We were lucky to catch up with EMILIO APONTESIERRA-PARETTI recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi EMILIO, thanks for joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
I learned to do what I do by observing, practicing, making mistakes, learning from mistakes, and experimenting with new methods, materials, and concepts. The conscious learning process that led me towards my artistic career began with my first art class with Colombian artist, Nora Parra Leyton, who introduced me to the world of painting, acting, and Puppets in 1981 during my high school days at the National Loperena School of Valledupar Colombia.
The second big step in the process was after graduating high school. I earned a scholarship to Magdalena University for acting. Instead of majoring in the arts, I chose to major in Fishing Engineering with a specialty in environmental planning. In my engineering studies, I found the knowledge about material resistance, fluid mechanics, mathematics, and more that helps me navigate the intricate process that is creating sculptures. During my years at Magdalena University, I found my art mentor, Mary Luz Giraldo Arismendiz. She was the director of a private theater company called “Corporación Los Muñecos” and she admired my attention to detail. I was able to perfect my craft in Paper-mâché, Sewing, and Origami, with her guidance.
During my 20 years living and creating here in the United States, I had the blessing to meet artists, share ideas and collaboration, participate in art events, to be exposed to new materials, art techniques, and art organizations that are helping me to continue learning, evolving and re-shaping my multidisciplinary art and craft.
Knowing what I know now, what I could have done to speed up my learning process is to be riskier in experimenting with materials and less afraid to become a new starving artist.
The main skills that I believe were the most essential in my process are patience and attention to detail. In addition to these, I think that another skill is the ability I have to accept that I make mistakes and be able to use what I have learned to create new concepts and artistic techniques. And definitely, also the ability I have to transform various materials giving them new uses and incorporating them into spaces in which they were not supposed to be.
The obstacles that stood in my way to learning more in my artistic creation process are strongly linked to the time it took me to accept that I am a man who does not follow the “macho” and heterosexual society that ordinary people accept as normal. The delay in accepting that I am a gay man did not allow me to explore new ideas, concepts, and artistic expressions that were not within the stereotype attached to masculinity. Not accepting who I am in my 20s and 30s made my artistic career engage in creating what people wanted to see and not what I was able to say, conceptualize, and create.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Thank you for allowing me to tell your readers how I got into the visual art industry. It began with feeling confident about my knowledge and how I master my craft. My confidence had a strong foundation from my painting, acting, and Puppets art classes by Nora Parra Leyton during my high school days at the National Loperena School of Valledupar Colombia.
My craft become strong from my experience gained during my scholarship times at Magdalena University for acting, where I did not just work as an actor but also was able to get into the field of writing (theater writing and poetry), theater production, stage creation, and design and creation of costumes. The design and creation of costumes were something that I got in my head and hands while watching my mother creating couture dresses for the women of Valledupar in the 70s and 80s. I was my mother’s little assistant and I learned fashion design techniques, how to use sewing machines, hand sewing, the use of zippers, clothes buttons, and body measurement.
After graduating in 2011 with a master’s in education in Guidance Counseling from Turabo University, (Ann G. Mendez University System, South Florida Campus), I had the opportunity to implement one project while being an employee of the LGBTQ+ Community center of Fort Lauderdale and Wilton Manors, Florida: “The Pride Center at Equality Park”. This passion project was outside of my work in the field of HIV Counseling. Passion projects allowed staff members to implement classes, events, and activities that they were passionate about outside of the scope of their Pride Center’s work. I created, coordinated, and was the curator of the Pride Center Art Gallery until 2015. There is when I got into the visual art industry. I was able to showcase every month different artists, including myself, and to allow the emerging artist community to interact, create, and sold art. After that, I am constantly hunting calls to artist and art grants where I can apply and show my art and craft.
I am an experimenter of the arts with a mixture of influences. My creations are influenced by more than 30 years of background in Scene & Theater Production and Costume Design. Also, by the vibrancy of my country of origin, the color of the fashion world, and the lack of awareness for environmental protection. My visual body of work is created using Manipulated Photography, Ink on canvas, and Mixed Media. The types of creative work that I provide are Visual Art, Costumes, and Art Workshops.
In visual art, I create customized ink on canvas. colorful images, and bold portraits using photo manipulation. Also, I create Mixed media sculptures, two and 3D art on Canvas, Plexiglas, Framed boxes, and diverse flat surfaces using my Paper Manipulation Fine Art Technique which is the foundation of my Mixed Media art pieces.
The second product of my creative work is costumes, which I call wearable art pieces. Within these creative products, I use non-conventional materials to create new body shapes, fantasy creatures, and more.
The third product is Art workshops. By the end of my Art workshops, participants not just gain knowledge about my Paper manipulation fine Art technique, but they manipulate, and re-shape recycled materials and found objects into Jewelry and new art pieces by cutting, bending, and connecting them. Another service that I offer using my Art Workshops is the opportunity for organizations, businesses, and groups to be educated about different health topics, and social issues, and to get guidance and techniques on how to address difficult conversations, such as but not limited to stigma related to HIV and AIDS, Mental health, race, LGBTQ+ and many more.
What sets me apart from others is the way I manipulated paper and non-conventional materials. Many artists are experts in origami, others are experts in paper mâché, and many others in paper sculpture. What I do differently from them is that I mix all of those traditional paper manipulation techniques and added fiber manipulation and fashion design techniques. The color of my art pieces comes from the original color of the materials I select for their creation. I make the selection of materials thinking about the colors, textures, and shapes that I plan to achieve in the piece of art I am working on.
What I am most proud of is that my art has encouraged thousands of people to become more conscious about recycling, environmental protection, health, and social issues. I did not set out to be a visual artist nor did I intend to create artwork relating to health issues or social commentary, but as my portfolio evolved and people started to take notice of my work, the outcome and my purpose were laid out before me.
As an Artist, I have an extensive list of exhibitions nationally and internationally. I developed a Visual Art Collection for HIV Prevention: https://issuu.com/emilioaponte/docs/hiv_aids_counseling_prevention_cards.
I offer art workshops to decrease HIV Stigma and to help people living with HIV to overcome internal stigma while they create art in Latinx Arte https://www.facebook.com/LatinxARTEhighImpacto
I have been a Panelist for the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, an Artist invited to the Arts Talk program of the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County with my Lecture: The Path to Being heard and Being Seen: https://youtu.be/hjd0kpcZps4
I had been featured in national HIV prevention campaigns such as “Start Talking. Stop HIV,” by CDC, https://youtu.be/UHITTo0uMR0, and in my “Favorite Poem,” by Boston University and the Library of Congress. It compiles documentary videos of American citizens talking about the importance of poetry in their lives, this project is part of the Library of Congress’ permanent archive of poetry and recorded literature https://youtu.be/01Urhf71bRg.
I was named by the Sun-Sentinel as one of its 15 Latino heroes in 2017 for my work using art for community mobilization towards health promotion and HIV Awareness http://www.sun-sentinel.com/elsentinel/noticias/fl-es-emilio-aponte-20170308-story.html
Selected in 2020 by the city of West Palm Beach as one of its 15 artists in the project “Commons: 15 Artist. 15 Spaces” to design and bring to life a piece of public art for COVID-19 awareness. https://youtu.be/UHITTo0uMR0 COVIDA is my public art from this project, and you can see it at https://www.facebook.com/COVIDAbyAponteSierra/
In October 2021 I was named one of the five of Florida’s most interesting, and best, artistic talents by the Upscale Living Magazine. https://www.upscalelivingmag.com/five-of-floridas-best-artistic-talents/?fbclid=IwAR0il64P5BS1kBejrOZ06c2E1LjSSW3kzloRtvQT-FBEXOqXSJJl57Thvv8
Now in 2022, I was selected by the Learning It Together Artist Cohort of the Gilead COMPASS Initiative Faith Coordinating Center at Wake Forest University School of Divinity. I am one of the fourth fiscally-sponsored artists that will be trained in faith and HIV as it relates to the creation of varying art projects. My project: “Debajo de mi Piel/Under my Skin” A project that uses art for HIV-Stigma reduction regardless of gender identity and behaviors in three Faith communities of South Florida. Do you like to have a Free New Sculpture in your Church by Apontesierra? Fill out this survey: https://tinyurl.com/FreeNewSculptureInyourChurch.
The project is from July 2022 to June 30, 2023. https://divinity.wfu.edu/2022/07/faith-coordinating-center-awards-1000000-to-address-hiv-in-the-south/
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
Being an artist gave me so much rewarding moments and feelings. For me, the two most rewarding aspects of being an artist are: 1) Witnessing my own growth as a creative person. I can take risks and make mistakes and it doesn’t affect anyone else and allows me to find new techniques, methods, and paths to create new pieces of art. 2) The accomplishment feeling of knowing that my art has encouraged thousands of people to become more conscious about environmental protection, health, and social issues.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
From my humble perspective, and if there is a possibility that some people are struggling to understand my journey as a creative individual, this could be because they are not asking themselves the question: What if there is no creativity?
I think that many people consider themselves non-creatives because they haven’t understood yet that without creativity, we would end the intrinsic process to be human being who does whatever it takes to survive.
Without creativity, we would have no innovation and entertainment would be unexciting and boring. I think that being creative is not just having the skills and imagination to create art. Being creative is having the spark to survive.
My journey as a creative individual has been a survival journey. A journey where a human being uses creativity to fit in the heterosexual white supremacist macho society. A non-stop journey applying creative ways to help those who refuse to understand that each human being has the right to grow and to express themselves using their favorite colors of the rainbow.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://artbyemilioapontesierra.com/portfolio/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eapontesierra/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArtbyEmilioAponteSierra
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilioaponte/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/EmilioAponte
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/EmilioAponteSierra
- Other: https://www.facebook.com/DebajoDeMiPiel.UnderMySkin https://www.facebook.com/COVIDAbyAponteSierra
Image Credits
Emilio Apontesierraparetti