Today we’d like to introduce you to Iveth Sarabia.
Hi Iveth, can you start by introducing yourself? We love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
My creative spark started seeing light during my early teen years. At the age of 13, I was introduced to the punk-rock/pop-punk music scene, something that ultimately changed my life. The music caused a shift in my self-expression, it not only introduced music for me to sing along to when I was feeling angsty, sad, or even lonely, but it also piqued my interest in many different artistic endeavors. Throughout my teen years, I had various “fan accounts” where I would make graphic edits of artists/bands I was in love with. On some accounts, I had hundreds to thousands of followers, essentially creating a mini community where we shared our love. These fan accounts allowed me to create various friendships with people just like me all over the world. I made a friend from California whom I still talk to on occasion, a friend from Singapore whom I also still speak to, and many others whom I have sadly lost touch with.
The music scene and the bands I followed, like All Time Low and Waterparks (who are also from Houston), brought music, photography, writing, and graphic design into my main field of interest. However, it wasn’t until the year 2022 that I felt a genuine call to make all of it into my career.
When I graduated high school, I knew I wanted to pursue Graphic Design as my major in college but after many failed attempts of continuously attending college (living situations and mental health always got in the way), I finally decided to pursue my passions on my own. I have slowly been planting seeds to start as a freelance photographer and graphic designer under the name Dulce Visiones, which is Spanish for “Sweet Visions”. The name is inspired by my mother’s name, Duce Carolina Estevez Lopez, who sadly passed away in 2015. Ever since I graduated high school, I have been living intending to honor her and everything she gave me and my siblings. I hope to achieve that with this brand/company, whatever level it gets to be, in her name.
Since my official last semester of college, I have started designing for my employers (Graphix Signs in South Houston,TX), I’ve diversified my photography portfolio, I’ve started pursuing being an alternative influencer on Instagram (@dulcevisionesiv), and have just overall had more freedom to explore the creativity and creative opportunities that Houston has to offer. I recently attended and plan to continue to attend Temp Tats Magazine’s newest “Photo Club”, which I know will bring me many opportunities for self-expression and making new friends. I have also started paying more attention to the local music scene (Cherry Mom was one of the first local Houston bands that caught my attention), I’ve been a part of a local showcase “Sombra Showcase” which was presented by local Director and Producer Rafael Elorza, as well as the multi-media Art Show “The Chair” under its “Houston Unveiled” portion presented by local photographer The L.W. I have also had the opportunity to volunteer with a Houston Non-Profit organization that focuses in accelerating diversity in the photography industry, “Free Juice.”
My main focus at the moment though is to officially start freelancing and achieving my year-long goal of being a concert photographer. I hope to one day be able to take pictures at one of Waterparks’ (the band, I don’t love waterparks haha, I’m not a Six Flags fanatic) shows. They are my second biggest muse; the fact that they started here too always motivates me. If they can make it, so can I. I actually will have my first taste of concert photography this Thursday (September 31, 2023) at a small artist known as Edwin Raphael’s concert at the White Oak Music Hall in their upstairs venue. I hope it will be an opportunity that flourishes into many more future concert photography possibilities.
The alternative and creative scene in Houston is interesting and it has started shaping who I am. I have had the opportunity to meet up-and-coming musicians, surgical assistants by day who throw down in the mosh pit at night, and couples who have fallen in love in the night scene and just had overall main character and drama-worthy moments.
I think 13-year-old me would question who I am now, but I really wouldn’t have it any other way because I now know that everything that has happened, has happened for me, not to me.
I am just at the start of my journey, and I hope that my wonderful home of Houston opens many doors for me.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I think like many others, the time of the Covid-19 pandemic was a very rough time for me mentally. But somehow, ironically, it was one of the most liberating times for me. I turned to connecting with nature, exploring crystals and their metaphysical properties, reading self-help books, improving my self-talk with affirmations, and just spending time with my friends and creating memories.
Of course, it wasn’t all peaceful. But I think the rocky moments built my creative expression that much more. I explored the way I connect with people, the shadow side of myself; I let go of old wounds, and I made shifts that needed to be made for me to fortify myself. I think that is kind of why it took until last year for me to finally start laying the foundation down for me as a digital creator/creative.
Pursuing a creative career is not an easy route, especially when you are taking a more alternative approach to it. You first have to come to terms that you’re kind of your own, that school isn’t going to bring you the knowledge you need, and that you have to ask God to open doors for you. I think that thanks to not only prayer but manifestation as well, the opportunities that I have had to expand creatively have been presented to me.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a graphic designer and photographer. I think it’s very hard to stand out in the creative community, but I was told by a friend of mine, Gerry, that I look at things in ways others don’t. When he said this, we were out taking pictures, and I got up close to a flower and attempted to capture more detail of not only the flower but also its surrounding stems. Somehow focusing on not only the flower but its environment as well. He also mentioned how he would’ve never thought to capture that. I feel I can be categorized as specializing in nature photography; if you visit my photography Instagram at @dulcevisionesphoto you can see that first-hand. I think it comes back to the time I spent connecting with nature during the pandemic time and the spirituality it developed in me. People may see a squirrel, a duck, a pigeon and just see an animal that is part of their everyday life but how many of them would think to take the time to capture their essence?
I am most proud of the photos I have had featured in shows and a local church magazine,” Descanso Para Tu Alma” and it’s not necessarily because they are better than any other work I have; they are just simply what has spread my vision for others to discover and it makes them that much more emotionally valuable. That is why I am proud of them.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Everything that I am doing, I’ve been doing scared. I am only 22 years old, I am the second eldest in a Hispanic household, I am a first-generation high school graduate (meaning I do not have much guidance), I am a caregiver for my two younger siblings, I battle with anxiety and depression, and despite the weight of it all, I’ve been taking every opportunity that’s presented to me for my creative growth.
I don’t feel the fear/self-doubt as much now thanks to my connection with spirituality, though, I am more in a state of gratefulness, I am grateful that I have accomplished what I have and what I will continue to accomplish along this journey of life. But I feel like people I know in my “everyday life” may hear or see some of the things I’m doing and think, “Is this the same girl that I know?”
Contact Info:
- Instagram: dulcevisionesphoto
- Other: Linktree: linktr.ee/dulcevisiones
