Today we’d like to introduce you to Stella Arbelaez.
Hi Stella, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I have walked a long way to be where I am today. Figuratively and literally. I was born in Cali, Colombia, and came to the United States in 1984. I grew up in Bogotá and attended an all-girls catholic school (the oldest in Colombia) called “La Enseñanza”. As a young student, the nuns helped me develop manual dexterity, reading, and diction through cross-stitching, sculpting with clay, drawing, and performing arts, which I loved. It was an academically rigorous school where I was easily considered “too energetic and distracted” to fit in but still, I always tried my best. Despite the nun’s best efforts, I did not speak a word of English when I arrived in the US, so I became part of the “bilingual program” at J.H.S 217, Robert A Van Dyke in Queens, NY. It was my 9th grade Art teacher, Mrs. McEwin, who noticed my aptitude for art and in doing so, changed my life forever. She helped me create my entry portfolio and practiced the spoken interview with me so I could enter the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School for Music and Arts in Manhattan, less than a year after my arrival to the US.
My high school years were an explosion of wonder and knowledge. Suddenly, I had the greatest museums, libraries, and performances available at my disposal! Best of all, I was surrounded by peers who were equally dedicated and serious about their work. The place fitted me like a glove, and I grew exponentially.
After high school, I continued the same mode while pursuing an AAS in Fashion Illustration and a BFA in Fine Arts Illustration at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT-SUNY). FIT delivered on its promise and provided leads for me to begin work as a freelance artist post-graduation. Still, I was set on continuing to grow my academic drawing and painting skills, so I also attended evening classes at the Art Students League of New York. Meanwhile, my alma mater was visited by Walt Disney Animation recruiters, who were attracted by our mode of training: drawing bodies in motion. I applied and was accepted to the Disney Feature Animation Internship in Orlando, Florida in 1993, being hired shortly after as a special effects animation artist. While at Disney, during downtime between movies, I auditioned for the role of “on-stage-animator” for a marketing tour of “Pocahontas”. I was the only female and one of three animation artists who traveled to 13 countries in Europe while drawing on stage, with cameras pointed at my desk and a translator by my side.
After a while, I moved to LA to get married. I worked on a few films for Warner Brothers and DreamWorks feature animation before my daughter’s birth. As she grew, I became interested in human development and pursued a degree in early childhood education. My marriage ended abruptly after 19 years, causing a great deal of emotional trauma. Suddenly, I was back in Florida and alone, becoming more reclusive and disoriented with each day that passed. In my loneliness, I developed unhealthy habits and crippling addictions to social media and the internet. I made poor decisions, dated out of desperation, and battled depression, suicidal thoughts, anxiety, guilt, and shame. In my mind, I had failed miserably at the thing I had invested the most in my life, so I had failed at life. Divorce felt like a death sentence.
After two years of self-hatred, I left my dark bedroom to kayak the chain of lakes in Winter Park. My vessel floated on the glittering water as if by magic and I surprised myself with my wonder and private laughter. For my 48th birthday, I joined a local Meet-Up group on a 4-day hike to the Appalachian Trail. With every step I took, I felt more alive. I felt the blood rush to my legs and my heart pumping to get me through the next mile. Under the blue sky, sweaty and breathing hard at the top of Blood Mountain, I laughed aloud again. I became an avid hiker, slowly building miles and gaining experience. My little dog, Boo-Boo and I hiked almost 400 miles together before I decided to thru-hike the Florida National Scenic Trail. By then, my mantra had become “Nature Heals,” a phrase I repeated to my daughter often, as she tended to her own broken heart thousands of miles away from me.
I walked the entire 1180 miles (about 1899.03 km) of the Florida National Scenic Trail in 2020 while reflecting on the person I have been, the person I am, and the person I still want to be. Walking in nature for an extended period allowed me to reconnect with myself. I realized I wanted to go back to art and share my knowledge with aspiring artists. When the pandemic started, I got a much-awaited opportunity and began working full-time as an art teacher for a local middle school. Unfortunatley, I was forced to leave my position once I entered grad school due to scheduling conflicts.
I have forgiven myself for failing at something so grand as a marriage and have re-committed myself to my artistic vision by going back to school to get my MFA in Studio Arts at UCF (University of Central Florida).
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No, it hasn’t been a smooth road at all, but I am still here.
Some of the most significant challenges I have faced have been: 1) Moving repeatedly 2) Losing both parents suddenly to acts of violence (decades apart), 3) Losing a sister to cancer 4) Divorce.
Also, I was diagnosed with ADHD fairly recently, at age 53. Knowing this fact has given me some tools to deal with challenges and forgive myself from a place of compassion and love. I know that whether I have succeeded or not, I have always done my best, full of sincerity and love in whatever I do. Not surprisingly, the challenges I have faced have been essential in making me the person I am today. For that, I am grateful.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My current work explores the relationship between nature and mental health as I have experienced it. Although I am currently concentrating on 2D media works, I am an interdisciplinary artist. I perform, draw, paint, and create representations with different media, which help me communicate my frustrations, hopes, fears, and joys. I love representing the human figure and portraiture. I am not very well known in the fine arts world yet, but my name appears in a few animated film credits, found in IMDB.
I am most proud of 3 works: 1) “The Nature Goddess” A performance art piece depicting my post-hike alter ego, who protects the forest and its creatures from human destruction. It features an original headpiece and staff design. 2) “The Broken Woman”. Mixed Media. Depicts how I felt after my divorce. 3) My largest drawing up to date, titled “To Myself I Am True”, 84″x84″. Charcoal and Pastel on paper. This work shows my evolution from feeling broken and dead inside to becoming “the Nature Goddess” after my FNST thru-hike.
As these are interpretations of my unique experiences, the work is already apart from anyone else’s. I hope to reach individuals who may find a relatable angle in my story, and remind them of the restorative power of nature. If all goes well, I will graduate with my thesis defense and an exhibition in the spring of 2025. If you have read this far, you are invited to experience my work firsthand and witness the culmination of my current effort. I hope to see you there!
What do you think about luck?
I do not consider luck to be part of the equation when work is required or when a significant life event occurs. First comes the work, then the opportunities stemming from the work created, or from the energy put into the work and radiated to the world through it. In my experience, if good things happen it is because you have prepared yourself for them to happen, either through your work, demeanor, or your treatment of others. The same applies to “bad luck”. In reality, I think bad things happen because life is unpredictable and messy. After all, life cannot be controlled. Not because one is “unlucky”.
I never imagined I would be living the life I live today. I know that everything and everyone is temporary: Emotions, living creatures, places, and circumstances. I think the only way we can increase the probability of perceived “good luck” is to put our best effort into all we do and do it sincerely while being kind to others.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sites.google.com/view/stellaarbelaez/home
- Instagram: @stellaarbelaez.art
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/arbelaezart/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stellaarbelaez/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoTnsRz4CRMv0aqjkxJu4RA
- Other: https://stellaarbelaez.blogspot.com/
Image Credits
Laine Flournoy and Stella Arbelaez
