We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Yesenia Chayote. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Yesenia below.
Yesenia, appreciate you joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
I have been pursuing art most of my life, genuinely. Growing up in poverty and in environments where being creative was necessary as a means of surviving has influenced my personal creativity the most. My artistic abilities first came about in small ways – it would be a fun modification to a shirt here, painting on the side of a wall there, and eventually I was finding every way I could to incorporate my artistic abilities into most of my projects. I took a few semesters of art classes in college but had a different major, and wasn’t given the opportunity to make a career out of it until post college. COVID-19 and the shutdown offered the opportunity to start thinking about what I wanted going forward with my life and finances, and I have strived to produce and perform ever since. I realized that I wanted to spend as much time as I could pursuing my artistic ability. In March 2023 will be my two year anniversary of being an artist full time, and it’s positively changed my life.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I started my work in the Haunt industry, actually. As a teenager I worked at a Haunted House where I did a majority of some of my original costume work. I was approached by a sponsor while there and asked if I wanted to sub in for one of the SFX artists the next night, and it was a hit. I painted roughly ten or so people my first night, and it became a staple from then on. Shortly after my mind took me to other places than SFX. I took a break for a few years to pursue traditional education, and after the pandemic found myself looking towards my creative outlet. A majority of my background began in the Drag Scene, and now I’ve been pursuing the professional vanity industry for almost two years. I love horror, fashion, burlesque, vintage. I am a performer through and through. Now that COVID is lifted and I have made my networking connections in the vanity industry, I would love to begin showcasing my original clothing designs as well as my passion for fire performance and dance!
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding feeling for me as an artist has to be when I get to enjoy the final product and share it with others. I adore when I get questions about the products I used, or requests for tutorials because that type of interaction shows me that my art is inspiring others, or at least driving them to seek the creative process. In my school aged personal experience, creativity was not treated like an option for all students, just the ones that were pushed to monetize their talent. I think it is important that all people invest themselves in at least one creative hobby or endeavor regardless of your interests. Some of the most interesting pieces of art that I have ever seen have been works by those who have alternative backgrounds and merged their creativity with their work. I’ve seen welders and engineers make incredible multimedia sculptures, dentists create gorgeous tooth designs ornate with gemstones, and that is the beauty of art in every industry. Art has been slowly dying due to the lack of appreciation for the importance of artists in industries like accounting, advertising, engineering, ect. The intersectionality of art is necessary to the evolution of culture.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
Frankenstein: The modern Prometheus by ary Shelley is one of the greatest works of American fiction around the human experience. She is the original author of American gothic tales, and this one in particular has been the basis for most stories of the misunderstood. Far too many people thoroughly believe Frankenstein is the monster, when that is not the case. The monster is so highly misunderstood to the point that he remains nameless by his own creator, only to be rejected by every person he meets until he’s pushed to murder. It was a reflection of the idea of humanity, and was deeply personal to the author as she had suffered a miscarriage the summer before, and pulled that tragedy in her life towards the story of Viktor and his choice of forcing inhumanity by unnatural eans. One of the most important lessons to take from this piece of literature was that the human experience in every single person is shaped by the instances that build them. Fully knowing someone’s background is not entirely necessary to understand and respect them, it is the nature of each person that makes them special. We need to learn, grow, support, and help each other through the human experience and that isn’t enforced enough.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sapphicnouveau/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100086555323817
- Other: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100073330577551
https://www.tiktok.com/@viothorn?lang=en
Image Credits
Alicia Stewart / Alicia Stewart Photography (FB) https://www.facebook.com/aliciastewartphotos / https://www.instagram.com/aliciastewartphotography/ Brett Ashworth / https://www.instagram.com/wild.fox.creations/ Cap2Red Studios / https://www.facebook.com/Cap2redstudio (FB) / https://www.instagram.com/cap2redstudio/ Alyssa Flake / https://www.instagram.com/flake.fotos/