We were lucky to catch up with Johnathon Espinoza recently and have shared our conversation below.
Johnathon, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What sort of legacy are you hoping to build. What do you think people will say about you after you are gone, what do you hope to be remembered for?
I hope the legacy I’m in the midst of constructing entails a translation of what I feel humbly in my heart, as opposed to the imperfections I utter or act. There’s nothing that I can leave behind that is greater than the source from whom I create. I hope to leave behind a foot hole in the quest for a Christlike consciousness. A path to Him. I hope that my works be awe-inspiring, divine and in tune with what my purpose is on this earth in this granted time. I wish to evoke in others a childlike sense of wonder with boundless creativity in how we perceive the world, our brothers and sisters and also ourselves.
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’m not obliged to call myself a self-disciplined artist of sorts. Rather, any credentials lie in those which have involuntarily served as pillars of light throughout my emergence as an artist. I don’t view my work as an industry or business because of the faculties in which it functions. It’s situational but I opt to mention it as my calling or preordained path which is not my place to impose it’s for any individual in particular. If my work ‘solves anything’, is purely based upon opinion. But what I feel it does is open a dialogue in oneself. A private conversation in a universal language of truth, peace, harmony and healing synchronized with the chosen person at their chosen time. I’m most proud of the relationships, real human interactions, and shared wisdom I’ve attained and what I’ve in turn felt as a result. I’m blessed to know that I have the keys to use my abilities in service to myself, especially to those whom I love and strangers alike. Although, there may be a few things that set me apart from others, I can only suffice to say that I create in a manner that is less of a technical discipline and more of an impulse of emotions. The main thing I want everyone to know is that I create with all sincerity. Also, with intentions of delivering a newfound value of positivity to humankind as a testament of my belief that we are all created equal as brothers and sisters, we have chosen to be here at this very moment, and we all serve a purpose that is revealed to us in His time.
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At times more often than I’d have liked, I’ve been told that I don’t belong in a certain place or that I didn’t need someone in which I’ve asked for assistance. I know now, many trials later that the intentions in which I received the messages were not at all ill, just imperceivable in context. Although, it made me feel sad or unhappy in that instant, I still knew undoubtably that the people gifting me the messages loved me enough to express themselves openly and were willing to be more vulnerable than even I was in my own humility. I was in part seeking refuge and comfort in recognition of those I admired instead of in my own self. And for that I will forever be indebted to giving others the benefit of the doubt when they speak or act towards me. No one man is fully capable of truly expressing themselves without some capacity of imperfection. Its only through a divine universal language that this can be achieved and leveraged according to His will. I struggle with being transparent at times and hardening my heart when I’m fixated on worldly perceptions. I often think to myself that I am underservant of my gifts and seek to cower in guilt when it is my time to share. I work for free and deem it as justified in a sacrificial scope of sorts in effort to offset my so-called advantages. But I know now that it is wrong for me not to be an example in standing up for creatives in my pioneering that feel oppressed and downtrodden by what society says we should allow. Instead, I aim to work in a manner that celebrates freedom for all creatives and inspires outlets for their passions to be transmuted in a natural state cohesive to the functioning world among us.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
The only story that attributes to my resilience is the undeniable fact that I am present. In all simplicity, I don’t have a choice in the matter. I know that I am a medium and when I am stricken to create, it may unfold in ways unbeknownst to my comprehension. It may not even be for myself, rather for someone in whom which truly deserves it. When I was younger, I would do anything for my art. Now my mantra has converted to I’ll do anything for artists. These days I just try and keep a broken heart with a contrite spirit in my endurance to the end. At the end of the day, I hope to be an example of resilience to my fellow man through this creative conquest and encourage others to exercise their faith in its full capacity with a greater purpose absent of hinderance.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.facebook.com/groups/universalartists
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/universalartistjohnmichael/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnathon23michael
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/artistjohnathonmichael/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtsytW0iOwQGbKVMmRwfl0g
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/2020universalartists/
Image Credits
Thien Nguyen, William “Austin” Barker, Nina Rosa Photography, Christopher Leslie, Zoom Photos