We were lucky to catch up with Nicolas Valenza recently and have shared our conversation below.

Nicolas, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

As far back as I can remeber I was always doing something creative. my mom jokes that I came out of the womb with a pencil and paper in my hands. for me art has always been a priority, it runs in my family, both my mother and grandmother are fantastic painters. I was always encouraged to create no matter the medium. i started sewing drawing painting sculpting as a small boy. I really started thinking about art as a career when i saw Jurassic Park at the age of 8 in 1993. i thought to myself “People are making life size dinosaurs for their jobs?! I want to do that!” the film industry is wat really drove me into the arts. eventually I found the school I wanted to attend at The Douglas Education Center. Tom Savini’s Special Make-up Effects Program, Tom Savini being the “Godfather of Horror Special Effects. Upon completion I received an associate degree in specialized business. this program was one of the best things I’ve done with my education, we Learned everything from stage and beauty make-up, sculpture, anatomy to prop making and animatronics. the amount of knowledge I gained from the program was invaluable to me.

Nicolas, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

After I completed the Special Make-Up Effects program geared toward the film industry, I slowly realized the career path was not for me. at the time the only work would have been to pursue something in Hollywood. I love movies to no end, and I have absolutely no regrets attending that program. Instead of moving I started looking for work in the tri-state area, being I’m from central New Jersey. the school would also send me job opportunities in my preferred area and one of which is how I landed where I am to this day, The Johnson Atelier. I applied back in 2007 for a modeling position. After doing a test sculpt of a life size human head (it must not have been to their standards) I was offered a position in the finishing department, Paint and Patina. Based on my portfolio the supervisor at the time, Autin Wright, must’ve seen something in my work he liked. I never really considered myself a painter, more of a sculptor, but I was willing to build upon my limited paint knowledge. I’ve been working at the Johnson Atelier for 17 years as of April 2024. I am now the Production Lead of the finishing department. though I never really worked on “real” movies I did make my own for a time. i dabble in most things creative that one can think of. I’ve done short films of my own creation. I did a short documentary on my mom which was on TV, I shot a friend’s wedding. I thought myself Photography, videography, and how to use a sewing machine for costumes. I also had to teach myself how to edit video, this is one of the most tedious parts of making movies but personally my favorite part. Ever since I was in college, I loved the prop making aspect too, I have since been making and selling some movie prop replicas as a small side business. I make Freddy Kruger Gloves, and Chainsaw Hands from Evil Dead to name a couple. I also make Latex masks, like Halloween masks, something I did while I was still in high school. Now at the Atelier in addition to my daily work I teach a few workshops for aspiring artists, 1-part mold making, 2-part mold making, and latex mask making and hope to do more. I also currently work on figurative sculpture. I recently pushed myself to make a life size sitting female figure, this was quite the challenge for me, but enjoy the challenge, if it comes to easy, I quickly get bored. I am prosses driven, I enjoy the hard work and that makes the final product much more satisfying.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me the most rewarding aspect of an artist is the knowledge that I created something by myself, it gives me pride. That’s not to say that no one else contributed to my knowledge, I owe a lot to my family, teachers, and supervisors for guiding me and teaching me. I love making things for myself, seeing other people’s reaction to one of my creations is just the cherry on top. i think art should be personal, don’t make it for others make it for yourself, make what you love.

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?

I think the most frustrating part of being an artist, especially one that sells things regularly is the ignorance to the blood sweat and tears that goes into the process. my process is hard and long, I make the model then make a mold, then cast the piece, and finally paint the finished product. each step is a painstaking process and not cheap. I am one person making prop up to 40 prop chainsaws in a year, each chainsaw consists of 4 separate molds and each part needs chasing and painting once cast. I love doing it but when you get that a comment “why are your saws so expensive?” it can be a little discouraging at times.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.etsy.com/shop/NicksSawMart
• Instagram: @NicksSawMart
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NAValenza/
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/nicolas-valenza-0780a5160
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/@nickssaw-mart4033