JCAM, Vol. 6, No. 1
Yessenia Camacho What is your professional name? My professional name is Yessenia Camacho. Where were you born and does that place still influence you? I was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and I think it influences me every day. Where do you live now and how does that place influence you? I still live in Fayetteville, I never left. Fayetteville influences me by how kind people can be. When I go out to different places, I always meet the nicest people. It makes me feel relaxed and calm knowing I do not have to have my guard up most of the time. Do you have family, friends, or fellow artists who support you in your work, life and art making and how do they make a difference in your life? Actually, my mom, her boyfriend and my brother are the biggest influencers in my art. They always have these amazing ideas for projects or concepts for me to try out. Most of my friends are artists. Whenever I am with them I always feel this need to draw or paint. We will most likely be talking about something ridiculous and I will just want draw it. We have meetings in different buildings to hang out, but most of the time we are drawing something. When and how did you start making art? I started making art when I was very small but I never made it for myself. I made drawings for others because it made them happy. I sadly was a copy artist who used someone else’s art because I did not like whatever I made, since I thought I had no talent. When I got in high school, my art teacher gave me a book about ZentnaglesŽ and told me that he thought I would enjoy trying them. That is when art started becoming more potent in my life. People really liked my art pieces and that gave me more courage to pursue art, and to keep practicing. The rest is history. Can you describe the time when you first realized that creating was something you absolutely had to do?
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