Meet Leo

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Leo. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Leo below.

Hi Leo, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?

My self-esteem and confidence come from embracing change and discomfort. I was very shy as a kid, but I always enjoyed challenges, and consistent exposure made a huge difference for me. As a teen I was part of a mariachi group and later in a Mexican musical group. At sixteen, I asked an event photographer to be his assistant and not long after that he had me covering events on my own. These early experiences taught me the importance of pursuing my interest despite the fears, and also shaped the way I approach my aspirations today. For me, the positive and negative sides of taking risks are equally important. On one hand, moments that validate you matter; for me, those have been professional, academic, and artistic achievements. On the other hand, I’ve been rejected, I’ve made mistakes, I’ve felt embarrassed. However, those experiences have helped me build a thicker skin for people’s opinions and diverse communication styles, as well as taught me not to take things so personally. I think the biggest factor in building confidence is the people around you. As cliché as it sounds, it’s essential to have sincere people who love and respect the person you are — the good and the not-so-good. For me, those are my family and friends who don’t take themselves too seriously, who feel comfortable laughing with me (and at each other), who listen, and who have demonstrated that they respect and appreciate my character and unique perspectives.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I am an artist born in Oaxaca, Mexico and based in Everett, Washington. My background is primarily in photography, graphic design and communications but in recent years I have been working with found objects and materials to create mix media collages and assemblage sculptures. I don’t have formal art training or vocabulary, so it’s been an experimental process. I’ve also been doing writing exercises to reflect on what my work is about and what I envision in the future. Writing an artist statement is hard. But after a year and many different versions, I finally have one that feels right. At least for now, as I remain a work in progress. Here is what I’ve written:

“In my practice, I create intimate accounts that reflect on my experience as an Oaxacan immigrant navigating changing landscapes. I explore how materials hold memory, how landscapes reveal histories of labor and migration, and how built structures and artifacts can function as forms of portraiture. At the same time, my work centers the subtleties of the mundane and the intricate tensions between nature and human intervention. I am drawn to the coexistence of the old and the new, the ecological implications of waste and reuse, and the subtle ways construction becomes a lens for understanding the layered worlds I inhabit: family, community, class, labor, systems, and the environment.”

Art is my most fluent language of expression. It is how I make sense of my experience and the world. I am excited to continue learning, create more, and share my work with people who it resonates with.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I’d say my art practice today is informed by my lived experiences across photography, design and community. Navigating different roles within personal, professional and community contexts have given me a distinctive vantage point and have sharpened my sensitivity to people, place, and narrative, forming the foundation of the artist I was becoming long before I called myself one. My advice to any creative person is to dabble into all the interests they have, even if they seem completely foreign to one another. The insight on how everything connects will be revealed in the process.

Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?

I can’t say there’s a definitive “better,” but I’ve unintentionally gravitated toward becoming more well rounded. That approach has been valuable in every area of my life, especially in my creative practice – evidenced by a visual language that can be witnessed across disciplines and mediums spanning photography, sculpture, graphic design, websites, and video. I approach everything from the same core set of ideas, values, and vantage points, which allows my experiences to inform one another. I attribute this to my curious nature that has led me to seek layered experiences, maintain a wide range of interests, and have a deep desire to express ideas in various forms. I’m still learning to recognize all the overlaps—how everything connects—but I’m proud that my work is defined by this multidisciplinary approach. And certainly feel grateful for the experiences that have fueled my confidence in my ability to be expressive, problem-solve, and succeed in different contexts.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://leocarmona.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leocarmona/

Image Credits

All images are courtesy of Leo Carmona.