We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Pablo Cano. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Pablo below.
Pablo, appreciate you joining us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?
I was blessed with a very creative family. My Father was a musician and Mother is still creating art at 9o. Early on my parents and my big sister observed I loved drawing and gave me lots of encouragement.
As I grew older my mom enrolled me in a local visual art academy owned by two artists Barbara Neijna and
Roberto Martinez. Every Saturday I went to learn about sculpture and drawing, the time I was 12 years old.
My father was friends with a very talented sculptor in Miami Tony Lopez. My dad introduced us and Tony agreed
to mentor me and show me the techniques of portrait sculpture and making plaster molds. I loved every minute.
All this classical training helped me tremendously. I continued to work and create figure sculptures and drawings that were very influenced by the Mexican Artist Zuñiga. In 1974 my parents Pablo and Margarita took me on a trip to Mexico City where I saw the actual bronze sculptures by Zuñiga.
My Mother worked as a librarian and brought home beautiful books of Spanish and Russian Icons. I loved these images of Saints and Madonna’s I would copy my favorites like St. George and the Dragon adding cross bows and cannons to vanquish the evil dragon. Parents have an awesome power to guide a child and encourage their talents. My parents did everything they could do to enrich my knowledge of art the different techniques early on.
My sister Isabel also impacted my life as an artist by motivating me and encouraging me to follow my dream to become and artist. She simply said to me, “Pablo you are an Artist” and I listened.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
What I like most about this question is ” What you think sets you apart from others”. This takes a lifetime of slowly going through a personal very intimate evolution.
For me, the challenge of creating a master’s thesis was a big breakthrough. I knew I was on the right track
when the chairman of the art department stormed out of my studio and slammed the door. I knew
that something set me apart from all the other artists in the program.
I wanted to create a marionette performance that integrated all the arts. After two years I was able to complete the project. I almost was kicked out of the master’s Painting Program but, in the end the Chairman of the art dept and I found common ground. This time for me was the most intellectually challenging of my life.
I had to convince someone that my ideas for painting were valid. I think the main thing I want people to know about me is that I could never follow directions. I followed the beat of my own drum.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
In a profound way being an artist is itself a reward. I always feel like I beat the system. Nonconformity, resourcefulness and thinking outside the box is very gratifying. “Resourcefulness is the mother of invention”. Working as a performance artist has its pros and cons.
For example: Artists are expected to exhibit their work at no cost in a gallery show, as a performing artist, each performance is paid in full at the end of the show. As an added bonus the marionettes sold are a major source of my income.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
My goal or mission is to educate and inspire adults of all ages. Researching, I concluded that Marionette Theater was the answer to achieving my mission. The power of puppetry is immense and is credited to begin modern art.
I knew this was my artistic path. Been a journey of 40 years and counting.
Contact Info:
- Facebook: The Cricket Theater Artist Pablo Cano
Image Credits
Liam Crotty Photographer