for it. Especially sketching and stuff, I was really good at sketching faces and making portraits. One of my good friends was an artist too so me and her sort of got into that.

Originally I went to the University of Vermont, and when I first went I was a psyche major. And then I switched over to art education and then I ended up just switching over to studio art because I saw the kids walking around campus with like their portfolios and stuff, and I was like “oh, I’m jealous of you,” and I was in a psyche major.

I see and in terms of your art, did you ever work on projects and stuff? I’m curious because I guess with my own art I guess I could find clients to work on things, but I have no idea how to. I was wondering if you’ve ever done that while you were in school.

If I ever?

If you ever worked on art projects, whether it be for clients or for art shows.

I had a friend who had a boxing club, so he had me paint the logo on the wall in the boxing club’s arena. He just paid me for that by giving me lessons and then aside from that, no. Not really.

I see. But yeah definitely, it was very nice meeting you. What’s your name by the way?

Mia.

Mia? I’m Octavian.

Nice to meet you.