Ismael Valentin

Interview

Transcript

00:00 Victoria Bartolotto 

Hello everybody! My name is Victoria, and we are talking with Ismael Valentin, a professional creative working within and from South Carolina. As we get started, can you tell us a little bit about your current career and where you’re from?  

00:16 Ismael Valentin 

Sure. So, my heritage is from Puerto Rico. Tyrannal Roots. That’s native to Puerto Rico. Born and raised in Farmingham, Massachusetts. And, went to school in, Chicopee and Springfield, Massachusetts. 

What would you like me to get into? How I got into my art?  

00:52 Victoria Bartolotto 

Before we do that, can you talk a little bit about where in South Carolina that you’re from?  

01:00 Ismael Valentin 

Sure, we’re at the Wild Wings plantation and golf course in South Carolina.  

01:09 Victoria Bartolotto 

Okay. Before we go into the nitty-gritty details of your profession, we have the “One Career Sixty Seconds” portion of our interview, where you give an elevator style pitch. If you’re ready to go, I can set a timer, and we can start.  

Okay. Alright. Ready? Set. Go.  

01:36 Ismael Valentin 

Basically, I went to a store, and they asked me to, sign up for a raffle. I must have been eight years old.  They turned around, and I said “sure.” So, I signed up for the raffle. They called me a week later, saying I won. They gave me an easel with all art products and whatnot.  

I just had it lying in the corner of my room, not knowing what to do with it. My cousin comes over a week later, and he’s like, “Oh, you know how to draw? You’ve been drawing? Oh, I’m a better drawer than you.” I said, “Word? Let’s go.” Ever since then, I’ve been trying to find the best outlet to express myself.  

02:29 Victoria Bartolotto 

What kind of mediums do you work with?  

02:34 Ismael Valentin 

Acrylic paintings. I do glass blowing, and I do bronze work. It’s called the Lost Work of Wax.  I sculpt in wax, and then I cast the bronze. I also work in stone. I sculpt stone.  

I do a little bit of welding. I’m no professional at welding, but I can at least weld my form and then build up on it.  

03:11 Victoria Bartolotto 

Wow, that’s a lot of different things! Jack of all trades.  

03:14 Ismael Valentin 

Yeah. Yeah, I have touched on a lot, a lot of things, trying to find the best way to express myself and my vision as an artist.  

03:27 Victoria Bartolotto  

Yeah, for sure. With being located in South Carolina, is there anything in particular that the state or your particular neighborhood or region brings to your creative work? Does anything about South Carolina have an influence on you?  

03:42 Ismael Valentin 

Yeah, so there’s something called the American College. They have a course there where they do a lot of stonework. I find that to be very attractive, and what got me out here to begin with. 

04:04 Victoria Bartolotto 

Was there a defining moment in your creative career that had an impact on your journey? I know from the form that you filled out, you mentioned that you had an artist residency in Italy. Was there anything particularly, maybe in Italy or in the United States, that kind of have an impact on you?  

04:24 Ismael Valentin  

Oh yeah. So, Italy is the reason why I got into stonework. I went out there and did a residency. I did a marble ram’s head. I just found that to be the best way that I could express myself in art. That’s eventually what caused me to move out here. It was because the college out here that does all the stonework. So, I can continue working on that.  Unfortunately, where I live, my neighbors wouldn’t necessarily like me working on stone. 

05:12 Victoria Bartolotto 

I can imagine it is very loud.  

05:14 Ismael Valentin 

Yeah, it is. It can get there. So, it actually gives me a perfect workplace. To be able to have space to do my stuff.  

05:25 Victoria Bartolotto 

Is there a particular kind of stone or material that you prefer working with over others?  

05:32 Ismael Valentin  

Not that I have found. I like dabbling in all of it. One thing that I have found a caveat to that is marble. Marble is kind of like granite. It’s kind of a little bit harder to work with. It’s a lot harder to work with, actually. The soft stones are more my go-to. Just because I can get the form faster and it’s easier to work with. It’s not as hard.  

06:16 Victoria Bartolotto 

Yeah. Was there a particular project, maybe the Ram’s head that you mentioned before, is there a particular project that you have done that really showcased your creative abilities in a way that it never had before? Was there anything that really spoke to you and is a proud moment of your career?  

06:38 Ismael Valentin 

Yeah, so I did a bronze ballerina foot. I feel like that was really my standout moment where I was like, “Oh wow, I could actually seriously get into this.” I could also, how you say, have this as an actual career. I just got so many compliments from it. I got so many praises for it, and it was literally my first piece that I did for sculpting. Since then, I haven’t stopped my toes. I haven’t dropped my toes, I should say. 

07:25 Victoria Bartolotto 

Yeah. Before entering stonework and working with stone, did you have any fears about having that being your profession? Was there anything that might have held you back from pursuing it?  

10:40 Ismael Valentin 

Definitely. There’s that stigma where the artist is a starving artist. So, everyone was always pushing on me, saying, “Oh artists, you don’t really make any money off of it.” 

I feel like once you find certain people that love your work, they kind of stick with you. They follow you. I actually found that to be a stigma that really shouldn’t be stuck to us artists.  

11:19 Victoria Bartolotto 

I recently graduated from Coastal. I got my degree in English because I want to be an author, and I’ve heard that so many times. when people say, “Oh, well, writers don’t make any money. Artists don’t make any money. Why don’t you pick something else?” But it’s what you love, and it’s your passion. It’s hard to just tell some people that, “no, I want to follow my passion.”  

 Do you have any advice for young adults or students who maybe want to get into stonework, about things that they should know, or any skills that they should practice before getting into it? 

12:03 Ismael Valentin 

If anything, you definitely want to know how to do anatomy. Depending on if you want to do human figures. If you wanted to go abstract, then I guess you don’t really need to. Just dive right in. Keep an open mind and keep an open eye. Sorry, keep an open mind. Yeah.  

 So, by going to Italy, I learned how the old-timers used to do it. By hand and chisel, and I definitely would not suggest anyone doing it that way. That is grueling at best. This is very tiring.  

13:10 Victoria Bartolotto 

Yeah, I can imagine.  

13:13 Ismael Valentin 

If you can definitely get an air hammer. Get some air tools, that definitely would make it easier on you.  The chisel, you are eventually going to have to work with the hammer and chisel, especially when you start getting into those fine details. Try to be open to all of it.