this work originated from my aspiration to create a mobile: a shape and sensation that peeled me back to a wondering fetal-like fascination with movement and play. i've been thinking a lot about lineage since my uncle's sudden passing in november, of how i don't want to have to explain anything. i just want someone to look and see and understand. how young that feeling is. how, although surprising, it is possible to find people that speak the language you speak from this creature-like-state. how good it feels to crawl into (or perhaps out of) a sense of knowing and what if feels like to make something from this feeling. it was the first i've made something like this, and the first i've endeavored into this kind of intimate collaboration. i made this sculpture largely from my grandpa's old climbing gear and materials i had collected without knowing their purpose yet. i listened to britney spears (in the zone, 2003) for most of it. i wanted to build a world for my words, where they were maybe illegible but still expressed. i wanted to look at things upside down, laying down, sideways, between, and on top of, and use my hands to activate something like the feeling of crawling out of a long slumber well rested with the sense of belonging that makes life feel buoyant and something worth enduring (see: eclosion). i wanted to meet the delight of partnership head-on, seeing something turned from my insides-out alongside someone else's and celebrate the surprise of someone's world fitting neatly into your own. the negotiation of what gets explained and what doesn't need to in that process.
thank you to my family, thank you to tess, thanks to everyone who received this work! see tess’s statement here.
Staple-bound chapbook, edition of 100
2023
I wanted the piece to be held and felt in some ephemeral sense, due to the nature of the topics explored, so I was moved to make the book-version of this piece after I shared it at a reading at Tomorrow Today in July 2023. I had the book printed and staple-bound it myself while listening to The Pussycat Dolls in my bedroom or at a friend's house with a movie on. It came into being in August 2023 in an edition of 50 and the first copies were sold at Printed Matter's L.A. Art Book Fair 2023.
There is a limited quantity still available for purchase.
If you are interested, you can contact Stella at stellawrenramos@gmail.com with the subject line "touched like a solid thing."
Available for Viewing at Los Angeles Public Library Central Location Special Collections
As a writer, Stella crafts decisively intimate creative nonfiction, poetry, and short stories with clear rhythmic prose and tender yearning. She explores themes of ritual, desire, pain, lineage, the body, and birds with curiosity and depth.
In her role as a creative producer and project manager, Stella has 5+ years of experience supporting artists, creatives, and organizations across multiple disciplines—from critical theory and fashion to visual arts, music, photography, and dance. She has worked with individual artists as well as organizations. Her motivations center on supporting the logistical frameworks, creative visions, and long-term goals of the artists, creatives, and communities she serves.
As a birth doula, Stella provides trauma-informed, judgment-free support to families throughout their birthing experiences. With specialized training in bodywork, breathwork, and nervous system regulation, she is particularly invested in supporting queer, trans, and gender non-conforming families. Her certifications include Bini Birth Doula Training, Child and Baby First Aid/CPR/AED, and DONA Breastfeeding certification.
Stella's approach to baking and cooking reflects her commitment to connection through the intimate act of creating nourishment. Drawing inspiration from Southeast Asian, Middle Eastern, Japanese, Greek, and Mexican cuisines, she creates pastries and foods that favor spice without compromising sweetness. Her other creative practices—dance and poetry—directly inform her sculptural and innovative approach to food design. She works as a private pastry chef and baker, creating food installations for events and crafting sweets for celebrations of all kinds.
Stella studied Religious Studies at Occidental College with focuses on Environmental Ethics, Indigenous Futurity, and Subverting Settler-Colonialism. Self-described as a "professional Virgo," Stella is organized, efficient, grounding, warm, and generous in her personal and professional practices.
Environmental Ethics Emphasis
Magna Cum Laude
Occidental College, Los Angeles
2020
References available upon request.
Ophelia Byrne LLC
2022–Present
Los Angeles
Studio Manager
YATTA
2022–Present
Los Angeles
Studio Assistant
Ahree Lee
2022–Present
Los Angeles
Programming + Operations Manager
Feminist Center for Creative Work / Co—Conspirator Press
2020–2025
Los Angeles
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Mandy Harris Williams
2021–2024
Los Angeles
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LA Freewaves
2022–2023
Los Angeles
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Bay Rising (c3) + Bay Rising Action (c4)
2020–2022
Oakland
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The Hunt Vintage
May 2025
Touching Teeth
Echo Park
December 2024
Holiday Variety Show
Healing Force of the Universe
December 2024
Fall Reading
Tomorrow Today
October 2024
Summer Reading
Mt. Fargo
June 2024
Winter Reading
Tomorrow Today
January 2024
Prose & Poetry
North Figueroa Bookshop
September 2023
Reading a Room Together
Simchowitz Gallery
August 2023
Poetry & Music
Tomorrow Today
July 2023
Volume 34, Spring 2025
Touched Like a Solid Thing: Chapbook
August 2023, Acquired by Los Angeles Public Library Central Location Special Collections April 2025
Image: Kate Joranson (Salt Stains)
(above text titled after Joranson’s photo collection)
(above text titled after Joranson’s photo collection)