Meet Ria Ray | Spiritual Teacher and Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ria Ray and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ria, what principle do you value most?
The thing that matters most to me is kindness and authenticity. Living a life in harmony with my soul’s purpose is what I believe creates everything you need at all times. It may make us uncomfortable, but it will certainly get us where we need to go and become who we are destined to be.
In my most significant collaborations, the universe magically brought me together with the perfect person, place, brand or company. This always confirms to me that I am where I am supposed to be.
I also feel like being kind and authentic lends itself to being brave and transparent. This in turn lends itself to taking risks and being free to use my creative voice.
Being kind (and honest) ignites my imagination and creates a limitless incubator to experience new things.
Life is so precious that spending time repressing myself would definitely be squandering these precious moments.
Having meaningful conversations – and creation – means everything to me and always leads to success. When I say Success I mean that which nourishes and satisfies my soul.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My art is an elusive portal on canvas that acts as a meditative healing device for the viewer. My ultimate goal is to inspire healing and awaken self-love. Inside is where I found my art. And, my gift is to help them others uncover and heal themselves.
I do a lot of mixed media art using acrylics, paper, photographs, found objects and poetry. The multi-dimensional layers of color and form are created through an intuitive process of exploration that fuses color and light to create art that inspires compassion, and insight into individual consciousness.

My art is a valuable way for viewers to open doors into their psyche and let in the light, whatever form that takes. The textural depth of color and imagery are messages that transform deep thoughts and feelings.
My artwork is sculptural with rectangular and circular dimension. Colors blend to create a union of obscurity with a bold infusion of hues and spiritual messages.
I also use doorways, passages and thresholds as metaphors for awareness and an inner letting go of the past. Letting go opens new levels of consciousness for viewers.

On the back of each painting, I write a poem or sacred message exclusively for the buyer.
My paintings have been described as spiritual landscapes. I feel that art should awaken something within the viewer.
I also create Graffiti Art, which are stream of consciousness messages (or poetry) created for people’s homes or businesses.

Each of my paintings has 10 layers that define the one before it. Like life, each layer shows us who we are and who we should become. There is a powerful poetic light in each movement on the canvas, this allows to my art to delve deeper into their soul.

My ultimate goal is to inspire healing and awaken self-love. Inside is where I found my art. And, my gift is to help them others uncover and heal themselves.”

How I got from where I was before I became an artist is a story that is hard to tell. I lost my entire family in one day due to an accident at my home in Maryland. This tragic loss – at an early age – was the catalyst for my spiritual awakening and where I found my art.

What am I most proud of? That I have lived an authentic life. I have listened to my intuition in building all aspects of myself. I have worked hard to live in a state of surrender and to act from a place of faith.

I live like I create. Unpremeditated.

The way I move through my day is an art form. It allows the unfolding of divine flow to enter and create in ways that surprises me – ways I could have never have expected.

I believe that as we heal we uncover what is true. From there we discover what actions need to be built from there.

As we do that, the cosmos (or universe) supports our soul and our journey.

This has not been easy to do. It’s been very challenging.

I have seen, however, that when I do not choose this path it yields a lot of pain and suffering versus a response that is based in my soul.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
One of my favorite places to go with great friends is dbakers Sweet Studio in Miami. They have the best cookies stuffed with Nutella and Roasted Hazelnuts. Right next door is La Latina, a Venezuelan Restaurant that has wonderful food with an international flair in the Design District. Best Arepas!!!
Next on my list of wonderful things to do with special friends is to go to skincare/luxurious facial at Barbara Sturn. Then, to top it all off I would go to the rooftop Dior Cafe for some bubbly!

I love Wynwood for so many reasons. The art is always changing and fantastic and eclectic. There is always something mysterious yet creatively juicy in the air and it’s just a fun place to experience Florida life. I also love the food at Kyo and then we would head over to Le Labo fragrance shop. And to finish the day it would be time for a quick trip to salty donuts.

Since art is my life and my love, I adore the Rubell and Perez Museum and the immersive art experience at Superblue. But with the pleasure of art one gets hungry, that’s why we would go to Calle Ocho for Cuban food – it’s a must!

Where would Miami be on the map without South Beach. This magnificent seaside patch of Miami Beach has a history of folklore, celebrity and serenity. I love watching the beach volleyball there and the wonderful people watching. And the blue water, surf and sun is what makes life a little sweeter and more serene.

I could go on and on because there are so many incredible hot spots in Miami. I love its vibrant energy and celebratory vibe.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?

My children are without a doubt my biggest source of inspiration and guidance.

Without them I would be skating on the surface. Instead they have inspired me to dig deep into the vast terrains within.

Their lessons have become deep ones for me. My son Jacob is the reason that I came to Miami. He played college basketball a lot and inspired me to learn about and explore Miami.

I am so glad that I did. I have found Miami to be my sacred place – a place that I have fallen in love with. Jacob and my daughter Lia now both play beach volleyball in South Beach and have introduced me to some of the most wonderful people I know.

Learning about Miami – and sharing my healing gift and art with people in Miami – has led me to the most sacred space. Part of this mysterious evolution of spirit is due to Karla Dascal, the creator and owner of Sacred Space Miami, Jen Todd, the creator of the Evolve App and Zoel and Sitara, are the creators of The MoveMent. I have found a sweet community of light creators and magic-makers that have fully supported my gifts and my continued efforts.

Website: www.riaray.com

Instagram: @riaraysee @riarayart

Image Credits
Anne Yarbrough