Nearly 100,000 people visited the Coconut Grove Arts Festival last month. Over the course of three days, attendees got to take in the work of 278 featured artists. For two of those artists, the festival was an exciting glimpse into their future.
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is a mixed-media artist from Wisconsin. He attended the festival hoping to get his foot in the door with someone in the city鈥檚 art scene. He said he鈥檚 been wanting to relocate to Florida, and one of the neighborhoods he鈥檚 eyeing is Wynwood.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 awesome over there is it鈥檚 pretty much the artwork I create now. It's very bright, I got a lot of characters in it, so I got the graffiti vibe to it,鈥� Ringelstetter said.
鈥淚 figured if I was going to move anywhere in the country right now it would have to be Miami if I wanted to continue doing the work I am doing, that I am the most proud of and happy creating.鈥�
Ringelstetter said he hasn鈥檛 shown at an art show in two years because of the pandemic, and has more originals than ever before.
鈥淚鈥檓 trying to figure out what pieces are popular and what direction I should go with,鈥� Ringelstetter said. 鈥淪o If I鈥檓 going to make the move to Miami, I already have pieces with a great direction to them and I can have consistent sales.鈥�
Ringelstetter is currently embracing van life, and the Coconut Grove Arts Festival played a role in his change in lifestyle.
鈥淚n 2016 I was freezing in Wisconsin, and I had seen on Facebook that one of my good traveling artist friends was at the festival 鈥� and that very day I told myself I would never do a Wisconsin winter again,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f that meant selling everything I had, leaving the materialistic lifestyle, to buy a van and a trailer as a mobile studio, that鈥檚 what I was going to do.鈥�
Ringelstetter added that the flexibility and mobility of living on the road allows him to pursue artistic opportunities around the country. He said he鈥檚 worked out agreements where he鈥檇 exchange an artwork for a place to stay.
鈥淚鈥檓 still trying to figure out where I belong in this country 鈥� but I鈥檝e got it narrowed down to Florida where I would like to set up a second studio,鈥� Ringelsetter said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of money here in the arts. I just wasn鈥檛 ready until now.鈥�
is a local artist that was invited by the festival鈥檚 curators to paint a mural on a shipping container by the festival鈥檚 main stage.
鈥淚鈥檝e been coming here since I was a kid. It鈥檚 such an iconic part of Miami,鈥� Contreras said. 鈥淪o that was a huge honor. I wanted to paint as many faces that I could in the container 鈥� and just celebrate the diversity and how beautiful Miami is multicultural-wise.鈥�
Contreras鈥� art is centered around women. She said that鈥檚 always been a prevalent theme for her 鈥� from drawing princesses as a little kid to painting her friends and sketching fashion pieces in high school.
鈥淚 find beauty in everybody, so I love to incorporate that in my work.鈥�
Contreras studied art education at Florida International University, as well as art history while studying abroad in Italy. About 10 years ago, she started experimenting with murals, traveling across the country creating pieces.
Her vivid murals can be seen throughout Miami 鈥� including this month at the . She is being featured as one of six local artists at the sporting event, where she鈥檒l create a mural inspired by tennis fashion.
Contreras gets lots of inspiration from Miami and its 鈥渂eautiful people.鈥� Her art matches the vibrant colors that you would associate with the Magic City.
鈥淢y art studio is in Little Havana, so I鈥檓 influenced by the Latin culture 鈥� (the neighborhood) is very lively, so walking down the street, running into people or seeing street performers 鈥� all of that inspires me,鈥� Contreras said.
Some of her local projects include a and a in Wynwood as promotion for the 2016 film. She鈥檚 worked with a number of local eateries, designing custom pieces like a cafetera for Spanglish and Air Force 1 sneakers for Grails Miami. Contreras said she loves those types of collaborations because it鈥檚 fun for her to figure out how to mix her style with other things.
鈥淭he art, my gift, has opened doors to work with the best of the best creative people. It鈥檚 just been a really fun ride.鈥�
Contreras said she鈥檚 also been exploring other ways of making income in the art world, including selling non-fungible tokens. She recently sold her first NFT for $1,000.
鈥淚t came with a physical painting, which the collector that bought it didn鈥檛 know,鈥� she said. 鈥淗e was just happy to have the NFT, so he was even more excited when he got the actual painting.鈥�
Contreras has an art show celebrating women in crypto on March 10 at G Art Sushi Caffe in Coconut Grove. She will be creating a live piece at the event, which will later be converted into an NFT.
The same week as the Coconut Grove Arts Festival, Contreras quit her job as a public school art teacher to focus on her own art full time.
鈥淚 was a little bit nervous, because teaching is such a steady income 鈥� but also becoming a mom, I just couldn鈥檛 do everything that I was doing,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 feel like my true self is coming (out) 鈥� It鈥檚 this really beautiful life that I never thought was possible.鈥�
