We were lucky to catch up with Carolina Fontoura Alzaga recently and have shared our conversation below.

Carolina, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Launching “Lucienne”, my new series of glass rod, Art Deco inspired, lighting sculptures, feels like an enormous risk that I have to see through.

In 2016, nine years into “Connect’, my first (and luckily successful) lighting sculpture series, I conceived of the idea for “Lucienne”, my second series. Now, in 2024, I’m grateful to have finally materialized two editions within the “Lucienne” series, titled “Aurea” and “Devenir”.

When I think of the amount of time it’s taken me to get to this stage of “Lucienne”, It takes great effort to not succumb to feeling discouraged. Fortunately, I’m resolutely committed to materializing what I envision to be a beautiful body of work yet to come, and that sense of possibility outweighs my self-doubt.

It’s taken me 8 years from conception to promotion, which is a long time, though if you factor in the pandemic and the loss of my mother, that shaves off 2-3 years. The rest of the time has been consumed by overcoming self-doubt and mostly self-funded R&D. When I look at it that way, 5-6 years doesn’t seem so long, especially given that my first series, “Connect” took 4 years from conception to creation and another 2 for reaching the promotion stage, so also about 6 years. Either way, 8 years is a long time to dedicate myself to something that I have no guarantee of succeeding.

I’ve been working on both series concurrently. As such, I’ve continued developing my first body of work and it’s become something I’m truly proud of. To date, the “Connect” series consists of 34 models of bike chain, Victorian inspired, “chandeliers” that range in scale from 1 to 5 ft diameter and 1 to 10 ft height. I’m very grateful to have had commissions for residential and commercial spaces around the world. I really hope to have the opportunity to similarly develop my second body of work.

While it’s been challenging to develop “Lucienne” alongside “Connect”, It’s been particularly so once I actually launched my second series in November of 2023; I’m finding it quite difficult to complete commissions and promote the new work while completing commissions for the old work while also starting two podcasts and a video series. But I’m finding my way.

I can’t tell you how it’s turned out yet because I’m still in the process of seeing it through. Ask me in a year!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Carolina Fontoura Alzaga, Caro for short. I am a Mexican-Brazilian artist based in Los Angeles, founder of Facaro, my multidisciplinary art studio, and creator of Connect and Lucienne, my two series of “lighting sculptures”.

I made a name for myself in the art and design worlds as the creator of Connect, a series of functional sculptures in the form of chandeliers made from reclaimed bicycle chains, with features in the Los Angeles Times, American Craft, and Luxe Interiors + Design, and mentions in the New York Times and Architectural Digest. Connect has been commissioned for residential and commercial spaces in 13 countries and has been exhibited in the Comme des Garçons Trading Museum in Japan.

1-1/2 years after making the first lighting sculpture in the series for my BFA thesis, Connect struck a chord with it’s innovation and principles of sustainability when it appeared in my first solo art show in Mexico City in 2009. I was fortunate to receive some press and once it appeared in blogs (pre-social media) it took on a life of it’s own.

The first 15 years of Connect, I strictly used reclaimed bicycle chain and, as an environmentalist, I’m proud to have diverted 7 literal tons of this material from the trash and transformed it into elegant and meticulously crafted functional sculptures. Working with discarded chain meant approximating perfection with an imperfect material. Using reclaimed bike chain was an integral aspect of the concept underpinning this body of work; Looking at the chandelier as a symbol for wealth, opulence, and power and looking at the reclaimed bike chain as a symbol for the discarded, disposable, and invisible, the chain in the context of the chandelier creates a new third meaning about a reclamation of power.

2 years ago I began using new bicycle chain to ease the wear on my body. I feel very proud to have closed out the first life cycle of the Connect series and am curious to see what new life and meaning it takes on moving forward.

Launched in November 2023, Lucienne, my second “lighting sculpture” series expands on sociopolitical themes and introspective self-portraiture and illuminates the possibility of a better world. Inspired by an Art Deco glass rod chandelier owned by my late mother, this series explores form, scale, and the power of visionary thinking through multiple editions, including the award-winning “Aurea” and now “Devenir”.

Personalization is at the heart of “Devenir,” meaning “to become” across multiple languages. Individuals are invited to align every aspect of the bespoke lamp with their desires by choosing elements such as glass color, lamp base material, and a personal engraved message, details that serve as galvanizing reminders of their passions and the better world they envision.

Turning on the lighting sculpture is more than just illuminating a space; it’s a transformative, energizing ritual that reminds people of their intentions, connects them to their inner self, and catalyzes action to materialize their desires.

This edition is a reminder that we hold the power to shape our lives and enact positive change and asks: “What are you becoming? What is your devenir?”

I am also developing the “Devenir Archive,” a video series that profiles collectors, reflecting their diverse aspirations through a discussion about their engraved message, and I am soon to launch a “Devenir” podcast in which I speak to creatives about their daily rituals for materializing their desire.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Around 2016, after a 7-month waiting list for Connect, I was burnt out and physically in pain. Ironically, In the early years of fulfilling commissions for the Connect series, I became my own exploitative boss, overextending myself beyond my capacity to the point of literal physical damage to my body with stenosis of the spine or decreased disk height between two lumbars in my lower back. At the peak of my art business’ growth, I was perpetually burnt out, socially isolated, riddled with anxiety, depression, & insomnia, shrouded by scarcity thinking, and entirely disconnected from my intuition. I believed there was something fundamentally wrong with me instead of appropriately situating myself within the socio-political context of a system that operates on producing subjects who are atomized, stuck in survival mode, and who soothe their pain with distractions.

Once I framed my understanding of my situation through this lens, It was then that I realized that Connect wasn’t just representing a reclamation of collective power but it was also speaking to a reclamation of personal agency and that this series was also a self portrait. I understood the tyranny of power in the macropolitical context but I began to understand it in the micropolitical one too; If I am reproducing systems of domination in relationship to myself by imposing “power over” myself rather than “power with” myself, I won’t be able to fully identify & extricate these systems in relation to other humans and to the earth itself.

I came to understand that if I was suffering that meant that, as an extension of me, my business suffered too. I stopped working on the weekends and started to honor my body’s needs for rest, recovery, and softness. I learned that I can set my own pace, set boundaries with work, and I began a long journey towards making tangible changes in relationship to myself. This was the beginning of the development of Lucienne.

Thanks to years of somatic and narrative therapy and learning to listen to my bodies wisdom, I am now practicing being propelled by what makes me feel the most alive, embodied, and consciously aligned with my values, day to day, moment to moment.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish I’d searched for mentors early on. I didn’t really know anyone else doing anything remotely similar to what I was doing; I was navigating uncharted territory and simply didn’t know who to ask for advice.

My advice now, find the people who share your challenges so that you don’t feel so alone in your experience but be mindful of finding the ones who are finding and implementing solutions rather than ruminating in the notion that change isn’t possible.

Look for folks who’ve been doing similar things and reach out to ask if they’d be willing to jump on a 15 minute advice call. Don’t waste their time or yours and come prepared.

My next biggest piece of advice is to develop financial literacy. Most of us aren’t taught basic financial management and without this you’re not setting yourself up for success.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.facaro.com
• Instagram: facarostudio
• Facebook: facarostudio
• Linkedin: Carolina Fontoura Alzga
• Youtube: facarostudio

Image Credits

Connect pics (bike chain): Tod Seelie + Cody Morrison
Lucienne pics (glass): Corey Davenport