We were lucky to catch up with Carla Roque recently and have shared our conversation below.
Carla, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
The most meaningful project for me is something that is currently in the works. I am working on a picture book that is a self-funded passion project. This meaningful picture book project is an illustrated bio story of the artist Leonard Knight. Leonard Knight is an outsider artist, who didn’t even like to call himself an artist, yet he created one of the worlds largest and most incredible works of art in the California desert know as “Salvation Mountain.” I encountered Salvation Mountain and had the opportunity to meet Leonard while he was still alive and actively working on the mountain more than 20 years ago. My encounter with Leonard and his artworks came at a pivotal time in my life and opened my eyes to the possibilities that were present in being honest as an artist and obedient to what your are being called to create. Leonard to me was the epitome of an artist/ creator that retained his childlike faith and ability to create with complete freedom. Salvation Mountain is a Technicolor wonder built out of Leonard Knight’s pure love and to his creator and his dedication to share with as many people as he possibly could the message that “God is Love”. To this day I continue to be inspired by Leonard’s story and what he was able to accomplish in the last chapter of his life with absolutely no means to do so. Leonard has passed on now and Salvation Mountain is continually at risk of someday being non existent due to risks of government take over of the land and atrophy due to daily exposure to the harsh elements of the desert and no one person having the same level of tireless dedication keep up with the constant labor that the mountain requires to maintain it’s beauty and stability, the way that Leonard was miraculously able to do. My goal is to have my picture book compete and printed in time for the 10th annual celebration of life that the Salvation Mountain board will be hosting next Oct/ November. My hope is to share Leonard Knight’s story with a new generation and do my part to bring awareness to the presence of this national treasure and help to ensure that it is preserved for generations to come. It would be my joy to be a part of expanding on Leonard’s mission to share the love of God with as many people as possible.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I am a fulltime freelance artist working as a muralist and illustrator with a master’s degree in illustration from Cal State Fullerton. I was born and raised in Orange County. I am of Mexican decent but my family has been in Orange County for over 100 years. One aspect I love about creating murals is the rich history that they in Mexican culture. Murals give me an opportunity to be connected to my culture that I love, but often can feel detached from because the Spanish language was lost through the generations of living in Orange County. I once had an experience during a park mural project I was heading up in the La Habra. During the middle of a project a local resident came out to verbalize her disdain for the mural that I designed that was being created in her neighborhood by community volunteers, city employees and myself. She complained, “It looks like Mexican Street Art” and meant it in a derogatory manner. But frankly I love the street art in Mexico and it surprised me that she saw a connection. Her statement validated me in the tie I felt creating murals allows to connect to my distant culture. Shockingly, I was told that that same women actually returned back to the city and retract her negative comments about the Mural art; even saying ‘it one of the best things that has been accomplished in that community’. I was told by the city that an apology like that is something that never happens.
I have been working professionally as a muralist in the Orange County area for over 20 years. My clients have included: local small businesses & restaurants, public and private schools, churches, non-profits organizations, cities and government run facilities. Currently I’m pursuing commission for mural painting in the public art space. For the past five years the largest percentage of my work has comes from my mural projects including a commission from City Park projects in Temecula and La Habra.
My largest mural project to date has been the Project “Making a Beautiful Difference” for Anaheim Elementary school, where I completed 23 large scale murals for all of their elementary school sites. These Murals were created with the purpose of creating beauty and color to each school campus along with incorporating a positive message to uplift and enrich the daily experience for the students. This year I am continuing the mural program and will complete a 2nd mural for each school for the upcoming 2023-2024 school year. This project with the Anaheim distract has been so meaningful and rewarding as well, not only do I get this open door and creative freedom to beautify my local community, but the opportunity I get to encourage and empower young artist and creatives is a gift that keeps on giving.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
My intention as an artist is to create work that evokes childhood wonder through imagery and color. I approach my work with the belief that art and the creation of beauty in the public space, has the ability to forge human connection, compel the building of community and the manifestation of hope. I am draw to both murals and children’s book illustration because I see in both of these artistic avenues the ability for people to fully engage with with the art. With murals I love to create large scale scenes that feel like a new environment or another world and give people an opportunity to step into wonder and be inspire and revived. I see the same opportunity of engagement with the medium of picture books, where viewer is able to get lost in the story and the artwork on the pages and allow he experience to pull them into a place of imagination and wonder. I love that often the commission opportunities I have are targeted for children, because I whole-heartedly believe in investing in our youth because youth is a precious and opportune time to plant seeds and nurture their experience for the betterment of their future and the future of the world. I see my work as not only for children, but also for the child within us all. My hope is that my art engages and awaken a connection to childlike faith and wonder within people of all ages.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
Being an artist and creative is so rewarding to me because it gives me an allowance to retain and cultivate a childlike nature and constant need to see out wonder in my everyday life. I see the intention of seeking wonder being essential to who I am as an artist in order to stay fresh, inspired and connected to what I am being called to create according to the season of life I find myself in. There have been times when the season is winter and there is more darkness in my day then there is light and what I feel compelled to create is not all rainbows and sunshine. So in that season I do my best to remain honest to my experience at that moment and create what need to be expressed at that moment. But I also know that in those dark seasons that it is also essential to continue to pursue beauty, goodness and wonder. To actively reach for elements of hope in my artwork and access arts ability to heal and bring redemption during those times. I see this ability to be honest with yourself and evaluating each season as a childlike quality. Children don’t know how to front or mask, they only know how to be themselves and present in an honest way; until they learn how to suck it up and disregard their feelings in an effort to keep moving forward. Of course there is a healthy balance as an adult and even an artist for both of those aspects of the human experience.
I feel fortunate to have found art at a young age, as it was an emotional outlet and a voice when I did not have the words to communicate my experience. Art to me has also been a safe space to play, experiment and problem solve without the fear of failure, because with art there are so many possible means to an end and no real wrong way to do it. Being an artist working in the public space is so valuable to me because it is my opportunity to contribute to society and my community in a real and concrete way. I have experienced first hand how art created in the public space creates real and measurable changes within an environment and has a major effect on how people feel and behave within that space. Beauty possesses the ability to manifest hope in individuals and communities. Art and artist are essential to the vitality and health of our communities, please don’t underestimate the value you have as an artist and the impact your art can have on the space you have opportunity to influence.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.carlaroque.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ladyhope11/?hl=en
Image Credits
All photos are property of Carla Roque