Sobremesa with Valeria Bueno

A conversation with the artist and creator of wuwu, my favorite alternative universe.

Sobremesa is a monthly interview series featuring conversations with some of the most creative people across different industries. Each conversation explores the stories, creative processes, and perspectives that inform each artist's work.

This month, I am excited to introduce multidisciplinary artist Valeria Bueno as my guest. She is not only one of the most talented artists I know, but also one of my closest friends. I met Valeria through Instagram two years ago in Vancouver, despite both of us being from Baja. I was a long-time fan of her art before meeting her in person, and I must say that our friendship has been one of the biggest catalysts for me to believe in my own work as an artist. To know Valeria is to be constantly inspired to be creative and blown away by the depth of her imagination.

I am so grateful for her generosity while answering these questions. If you are a fan of artists’ interviews, this will hit the spot. Valeria walks us through her creative process while creating new characters, how she overcomes creative blocks, what it takes to rebuild a community in a new city, learn the skill of animation, and so much more.

We initially thought of doing this in a podcast format, because we knew there was so much to be said. But the episode would probably end up being 5 hours of us yapping in Spanglish, so we decided to keep it concise for you here. I hope you enjoy this conversation. Grab a pen and a notebook. There are so many takeaways on this one.

Meet Valeria 🦢

My name is Valeria Bueno. I’m a visual artist from Tijuana, based in Vancouver. I like to paint, draw, sculpt, animate, and use almost any type of medium to create characters. I have a project named wuwu. It’s about a series of blobby-shaped characters that are just like us. Through wuwu I share a narrative of the everyday. Sometimes they are short comic strips or a quick sketch, sometimes it's animation, textile, or food. They exist in any type of form.

wuwus at the beach

You have a beautiful ability to create worlds and characters that resonate with people of all ages and backgrounds. From wuwu, a fluffy, sassy bunny-like creature that inspires feelings of play, love and a little bit of recklessness, to dreamy swans that seem delicate yet sneaky. What inspires you to create such universes and characters?

Reality inspires me. My mood swings inspire me. My childhood, the things I'm curious about, contradictions in life, conversations, walking, and people wearing fun outfits. All the characters I create are inspired by my closest people and myself. They are made of qualities I admire in my closest circle, especially women.

My social life has so much influence on my projects. Connection is sacred to me, and I cherish the one-on-one relationships I have with the people I love. I think that the intimacy of getting to know them in such closeness has made me develop a detailed awareness of their unique personalities.

Here’s a little context on some of the characters:

• The wuwu fluffy bunny was created one night after New Year's Eve. I was hungover and sick, and I was feeling heartbroken because I was in a weird romantic relationship. I asked myself: How do I want love to feel? What do I need? I need soft love, I want love to feel like a cloud. And that is how wuwu was created, out of a heartbreak.

• The swan character's name is Valentina, and she is inspired by my passion for ballet and swans. She has this personality that seems so graceful, and she is kind of a perfectionist. She is inspired by this rigid energy that I carry sometimes. Valentina likes to spend time with the rest of the characters. Most of them are just silly and fun. This helps to give her a contrast of not taking herself too seriously; she needs to surround herself with messy characters who make her loosen up.