By: Dani Nalangan

Gaby Padilla sees a future of accessible arts through cat-eye glasses.

From molding mugs from mud to molding children through the arts, SHG’s Education and Public Programs Coordinator strives to recreate the arts’ positive impact she experienced with more students in L.A. and beyond. 

As a seasoned ceramics artist Padilla’s hands know how to work, and she’s been working. Discussing her time at UC Berkeley, her experience as museum staff across California and Washington D.C., and finally back in Boyle Heights, it’s evident she knows where she’s going next. We spoke more about her journey during a meeting one day. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: What was your experience like growing up in L.A., and what you were interested in going into school?

A: I was born and raised in East Los Angeles. I grew up in a community where art wasn't as accessible compared to others. I was always interested in the visual arts and music. I remember when I was younger, I had learned about this art and music school, that's actually still based in East LA. I told my parents about it and when my parents looked into enrolling me in that school, we realized the cost of tuition was too high for us. And so, it wasn't until high school that I finally got that opportunity to take art and music classes. I went to Roosevelt High School, which is in Boyle Heights. Because I was interested in exploring art and music, and at the time, Roosevelt High School didn't really offer many art courses, and if they did, they were only for seniors. And around that time, that's when a visual and performing arts high school had just opened in downtown Los Angeles, now known as Ramon C. Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts. And so, I mentioned this to my older sister and she enrolled me at Ramon C. Cortines. 

Starting my 10th-grade year, I transferred to Ramon C. Cortines. I first started in the music academy and was interested in taking piano classes. Because it was a new high school they didn't offer music classes, and I ended up, playing in the school orchestra. It wasn't until my 11th-grade year, I was able to switch to the visual arts academy. And then that's where I was able to explore my creativity through drawing, painting, and ceramics classes. I liked drawing and painting, but it was ceramics that I enjoyed the most. I took AP Studio Art, and my entire portfolio was of my ceramic pieces. Ramon C. Cortines really pushed students to apply to art schools and didn't really include Cal States or UCs as an option. They were really gearing us to art school. And so I applied to art school. Being first-generation, school application was a whole process that was very new to me. And so I ended up applying to art school, but I didn't get in. Because I want to say at the time, ceramics wasn't really much in demand within art schools. There was very little programming around ceramics. So when I submitted my portfolio, some of the feedback that I got was, “Oh, your work is great, but we don't necessarily have a ceramic program.” And because I didn't apply to any Cal States or UCs, my only option was community college. So I ended up going to East Los Angeles Community College which is not too far from where I like. And I started taking art classes again and started exploring more. They had far more advanced classes in ceramics so that was exciting. So I enrolled and started to explore other mediums, but ceramics was my main focus. 

I then started working at the Vincent Price Art Museum, which is situated on the ELAC campus. And that was my first introduction to the art world and the behind-the-scenes of a museum. Because of my passion for making art and working with others, I gravitated toward the Education Department. From there, I was able to be a part of the first cohort of the Washington D.C. internships where I then had the opportunity to go to D.C. and intern at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery which was eye-opening—I saw the lack of diversity within museums and especially within the Education Department and Curatorial Department. Going from a much smaller museum to a larger museum, it was interesting seeing how different they were and how differently they ran. After that opportunity, it opened a lot of doors for me. I started applying to other internships and other opportunities within the non-profit and museum sector.

I got my A.A. in Studio Arts and Art History, and I then moved on to work at LACMA as an Artist Assistant. That is where I had more of an opportunity to really do hands-on art activities with youth and families. And so that's where my teaching skills came from. I worked in the Boone Children's Gallery, so I worked with multigenerational audiences. And I worked there for some time, but then I moved up north because I was finally able to transfer from ELAC and tranfered to UC Berkeley. Because UC Berkeley is a research institution. I started diving more into curatorial and even archives, which I thought was very interesting. So I spent some time up North, but then the pandemic happened, and I moved back home. A lot of the jobs and internships that I had around that period were all virtual, and it wasn't until 2021 that spaces started to open their doors again. I applied to the Getty Marrow Undergraduate Internship here at Self Help Graphics, and I was able to intern within the Education Department. I work closely with Marvella and Natalie in the planning and coordination of the youth programs, specifically S.O.Y. Artista. After that, I was able to stay on board as an Artist Assistant. And now, as a Getty Alumni and through the Getty Marrow Emerging Professionals Pilot Program I became the Art Education and Public Programs Coordinator at SHG. 

Q: You mentioned being into ceramics in high school and doing art in college. I was wondering what inspired your art, and how you chose visual arts and ceramics because you know, some kids do STEM. What attracted you to art and what further inspired your practice during that time or even now?

A:  I think that the beauty of working with clay is that you have this medium that is literally a lump of mud and it can be transformed into a work of art.  By using my hands, I can transform this into sculptural work, into something that's functional, like a plate, a bowl, or a mug. But really, it was just something about working with this material that comes from nature that I found fascinating. I just loved getting my hands dirty. I was inspired by other ceramicists and so I built off of that. I would describe my style to be very simple. For me, it was all about aesthetics and the smooth lines and the smooth textures of my work that I was really interested in exploring further. I went from hand-building to then throwing on the potter's wheel, to making molds so I enjoyed learning different techniques.

In the beginning, I was going to school to be an artist. But being an artist is very, very exhausting and hard. Because it's really about putting yourself out there and learning how to market yourself and your work. I did have the opportunity to showcase my work in a few exhibitions. I would say my greatest achievement was being in a group show at AMOCA, which is the American Museum of Ceramic Art in Pomona. Seeing my piece among other artists that I learned about in school was really cool. It was the highest point in my artistic career. At ELAC, I started taking art history classes, and I started learning about Chicano and Chicana Artists that came from East Los Angeles and that was really fascinating. Their work taught me about the history of the community I grew up in and I was curious to learn more. That experience was something I wanted to also give and share with others and so I began to think about a career in the arts. For me, the best approach to achieving that goal was through Education Departments, and working with youth. 

Although I haven't practiced ceramics in a long time, I still consider myself an artist. I am definitely looking forward to when I can practice it again and have the chance to focus more on my art.

Q: In your bio you mentioned yourself being passionate about community building, engagement and empowering youth arts education. I was wondering about that perspective and how that might inform work you do now?

A: It definitely comes from not having access to these spaces. It is unfortunate that I had to go outside of my community to find these resources. That is why I am passionate about community building, and think how important outreach is, especially in communities of color. Which is why I think it's so great that here at Self Help Graphics, we bring these resources to students at their schools. We’re out in the community, we're working with youth and empowering them through arts education, because there is still a very huge lack of arts programming within public schools. I'm excited to see what is next for Self Help Graphics, and how we grow as an organization.

Q: Do you have a specific memory working with youth or in education that stands out to you?

A: During my time at UC Berkeley, I was involved with Cal Create which is an organization supported by the Public Service Center that promotes art-based services. I wanted to gain some experience in a classroom setting so I would volunteer at the Berkley Maynard Academy once a week. I led art based activities with a new theme each week. It was a very humbling experience because just seeing the student’s faces transforming with excitement when I would walk in with my materials was heartwarming. They were just all very excited. It's very interesting seeing that switch in students. The students I worked with were either in kindergarten or first grade, so they would see all of the paint, glue and all those very fun materials that they just get very excited and they would begin to open up to you. It gave me the opportunity to teach a class and I saw it as an entryway into supporting arts education in the Oakland community. I tried to do it more during my time at UCB, but it got difficult because I also had to work and go to school and unfortunately, I couldn't volunteer any longer. I think that was a time where I actually did consider transitioning into teaching in a classroom, rather than in a museum setting. Clearly that didn't happen. But what I learned in the classroom, I was able to translate to art workshops here at SHG.

Q: Whether it be in the long term at SHG or in your career, do you have any goals or aspirations or things you want to accomplish with education or your work?

A: I think accessibility is a big deal for me. I think that's definitely one of my goals, making sure artists, upcoming artists and youth that are interested in pursuing a career in the arts have the resources to do so, and not have to go outside of their communities to look for those resources. Right now, I’m pursuing my master's degree in Arts Administration, because my goal is to become a director, specifically within education. Which is why I decided to go for my master's degree at Claremont Graduate University. I should be graduating this fall. My time at CGU went by really fast. I know I still need many, many years of experience before I get to that E.D. level. But I think I'm at a great place where I have the ability to learn from my peers, artists and the youth.

Dani Nalangan is the summer/fall Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture, Arts Journalism and PR Intern at Self Help Graphics & Art. She is a musician and illustrator studying Musicology and Communications at UCLA.