Meet Vince Palacios | Artist and Ceramics Professor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Vince Palacios and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Vince, why did you pursue a creative career?
When I was in my mid twenties I had just gotten married and was unhappy with my job situation. My wife and I decided to sell everything and go backpack Europe. She asked me to take a ceramics class with her before we went. I was not that interested in ceramics and did not want to take the class, but since I would only have to be in the class for a few weeks before we left, I said yes. Within a few days of taking the class I knew art in general and ceramics in particular, was going to be my pursuit. I had always been artistic as a child and young teen but did not identify myself as an artist. Stumbling onto clay made it clear to me what I was meant to pursue. I discovered very quickly that I spoke the language of art intuitively and learned at a rapid pace all the skills needed. I fell in love with the material and found it the most fulfilling way to communicate my ideas, beliefs, and feelings. In the end we are all trying to find our voice, our purpose. That voice can be many different things to different people, but for me, a career in the arts was my way of finding a voice, finding my purpose.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I have been a professor and practicing artist for 29 plus years. Teaching and art making have always been an almost inseparable relationship. So much of what has found its way into my work, was the result of trying to find meaningful ways of teaching ideas, content, techniques to my students. There is an energy that is generated when teaching that is hard to find in a cold empty studio. It has been in this context that I came to what I do as an artist. I have a deep desire to communicate clearly, poetically and powerfully. Teaching has helped me to develop this skill. I feel strong about the poetic and intuitive way I communicate ideas by means of the abstract ceramics forms I create. It has been a long road to get to where I am, but I can see clear strong connections from the beginning until now. My greatest desire is that my sense of beauty, truth, reality, is communicated not just to be seen, but also understood. Art is after a reflection of self and art making is a way of presenting self for the world to see.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Of course we would begin by visiting some of LAs fabulous galleries but would quickly move to food. A sandwich at the Bread Lounge or dinner at Republique on La Brea. I would spend an afternoon at JF Chen Antiques with my friend Joel. It is the most iconic furniture and art site in all of LA. We would finish any given day with a trip to Laguna Beach for dinner and walk along one of the most beautiful beaches in So Cal.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
As a person of faith, My success, where I am in life, my very existence, is the result of a creator who has filled us with purpose. I also had the good fortune to have a great father who supported my creative pursuits. He taught me to think creatively and to seek meaningful activities in my life. When I began to attend art school, two faculty stood out as major shapers of my artistic way of thinking and working; Tony Marsh and Jay Kvapil . both were professors at California State University, Long Beach. Both had a powerful influence over my development as an artist. They supported and nurtured my art and teaching career. They fabulous artists and teachers in their own right and were wonderful models to follow.

Instagram: vincepalaciosart

Image Credits
All photos by me