We recently connected with Giovanna Garcia Cortes and have shared our conversation below.
Giovanna, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
To do what I do now, being a Scenic Artist, was something I was able to achieve by carrying and developing skills from one unforeseen opportunity to the next. In a way it felt like carrying a bag of goods, presenting, sharing, and refining them as I went along my artistic journey. I have an artistic background of traditional painting drawing, introduced with my upbringing with an artist as a father, and my childhood resilience of making sure I had an art class with every academic year that passed by. With my completion of high school, I knew I couldn’t let art slip out of my hands.
With that came my decision of pursuing art as a profession, and being an Orlando local, I chose UCF to be my university of choice to pursue a BA in Visual Arts! I saw the domino effect of my gained skills while attending, with my initial portfolio tucked under my arm, it opened the door to an academic experience I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world. I had the opportunity to work with a powerhouse of innovative teammates, working alongside them late nights on various projects which resulted in the development of a theme park attraction for Universal Creative. In between studio classes I would scooter across campus to assist leading and instructing a team of fellow art interns on an airbrush paint process for customizing bionic arms for children at a non-profit called Limbitless Solutions. That student internship experience cultivated skills of leadership, adaptability, collaboration, and a network of supportive individuals turn friends which continue to support and inspire me to this day
This connection and the graduation gift of a kit of leather shoe paints, allowed me to explore custom shoes as a creative outlet and small business throughout the 2020 lockdown, this inadvertently created a shoe section in my art portfolio and landed me a job at a local shoe cobblery where I continued to develop my airbrush and painting skills on shoes for performers at local theme parks. I honed those skills with the dream of becoming a scenic artist, and next thing I knew the opportunity showed up at my door sooner than expected and I was ready to give it all I got.
Giovanna, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Overall, my artistic techniques over the years went from traditional painting and drawing, to design, story development, airbrushing, shoe painting, and to an ever evolving skillset found within the Scenic Art industry where I find myself today. I discovered the underlying drive that fueled the growth of these skills was not much through obstacles, but rather, challenges. I quickly learned that every day is a chance to learn something new, and that I will continually need to adapt, improvise, and overcome to move forward. I established my career focus on the quote, “I can do things you cannot do, you can do things I cannot do, together we can make great things.” This mentality allows a strong sense of team and desire for innovation both inwardly and outwardly that allows you to grow as an artist and individual, this can be contagious in every new environment you step in whether that is at your workplace, classroom, or even your home. Taking what I learned with a heart ready to be refined and sharing that with others has been an essential key to get to where I am at a rate I couldn’t have imagined trying to achieve on my own.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
The most notable moment my resilience was tested was when I, along with the rest of the world, was thrown in the insecurity of the 2020 lockdowns. I was freshly graduated with my bachelors in art in December 2019, ready to pursue a job in the scenic art world. I considered completing one more semester to get a Bachelor’s of Fine Art, but I felt complete with the experience I have received and was ready to take on the art world.
December passed with me having over 30 applications waiting for responses, an account in what I felt was every major job search website possible, a polished and revised LinkedIn, and a whole lot of insecurity of the future. I graciously had received commissions for custom shoes, as I received my first request from a fellow graduating student at the time, and sharing my work online provided me a few more clients as the months continued to roll by with no end in sight.
When I heard of the theme park industry being shut down I was at a loss of what to pursue, I kept submitting my applications to dated theme park postings, sometimes multiple submissions to the same position across various sites to ensure I was being seen. I began to get in a dark head space, I felt like such an accomplished person during my academic journey, being given support from all sides for my work, accomplishing great projects with others, and I felt all my potential was stolen, I feared being a failure, my identity was becoming intertwined with my creativity and productivity. Trying to find that drive that I fed for years simply to continue applying for jobs and endure every passing groundhog day was taking a toll on me. I managed to get an interview to be a paint mixer at a paint store almost an hour away, it wasn’t what my body of work reflected, but I was desperate to continue to grow my skillset. After a successful interview, time passed as the country began to question normality, after over a month of uncertainty the job offer was no longer available. I passed through the frustrations of things out of our control and continued my search. I began to consider trade schools, perhaps I would become an automotive painter, work as a fiberglass tech, take on powder coating? There had to be something out there I can do.
I looked at old online scenic artist postings and would read the long list of requirements and make a plan to acquire the skills to lock in the job. I reached out to my prior boss at Limbitless Solutions for assistance, keeping that network close to my side was what led me to a job after months of unemployment. I will forever be grateful for that connection. The opportunity came at the perfect time, just as I was getting anxious with my lack of income and reliance on my family. But yet I knew my job needed to be creative, I had to have art be my day to day, it is part of who I am at this point.
I joined the new job at a local cobblery which specializes in costume shoes for theme park performers, I took it as another experience with a great team and a great place to continue developing my skill in airbrush and being able to have some of my work walk around the parks, metaphorically and literally of course, even if it’s never given a second glimpse. It all made it worthwhile to me. I knew or at least was devoted to the idea of using that experience to open the next door into the scenic world, however that may be and whenever the theme park world resumed and recovered.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The reward of making someone smile with my art just fills me with such joy. Getting to speak with my clients and talk along with them to the point where they see their vision unfold in front of them is a magical moment. Having the opportunity to speak with art directors and being able to communicate this art language we share and seeing eye to eye with them and letting them know they are being heard and respected is such a beautiful feeling as well. Having people from all sorts of backgrounds experience my work in a park, zoo, aquarium, etc., without them knowing of the work or hands behind it and simply having them be immersed in the experience is such a dream. It’s special moments in time where I can see a glimmer of excitement light up the viewers eyes.
These moments collectively are one of the many rewards I have felt and experienced with being an artist, I long for giving the public the same feelings I received when being immersed in a themed area, helping them create a work of art for a cherished one, connecting with a piece of art for the first time, watching them go through the mutual feelings of excitement and curiosity and happiness. With all this, it’s the reward of sharing a genuine connection with my clients and hopefully having a small part in their motivation to pursue their dreams just as many others have done for me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.giogarciaarts.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gio.creates/?hl=en
- Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/giogarciaarts
Image Credits
AVPhotography, Angelo Vega Limbitless Solutions Inc.