We were lucky to catch up with Cindy Guzman recently and have shared our conversation below.
Cindy, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you wish you had started sooner?
If I could go back in time, I would have taken a little time off after high school and went to college for something art related. I went to the High school of Art and Design and after I graduated, I wanted nothing to do with art. School made art work, what teenager cares about work? During my high school years, looking back I suffered from Imposter Syndrome. I never felt like I actually belonged even though you had to audition to get it. I went to college for Health Science and graduated with my Bachelors. I don’t regret doing that completely because I learned so much about anatomy and I always wanted to learn about the human body. It wasn’t until my senior year at York college that I had a some electives to fill that I decided to take sculpting 101 and Intro to Oil Paint. At the time I worked at Instacart in Columbus Circle and would find myself waking up early to get to York to work on my art projects before I had to go in to work in the afternoon. I really enjoyed sculpting with my hands and mixing colors and overall my alone time before tapping into the real world. I enjoyed the feeling it gave me and it continues to give me. It wasn’t really until the whole lockdown in 2o20 happened when I was furloughed from my new job at the time that I really tapped back into my craft. After being new to my job and fearing I was not going to get called back, I decided I had to find something to keep me a float, even if it was just mentally. I decided to paint again and I yeah I wished I would have started again sooner. There are so many things I want to do as an Artist and I’ve only just begun. Being an Artist doesn’t mean just being good at one thing. If I had started sooner I feel like I would be further along in sharpening my skills to fulfill all the projects I wish to, but I’m on track now so that’s all that matters.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Cindy but as an artist I go by Cin4me. I have always had a passion for art ever since I was a child. I went to Art High school and got my Bachelors in Science. I rediscovered my love for art my last semester of college when I was finally able to tap back into my creativity. I would watch my best friend create canvases for commission and watch her be so at peace that it inspired me to try it for myself. During the lockdown in 2020, I bought supplies from Amazon and got to work. I had just started a new job but was put on furlough for a bit so I was afraid that during that time I would have no income. I started building my canvas collection in April 2020 and by December that same year, I had ventured out onto a different canvas, trays. I created my “Baelena” piece which is on an 11×7 canvas in acrylic in August of 2020 and decided I really wanted to share that piece with the world, but did not want to part with the original so I took that image and mass produced it by hand on nickel back rolling trays. I watched many videos on youtube until I was able to try out the tray making process for myself. It took a lot of trial and error at 1st as I became familiar with the materials and realized what brands worked better than others.I believe what sets me apart from others is that the images I choose to place on the trays are all original with my art. My art is urban and centered primarily around NYC/Latinx culture. What I would like for my followers/supporters to expect from me is that I want to venture out on different canvases. I want to create an urban clothing line and I want to tap back into the seamstress part of myself. Back in High school, I took a bunch of fashion classes where I learned how to use the sewing machine and I would like to create clothes for women of my stature and body type. A lot of the times it is hard to find certain clothes since a lot of the clothes made are not curated around short/thick girls. I also want to try painting murals on walls since it is something I have yet to try. What I am most proud of is how far I have come and will continue to go.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
A lesson I had to unlearn is that being an Artist does not mean I have to struggle. As a child, one of my parents did not always encourage me to be an artist. An artist was not considered a “real job” and I was “never going to be able to make money from that.” This mantra effected me so much, I went to college for something I didn’t necessarily love and just kept it safe. I knew that if i graduated from something “health related” I would always have a job since there will always be sick people. I had to unlearn this fearful mindset that was instilled in me for so long. Once I started to create again, I’ve never felt more aligned with my purpose. I have a day job but that is not my career, that is is my job. Being an artist is who I am and always will be. I am also happy to say that same parent no longer puts art down and is in face way more supportive these days.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
As a creative, sometimes I get asked to do custom trays. These are not always my favorite because every time I do one, it’s something I have ever done before. Most of the time it comes down to the image requested. I have to map out what mediums I will use to make the image requested come out the best version it possibly can with the highest quality. That service is not always easy for me to map out right away. So sometimes when some one requests a custom and asks me “how much it would be”. My brain forces to blurt out an answer as a people pleaser and that amount isn’t always worth what I use in materials and man power I put behind the creation. I tend to lowball myself just to not let the client down.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://cin4me.squarespace.com
- Instagram: @cinn4me
Image Credits
Cindy Guzman