Carla Segura is a Toronto-based illustrator, tattoo artist, and jewellery designer whose work mixes realism with geometry. She’s also spent time as a dancer, competitive martial artist, and singer/songwriter in a metal band. This is her story, in her own words.
UPBRINGING
I was born in Venezuela from a German/Austrian mother and a Colombian father, moving to Canada with my mum when I was almost 15. Because I was raised by my mum and her European family, I had the opportunity to learn about life from their cultural perspective in addition to my upbringing within Latin culture. This gave me a vast sense of inspiration and open mind in viewing the world.
I can’t remember at what point I became an artist because I feel I was born one. However, I am sure having two artistic parents helped shape part of my artistry.
My mother was a competitive gymnast who became a ballet dancer, later joining the Contemporary Dance Theatre in Caracas, Venezuela. When she retired from dancing she became a news broadcaster at a national television network for many years.
Being raised in that environment, I grew up with a sense of performance. I, too, pursued dance at an early age inspired by my mother's dance background. I was deeply inspired by modern dance and traditional South American folk dance (which involved flamenco, African roots dance and Indigenous dance).
Even though I didn't grow up with my father, I inherited a few abilities from him as well: visual arts, martial arts, combat sports, and music. He was a concert pianist, a graphic artist, and became a boxer at the age of 15. He retired a few years later to pursue Shaolin Kung Fu which he practiced for 28 years. Just when I had the chance to see him again and get to know him personally after years of absence, he passed away five months later, so I didn't get to share much with him.
METAL ARTS
When I moved to Canada with my mum, I went straight to high school. I didn't speak any English and had to learn fast. I graduated and went straight to college, receiving a one-semester scholarship at the Ontario College of Art and Design because of my portfolio.
I pursued Industrial Design at first but became incredibly uninterested after three months. Changing my mind, I pursued Material Arts and Design, where I majored and graduated from the Metallurgy department with a background in Metal Arts and Welding, as well as Jewellery Design and Exploration.
I was instantly fascinated by Metal Arts. I immediately knew I had to pursue it because of how physical it is. Working with metals at a grand or small scale requires a lot of focus, physical strength, knowledge, and a solid idea of two and three dimensions. Metalworking also requires the use of elements like fire and water, the use of physics and chemistry. It all fascinated me in the sense that it got me closer to my raw, authentic self: "hands-on" artistic expression through methodical construction and measure.
I ended up mixing my metalsmith skills with my love and innermost connection to nature, witchcraft, ritual and the shadow-self, together with a combination of organic materials, such as bones and stones, which hold the power of the Earth. The idea of something raw and organic mixed with industrial and handcrafted has always been a perfect match in my opinion; the idea of machine and nature put together. The results turned into a very dark, stylized body of work. Something macabre always seems to come through.
MUSIC CAREER
As soon as I graduated from college in 2000, I pursued music full-time while doing metal work on the side, supporting myself with different jobs. I spent a good 14 years playing with bands, writing songs, joining and leaving different projects. I was doing a blues thing on the side, then finally decided to pursue heavy metal 100% for years because I loved metal the second I heard it. I went from punk and ska to metal literally in minutes.
In 2008, I formed a new metal band as the lead singer and songwriter, which became my main musical project. The project took off fast and things were happening, but after getting ahead, it fell apart due to external circumstances: sabotage I had no time to deal with. Issues with bandmates coming in and out (finding the right drummer which has always been a stigma and an ongoing headache in my experience), egos getting in the way of things, and ultimately the music industry rapidly changing into a pile of bullshit that I had no desire to process. As much as I love making music, I was just not willing to do all the nonsense required to play.
When I realized that carrying this band forward was more loss than gain, more headaches than satisfaction, I chose to walk away with a broken heart. Love should surpass pain, but in this case, it was the opposite. Nothing has broken my heart more than being a musician; so much jealousy and envy in that field. The whole thing became a demonic experience, in a sense, and it didn't matter how much I ignored it. Plowing through became the focus rather than the music itself. It seemed like no matter how much love I injected into it, the "demon" of ego was a hard thing to vanquish in others. It eventually became a distraction from the music, performance and creativity. It became too absurd – the equivalent of trying to fill an empty pool using a teaspoon.
Financing the band myself, the required math was not making logical sense because the music industry makes it really fucking unreal. It became a thing that had nothing to do with the music or talent. Talent is a given and should be a 101, basic skill and expectation when pursuing music. But the business side of it was pure slavery. I refused to support such a thing in a field that was always meant to be a labour of love. It was like taking one step forward and 666 steps back.
This led me deep into fitness; I had to do something radical and proactive to feel whole again. I got into Cross Fit, and soon after became a Muay Thai fighter, also leading me into boxing and MMA. I ended up suffering a serious injury to my right knee while sparring before a Muay Thai tournament I was meant to fight in Iowa. I had to retire from Muay Thai after that.
TATTOOING
Because of my frustration of not being able to continue, I evolved a strong passion for drawing. I drew all the time and eventually got good at it. That led me to become a tattoo artist when the chance came and was offered the opportunity. For four years now I've been tattooing, specializing in geometry, pointillism and black work.
Drawing sacred geometry has been a long time passion. But when I started tattooing, I was introduced to realism and challenged to pursue it; I wanted to see if I could do it. I started mixing both realism and geometry, which led me to where I am now.
It has become such a focus and an important part of my artistic life that it is all I want to concentrate on at the moment. I feel much evolution is happening with my art and I need to work at it constantly to see where it takes me.
PORTRAITS
My current subject matter is portraits: realistic illustration of people. I have always forgotten names, but never a face. Faces speak in silence. Eyes are sacred; they tell the truth at all times. Faces are so interesting to me, so I draw them all the time. They hold so much geometry as well. When I draw portraits they always turn more macabre looking than the real person. It feels as though I am able to capture the shadow side of everyone through my drawings. It has become a very esoteric experience. I really want to see where it takes itself, what path it forges. And this is where I am.
(All images provided courtesy of Carla Segura)
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