Sofia V. Gonzalez

Sofia V. Gonzalez is an artist and educator living and working in Sonoma County, California. Sofia is inspired by her natural surroundings and uses processes of sewing, staining, and color to explore her sense of place. In the studio, Sofia is currently researching the colors created from native and non-native plants in Sonoma County, paying specific attention to oak galls and the migration of non-native plants, such as eucalyptus, to our area.

Sofia graduated from the University of San Francisco with a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts in 2012. She received her MFA at California College of the Arts in 2014 where she focused on furthering her skills in textiles and natural dye techniques.

Since 2014, Sofia has taught community natural dye workshops that invite the public to learn how to make dye from waste materials and local plants. She is passionate about creating a sense of community and encouraging environmental appreciation and awareness through visual arts and textiles.

Sofia currently teaches art at the University of San Francisco and at Santa Rosa Junior College.

• Textiles
• Natural Dyes & Pigments
• Two-Dimensional Design

• Creation of natural color through dye and pigments
• Color theory
• Ecology
• Matrescence and the impact of motherhood on artists

• California College of the Arts, MFA, 2014
• University of San Francisco, BA, 2012

• Associate Professor of Art, Santa Rosa Junior College, Santa Rosa, CA
• Adjunct Professor of Art, Southwestern College, San Diego, CA
• Lecturer in Studio Art, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA
• Adjunct Professor of Art, University of Central Arkansas, Conway, AR
• Adjunct Professor of Art, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Little Rock, AR

• Visiting Artist at ASU Print Invitational, Arizona State University, 2021
• Artist in Residence, Art Produce, San Diego, CA 2020
• Individual Artist Fellowship Award, Contemporary Craft, Arkansas Arts Council, AR, 2017
• Contemporary Craft Zeitgeist Award, awarded by juror Namita Wiggers, VisionMakers 2016
• Exhibition at 108 Contemporary, Tulsa, OK, 2016

• ArtBeat, City of Irvine Fine Arts (Winter, 2022-23)
• Fiber Revolution, Surface Design (Spring, 2022)
• Twenty-Twenty San Diego, (Alfa Charlie, 2020)
• AiR 2020 Journal, (Art Produce, 2020)
• Nature, Dye, and Life (Shanghai: Sandu Publishing, 2016)