Today we’d like to introduce you to Byron Ramos.
Hi Byron, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My art journy really got started because of my mom. In high school I was really into science. I ended up taking summer school classes, after school classes, even my lunch was dedicated going to class. I ended up coming out of high school having taken all the math, science, and history classes offered except one. Enviornmental Science.
It’s because my mother was worried I was becoming too much of a nerd and she FORCED me to take a pottery class. Ever since then I looked for ways to at least do artistic things here and there.
I got more into art as an armature photographer in the Army. I had a Sony Nex 7 that I took with me to Advanced Individual Training, specifically, Mechanic School at Ft Jackson, SC.
I took photos and experimented a little bit with composition, beginner stuff. Over time, I built my skills more and more photographing what was going on around me, especially during training.
I carried my camera with me and eventually broke it jumping out of helicopters into the open ocean. Some of my best photos ended up being taken with a broken camera! I captured helicopters and my Special Forces unit jumping out of helicopters, the propwash creating ghost like scenes. It was an… exciting time!
I also explored taking urban photography, finding cool bits of graffiti and editing the colors to emphasize the graffiti.
I really wanted to be a photographer, but I don’t like taking photos of people. So I started exploring other forms of art by taking college classes.
One of my professors, Rita Wright, noticed my photography and encouraged me to apply to the Spring Salon at the Springville Museum of Art. I ended up getting in!
At about the same time, I got out of the Army and had all my tools I had collected over the years begin to gather dust.
So I took a sculpture class thinking maybe I could learn to use those tools to make art.
I took a class from Jason Millward, a master stone sculptor, who encouraged me and taught me a lot about how to apply to galleries, create a portfolio, apply to important shows, and little by little I started being recognized as a stone sculptor in Utah.
In 2024, I ended up being one of the artists awarded “Utah Art Fellow” for the year.
Since then, I have had public sculptures in St. George and Taylorsville, had many pieces shown at the Springville Museum of Art, and this year was accepted into “Sculpture in the Park” in Loveland, CO. Which is the largest sculpture show in the US.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not been that smooth a road. I have some injuries, which means I have had to invest a lot in figuring out how to carve stone, let alone move it. My garage is filled with even more tools then I started with!
Also, even though little by little, I am building my art and have seen a lot of success and recognition for someone who has only been serious for 3 years, careers are not built overnight!
So I juggle a full time job. I have to be very careful with my time, and juggle my priorities correctly. While I do make money from my art, it is going to take time to build my art form to the point I can do it full time.
So often, this means my job takes priority. Currently, I work 2 hours away so I have a 4 hour daily commute. Sometimes it feels like every moment I have has to be productive.
I have had to experiment with ways to make art, when I can’t make art. Right now, I am experimenting using a 3d printer to make portions of my sculpture and integrating that with my stone carvings.
I do think though, that juggling this pattern in my life is helping me be successful. I am confident I could go full in, and carve full time. But I think it would be a harder path because that would mean I couldn’t afford experiments in my art.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a stone carver.
What I am most proud of, is finding ways to experiment with using other materials to inform the stone.
Think of all the stone carvings you have seen, and the base they have, or the context they are in. Usually, they just sit on the floor. Maybe they have a basic wood or marble base.
My sculptures are not like that at all.
I build frames and hang the stone, I hang boats off the stone, or I use found materials to create a frame for the stone. So you aren’t looking at just another sculpture sitting on the floor, instead, it is framed like a painting, or presented in a way that makes you stop.
Sometimes, I even make the sculpture interactive. You can move it around. Personally, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a stone sculpture presented in a way you could interact with it.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
While looking at my sculptures, most viewers think that it’s just a basic maritime theme.
Really, my art is about migration. All of humanity has had to move. You have had to move, I have moved, everyone has to move.
This universal story of humanity is migration, and even if we don’t think about it, especially in the modern area, we move massive distances in our lives. And one of the best ways to recall that binding human experience, is by invoking our universal past of maritime voyage.
Everyone moves, and this is what unites us as a human family. I hope by recalling those experiences within an individual, that they remember or learn that, and treat those who are in a phase of transition, kinder.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.byron-ramos-sculpture.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/byron_stories_in_stone/
- Other: https://byronramosart.wixsite.com/neourbanphotography/graffiti
