Meet Shane Lee Amaro Berrios | Artist and Fabricator.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Shane Lee Amaro Berrios and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Shane Lee, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
One thing that I’m fortunate to witness early on in my life was seeing others juggle around both family, work and their creativity is was something I had quickly gotten used to. Seeing family friends set up for a fashion gallery right after work happens to be one of my earliest memories. I witness the balance it takes to be a creative person. and while i didn’t realize it til i got much older I’m beginning to understand the benefits of this balance. In life there will be difficult choices, choices that are aimed to keep certain people happy. It’s important to balance the choices and opportunity’s in life to keep not only others at peace but to keep the inner peace with one self. A person can’t do everything and be everywhere all at once, Its easy to lose focus on what matters. Balancing life isn’t always easy but its worth the effort seeing yourself accomplish things one seemed impossible.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Growing up I was always interested in drawing but also working with my hands. While being brought up by two separated parents in never easy i was given the privilege of seeing two different lives. On my mothers side she had grown up with family friends that were musicians and fashion designers I got to take a peak into the life of an artist who also worked a day Job. With my fathers family i got to learn to fabricate, use tools, and learn to use my creativity on a larger more physical scale Working with ones hands gives a person a scale and skill of being able to understand the world of art more clearly.Using what I learned from my past experiences get to learn the phrase ” make it happen”. a Term I’ve learned when it comes got my artwork. Now with focusing on 3D modeling and printing to help create art it’s interesting to learn a new skill and also see the future applications of it. not just just making mask or sculptures I can see myself waking stencils or possibly find way to make tools that can be useful in my other mediums.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
The Thing that makes Aurora special is the downtown area. In between River and IL25 is where I enjoy spending my time. Full of many great local restaurants and shops such as Society 57 or Craft Urban are some of my favorite sites to eat and enjoy the nightlife. So many gather on S Stolp Ave for their creative spaces Wether its for performance arts or its local Friday First nights. I enjoy spending time at the Artisan Lofts Gallery ran by its Curator Shelby Anderson who host art showcases that bring many local artist with such passion for art its hard not to get passionate yourself.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Where I was in my art a year ago, my inspiration for art was at my all time lowest. Before and even during the Pandemic I was struggling with my own mental health and my motivation for art was almost completely gone. In the past year of getting my footing here In Aurora i was able to meet so many wonderful artist and makers of all kinds. Most importantly Im grateful to have met Johnny “Talento” Felix and Shelby Anderson. These two wonderful people have made me more excited to be a creative person life i haven’t felt in years. Seeing the work they have accomplished and working amongst brings inspiration to the future of what we will make happen.

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Image Credits
Shelby Anderson