Today we’d like to introduce you to Dianne Preciado.
Dianne, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Well, currently, I’m a college student (probably will be for a while), I’m an art student trying to one day become a licensed art therapist. However, it took me a while to come to realization that I wanted and needed to find a career that could allow me to help others in my community through what I love most: creative expression. I’ve learned that art is just another form of communication that has existed for hundreds of years within many different cultures, therefore why not use this communication for a higher good?
When I was in high school, I took a photography class and instantly fell in love with the idea of visual storytelling. I learned about cameras, famous photographers and the process of developing photos in a dark room. Something about the rawness and mystery of film specifically intrigued. Documenting moments, places and people soon become my hobby. Over the years, this hobby has allowed me to expand my skills by documenting in the form of writing and adding a narrative to my art, which has resulted in projects such as El Jardín Journal which I want to keep growing and evolving.
Today, I’m still growing and evolving but I know that I’m on the right path and I’ve been getting more comfortable with using my voice to empower others in my community.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It’s funny, I work on campus at my college and I recently had the chance to talk to a few high school classes about my experience as a student which part of it was sharing the struggles that came along with it. Being young and fresh out of high school, the world seems so big, too big, and so it can be scary and confusing. I think that was the struggle I experienced right away, not knowing of all the resources and people out there who want to help, something I quickly realized was valuable things that have helped me today. One of the biggest problems I see with youth in my community is that they feel like they’re alone, don’t have anyone to look up to and who can relate to them. To be honest, they just want to feel like someone understands them and telling them that there is at least one person who is willing to help. This is why I went back to school, and why I want to keep making art. As a Chicana, Mexicana, Latina, I want other young people to know that there are people who understand them and want to see them thrive.
I think if there’s any piece of advice I would give to the youth, is to ask questions to things they don’t understand and asking for help is important; we can do a lot of things alone but sometimes it feels really good to have someone there.
Please tell us about El Jardín Journal.
Right now, I mostly focus on documentary style photography and finding different ways to story tell. With photography, I’ve done photo shoots ranging from engagement, maternity, graduation. Last year was big for me as I was able to have my first solo exhibition as well as had the awesome opportunity to photograph Tierra Caliente Academy of Art’s Ballet Folklorico performance at California Center for the Arts.
Currently, I’d like to invest more time into a project called “El Jardín Journal” which translates to “The Garden” in English. The idea of this project stemmed from wanting to capture my community in action while emphasizing creative expression. I’m in the beginning stages, however, while at school, I’ve had time to brainstorm ways of developing this project, so I’m excited to share more content soon. 🙂
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Hmm, that’s hard. I feel like I definitely haven’t reached all my goals or “highest point” just yet, but I’m determined to get there. One thing that I’m getting more comfortable with right now and wish I had worked on earlier was my communication skills and confidence. I’m an introvert by nature but growing up, I was always so shy and never wanted to ask for help, which I think hindered my progress in some ways. If I could go back, I’d definitely want to be more confident of my skills and abilities because I think that would’ve open more doors for me in terms of network and such.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://eljardinjournal.wixsite.com/website
- Email: eljardinjournal@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eljardinjournal/
Image Credit:
Photos taken by Dianne Preciado, 35mm film
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