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.
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.
These wuwu cows were inspired by a conversation I overheard in a coffee shop. Two teenagers were gossiping about their crushes. Why cows? The coffee shop was decorated with a cow print. So I thought it would be fun to create gossipy cows sipping their drinks.
When I create a character, it's like meeting a new person. Each time I draw them, I find out more about who they are at their core. It's my job to get to know them and give them a place in this world.
I'm blessed that I've been able to experience many things in my life. Living has so much to do with art. From enjoying fun, silly moments to heartbreaks and despair. Every color of life has something to offer to our creative journey.
We talk a lot about the fact that sometimes we have an idea but we want to be 100% ready to execute it, and have all the resources and connections to make it happen. What would you say to someone who is stuck in this loop, preventing them from bringing their ideas to the world just because they feel they are not ready?
We feel like we need to prepare so much before starting a new project. But preparing for what? If we are so concerned about our work being better and better each time, and more perfect and knowledgeable, how is it supposed to get better, and closer to our vision, if we don't even try to do it one, two, or three times? How are we supposed to have a way to compare our previous work to the most recent? No matter how many tutorials you watch, you will catch yourself struggling in the act of doing.
Lately, I realized that art has a lot to do with problem-solving. It might sound too technical, but it's the truth, if it's the first time you paint, you will find out that painting works a certain way, that color might get dry quickly if you are using acrylic, that maybe the brush you bought is not the best to create what you envisioned. Creating makes you ready.
Expectations and outcomes really fuck with our heads. For me, I feel like it's an addiction I've been working hard to get over. I often feel like I need to consume more before starting a project, another tutorial, or another workshop. That loop will never end. You either do it or you don’t. That loop of over-preparation is just a creative block, which leads to victimization and self-destruction. We are meant to let our creativity run loose and free. Correction will come by practice, tweaking, and fixing will be inevitable, but you will only find it in the act of doing.
When I create a character, it's like meeting a new person. Each time I draw them, I find out more about who they are at their core. It's my job to get to know them and give them a place in this world.
I believe commitment is far more important than preparation. You learn a lot as you go. I recently started my YouTube channel to share more of my creative world. I saw so many tutorials before doing it, and it took me like a month to release my first video because I was so scared of showing more of myself. It wasn’t until I was really filming and editing that I realized: Oh! This has so much more to do than just confronting my insecurities. Learning about audio, realizing some clips were having a glitch, etc. But all that, I didn't learn in a tutorial.
“I want to paint, but I don't have brushes or paint.” Well, you can start with crayons and do sketches. Just starting will make you get closer to whatever it is that you want. Creation has different stages, and sometimes it ends up being just a sketch. Maybe that's enough! Maybe that idea found its purest form through a very early stage of a sketch. Maybe that's it for that idea. But you have to bring it down, or not… It's a choice. I believe that not all ideas are meant to be born. Sometimes they will stay as a sketch in a notebook for years. It’s a choice to develop them. I have so many characters and stories I haven't published, maybe it's not their moment yet. Maybe it will never be their moment, and that's fine. Choose the art projects, ideas, or creative practices you want to do, and commit to them. Think of it as a domino effect. You are inspired by art because other people created something. If you are not creating, you are not letting inspiration travel to other places, to people who could also get inspired.
Before moving to Canada, you spent years working on your creative career, building a supportive and engaged community that loved your work. It’s very difficult to leave something you have put so much love behind and to start from scratch. Can you share about how this experience has influenced you as an artist, and what has been the most difficult and rewarding part of it all?
This question really moved me. I never thought I was leaving anything behind. When I left, I felt like I had nothing to lose, so either way, I thought I wasn't really leaving anything other than my loving personal relationships. I moved to Vancouver to pursue a dream I had since I was 18 years old. I wanted to become an animator for so long. My first year was completely focused on school and learning this new skill, but time passed, and I started to miss my community back home. Seeing everything from afar made me realize that I actually had a community back there.
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.
What has been the most challenging part of bringing your characters to life in this dimension (2D and 3D animation)?
Before learning animation, I always felt that a drawing wasn't enough for me. I envisioned that wuwu would be an animation project. But when I got to animation school, I learned that animation is not only creating a character and storylines. There is so much precision, thought, and structure. That has been a pain in the ass. I switched from touching clay, painting, drawing, and dancing in my little studio back home, or in my room, to being on a computer all day. Looking at the software as a canvas has been the hardest part. After 2 years, I can say I'm enjoying it more now that I feel more comfortable with the skill. Going back to being a student really humbled me, and that inner perfectionist, demanding, negative voice screamed louder than ever. That was the real struggle. I learned that to keep focused on the problem-solving of the technical world, I had to take control of my emotions. I would repeat myself every time I got overwhelmed with having lots of mistakes in my animation exercises: “Breathe, follow the steps, do it again until you understand it. It's just practice, ask for help, follow the steps, 1, 2, 3. Don't freak out, you are here to learn”.
My favorite part of this animation world is the storytelling, and being able to finally make my characters move! I remember seeing wuwu move for the first time and thought: this is my path. I have tons of sketches, scripts, and storyboards for short stories I want to animate. I'm going from the most simple to the most complex story. Animation takes so much time, and you need lots of hands, but I believe in my vision. It will take time to get there. I'm also thankful that I have great friends who can give me their creative support.
You recently introduced me to the idea of creating a rejection log. Basically a list where you keep track of all the no’s you receive as you pitch your work as an artist, seek job and collaboration opportunities, etc. Can you share how this practice has helped you?
I like this practice because it takes off the weight of a rejection. It doesn't mean that rejection won't hurt me, but keeping track of how much I'm trying to get what I want helps me to stay grounded, stay focused, and honest with myself. Whenever I start complaining about feeling that nothing is really happening, that I'm not growing as an artist, or that I didn't get selected for an open call, I ask myself: how many times did you try? Did you apply for more than 3 open calls? How many times did you share your work this week?
I'm trying to make rejection feel normal, so whenever I get one, it doesn't stop me from trying. It's just one more rejection that will take me to new places, new opportunities. Rejection is a muscle; it is an indicator that you are really betting on your dreams. Who knows what the outcome will be or when you will get the yes. Each rejection gets you closer and closer.
I’d love to know what some of your favorite ways of finding inspiration are outside of the internet.
I love city hikes! I have so much fun when I take long walks in the city and let myself be curious. I like to see graffiti, stickers, and flyers. Even when I follow my everyday routine, there's always something new to see. A color, a store I hadn't noticed before, a funny-looking car, the outfit of a stranger that I take as inspiration for wuwu outfits.
I love going to the movies. It’s my favorite solo date. I would say that watching movies is my favorite hobby.
Visiting art galleries is a must. Not only is it beautiful to see artwork in real life, but for me it gives me ideas of how I can show my work, explore other formats and possibilities. Sometimes the way a gallery/artist installs an artwork is not the classic nail-holding a canvas. Sometimes they install a drawing without a frame, and it's held by clips, or a video projection over another surface that is not necessarily a white wall. I find that inspiring.
Going out dancing with my friends, I love to dance all night.
Art books and zines are my favorite things to collect. Whenever I need ideas for a color palette or composition, I look for references in my books.
I write and draw in my journal every day. I always keep a little sketchbook with me in case I get an idea, or I see something I need to sketch right away. Maybe I heard something funny that I could use as a dialogue for an illustration.
Sunset and cloud hunting. I'm obsessed with clouds, I like to find shapes in them and see them move. I like to contemplate the colors of the sky. Some of my favorite artists work with sky landscapes, light, and color.
Offline and online things that you are loving right now?
Actors on actors roundtables, directors, and all kinds of creatives talking about their careers. I love watching interviews; it's always very inspiring. I'm very obsessive. When I'm passionate about a certain topic or an artist, I will look for every podcast, interview, video, documentary, book, etc. I just want to know everything, and connect the dots of their art and their life.
Humor is such an important aspect of my life, for my artwork and for my personal life. I need memes and funny videos. I love watching Trixie and Katya react to Netflix shows.
Are there any upcoming projects that we should be keeping an eye on?
I'm mostly focused on getting to know more people in Vancouver, to go to more art exhibits, markets, and events where I can meet more creatives. I don't want to force a connection just for networking. Maybe that's not very business-minded of me, but I believe that real friendship can also blossom from creative connection, and that will eventually lead to collaborations and building a community. It takes time, effort, and openness, especially when people here already have strong bonds.
My upcoming projects at the moment are online! I just made my first vlog. So I'm excited to share more of my wuwu creative life on YouTube.
I am launching my website this summer. I can't wait to show you the things I have prepared.
What’s your favorite wuwu character? Let us know in the comments and please share this piece with someone who might resonate with it. Thanks so much for reading!
Connect with Valeria on Instagram and subscribe to everything is wuwu for upcoming updates and releases.
In case you missed it:
Sobremesa with Lisa Cyang
Sobremesa with the incredible Montreal-based prop stylist and photographer, Lisa Cyang.
 | A guest post by
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thank you so much for inviting me to sobremesa 💕 this is like our sobremesa in real life. I love all our creative and personal conversations 💫 que nuestro yapeo sea eternoooo⭐️
Wow you’re the coolest Valeria! I love your outfit! I love wuwu and I love Valentina the swan!!