Meet Mark Herrera

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

Hi Mark, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
Lawn maintenance in the heat and rain of Miami-Dade County is no fun so getting an early start and working steady before the peak temperatures followed by afternoon thunderstorms was imperative. I learned this working with my dad as a teenager in his lawn service and tree trimming business. It was labor intensive work and even sometimes dangerous however I also learned that attention to detail when it came to the quality of the finished product paired with strong interpersonal skills with each client was as important as getting the job done. Sometimes we would be done and I would be waiting in the work van but my dad would be looking for anything that needed cleaning up. I the client came out to talk to him, he would gladly spend a few minutes chatting. I did not understand at the time but he was building relationships that lead to loyalty after a job well done.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am an artist who works in painting, sculpture, and multimedia. My work captures the beauty and hope inherent in the human spirit—our struggle for harmony within ourselves, our community, and our planet. Born in Queens, NY, as a first-generation American with Colombian parents and raised in Hialeah, Florida, My multifaceted lens of identities has deeply influenced my practice as an artist. My history as a worker in various blue-collar jobs, such as lawn service, construction, mechanics, and disaster relief, and current work as an enlisted member of the military and past work as pastor leaves visible traces in my choice of materials, compositions, and subject matter. With poetic combinations of ordinary objects, I center the lives of everyday people whose contributions to humanity are rarely noticed or celebrated.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Strong work ethic, humility, acknowledgement and gratitude of/for life’s many gifts from a higher power, people around us and our natural environment. Invest in yourself.

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
Limited time and energy. Plan and start producing soon after despite not having everything figured out and doubts. Wake up early, work out, eat and sleep for energy. Be thankful.

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