Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Bonnie Quintanilla. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Bonnie, appreciate you joining us today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?
Absolutely! Creativity has been a common thread through all of my career choices, from teaching third grade to starting and managing a successful marketing company, and now to embracing art completely as a fused glass artist.
I think that each of the “regular” jobs taught me invaluable lessons that help me in my art, both creatively, collaboratively, and in managing the business side of my art.
Bonnie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Art has been a significant influence throughout my life. I was introduced to ceramics and glass enamel as a child as I worked with my Mom in her studio.. I was equally inspired by my Dad’s pastel drawings and wood carvings. Their creativity and constant belief that I could do whatever I set my mind to continues to inspire me today.
My work is inspired by nature, the strong women I’ve known and wish to know, and the desire to inspire individuals to act with thought and intention. Most of all, I wish to spark imagination, inspire conversation, and bring joy through my work.
Although my love or art continues to grow, I started my career as an elementary school teacher before founding a marketing communications company which I owned for more than 20 years. Through these experiences, I learned about business, management, and balancing creativity and practicality.
I started my art studio, Blazing Star Arts, just over 10 years ago with my friend and glass partner, Sue Wolhaupter. My studio was named in celebration of the native California Blazing Star flower. Its vibrant, delicate blooms are like graceful, yellow fireworks that explode each spring and transform the hillsides with beauty and hope. Like this flower, I believe my art glass, forged in the blazing hot kilns of my California studio, can bring hope to others.
Blazing Star Arts creates a wide range of practical art wares as well as fine art and custom designs. Our work combines bold colors and innovative techniques in unique artworks enjoyed by collectors worldwide. We are unique in our work as it is created fearlessly from the heart. The emotion we pour into every piece touches customers and collectors in unique and unexpected ways. Every piece we create is not only an exciting adventure but an opportunity to learn and translate our ideas and environment into glass forms. We continue to push boundaries and are experimenting with the integration of glass and fabrics as well as glass and ceramics.
I create from the heart which motivates me to use my art for good. I put on exhibits and sales that support the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, the Ventura Land Trust, and donate work to Healthcare for Homeless Animals, Many Mansions, and other non profits.
You can find glass from Blazing Star Arts in the gift shops of the Anthony C. Beilenson Interagency Visitor Center of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation area in Calabasas, California, and the Satwiwa Native American Indian Culture Center in Newbury Park, California. It is also available at Bonibi Coffee in Westlake Village, California, and on our website.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
Teaching art in public schools as part of the core curriculum is the most important thing we can do to support artists and art. And in doing so, teaching how art is intimately intertwined with virtually every discipline in life. By relegating art to after-school activities, or electives, or not offering art at all is detrimental not only to artists but to our world.
Art is inextricably linked to virtually all disciplines. As a glass artist, I need to know math, physics, and chemistry, as well as proportion and communication. The same is true for architects – are they artists or scientists? How does a biologist or geologist explain their science without art/drawings? Can sculptors be successful without understanding the science of materials, anatomy, physics, and more?
It has been a source of innovation. Consider how many fictional items are now everyday objects (cell pones/Star Trek; AI; 2001 A Space Odyssey, self-driving cars/Isaac Asimov, drones/Dune – and more).
And of course, the arts teach so many vital characteristics – problem solving, risk-taking, patience, perseverance, continuous improvement vs. perfection, expression, and so much more. It boosts critical thinking, teaches us to be careful and thorough in how we observe the world.
The arts are a vehicle for change, innovation, and social justice. Art has been a voice of the oppressed both in written (even fairy tales) and visual form.
Finally, art also exposes us to different perspectives, cultures, spiritual beliefs, and values with appreciation and empathy not judgement.
When our society devalues art by marginalizing or eliminating it, we run the risk of stagnating.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding part of my art is when a piece I created touches someone’s heart.
Many times I’ve had people tell me how a piece reminds them of a childhood home, or how their sister loved a particular flower depicted in my art, and so on. Others have talked about how meditative a piece is and that it is a reminder to slow down.
Hearing the personal stories and experiences people see in my art, and seeing how touched they become with the memories is not only rewarding, but truly a blessing, and something I could never have imagined.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.blazingstararts.com
- Instagram: @BlazingStarArts
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BlazingStarArts
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bquintanillacorridorcomms/
Image Credits
Bonnie Quintanilla