(light music) - This week on "The A List," I sit down with a creator who has found meaning and community through his art.

- It kinda like reassure me that I was on the right path when I chose to do art.

And that looking at my childhood, especially my bringing up, my parents' sacrifice was paying off, and that they invested in me.

They believed in me.

Like none of them told me, "You're doing art?

"Why don't you pursue a different career "that maybe monetary wise bring us money "because art might not."

They were like, "If you're gonna do it, do it.

"But promise me that you're gonna do it to your 100%.

"You're not gonna quit.

"You're just gonna go for it."

And I took that advice to heart and haven't given up.

- Join me as I talk with artist and sculptor, Alex Paul Loza.

Coming up next on "The A List."

(upbeat music) (upbeat music) Alex Paul Loza has garnered the attention of art enthusiasts around the world with his impressive sculptures, murals, and portraits, and residents of Chattanooga can see his work in public spaces throughout our community.

He sculpted figures as wide ranging as Thaddeus Stevens, the father of the 14th Amendment, to local icons like Bessie Smith, Emma Wheeler, and even a certain snack cake sweetheart.

But whether he's creating pieces for the little Debbie Park or the renowned Gettysburg monument collection, Alex Paul infuses his work with story and emotion.

I had the chance to visit Alex Paul at his studio where he brings his creations to life.

Alex Paul, welcome to "The A List."

- Oh, thank you, Alison.

- And I'm excited to be in your studio.

- Well, welcome, these where the magic happens.

- I was just gonna say.

It feels like magic and it feels like you have accomplished a lot, even in this small space and even in your short life.

And I wanna go back to your roots.

You grew up in Peru.

- [Alex] Yes.

- Tell me about your childhood.

- Well, my grandparents were very creative.

Like my grandfather liked to build stuff out of anything like wood.

I remember one time that he was in the hospital doing a surgery and he was using all the IV tubes and all that to create little airplanes or bicycles or little cars.

They're like, "Oh, here, I made this for you."

So even there, he was just trying to look at all these supplies and see what he can turn it into.

And my grandmother the same.

She like into like sewing.

I remember we used to go to the stores and there was like a stuff animal.

She'll look at it and say, "I can make this for you."

And we'll go home.

Maybe within a week, she already created the whole pattern, got the fabrics and made me the stuffed animal.

So it was a very encouragement environment.

The same as my mom, she used to do this.

I have to confess.

She used to do my art homework in elementary school.

- For you?

- [Alex] Yes.

(both laughing) - That is shocking.

Was she an artist?

- No.

(both laughing) And I didn't like drawing that much when I was younger.

- Okay.

- So I'll be like, oh.

In Korean history classes, they used to have us draw like a portrait of the hero that we were talking about.

And I'll be like, "You do the drawing.

"I can just do the whole reading part "and answering the questions."

So she would do that for me.

- So when did you figure out you did have a pension for art or a love for art?

- When I moved to the States, I was about 11 years old.

And because I mostly spoke Spanish, I knew a little bit of English but not as much, I would communicate with drawings.

And then a funny point is that I was only exceeding art classes.

Because on the other ones, because of the language barrier, I wasn't doing as good as before, right?

But art was my place where I can be me, But art was my place where I can be me, communicate in a language where anybody could understand.

And I think that's when I started connecting and seeing the value of art and that there was more than just drawing, that there was a communication skill.

- So I mean, were you technically communicating with people, like literally like your friends or your teachers, you would draw things out if they couldn't understand you?

- Yes.

- That's unbelievable.

Do you remember a time where there was a huge language barrier and you were able to draw something specifically?

- Yes, with my reading teacher (laughs).

She asked me to read and I couldn't.

So I was understanding what she was saying, but for some reason, I didn't know how to say.

I can't read some of these words.

So I drew a face with an X in the mouth and saying no (both laughing).

And she's like, "Can't read it?"

I'm like, "Yeah, exactly."

I can't, so yeah.

- And when did you decide, okay, art is a universal way to communicate, but I also think I'm pretty good at it.

Was there someone in your life who encouraged you and said, "Alex Paul, this is what you're meant to do."

- It was my high school art teacher.

She would give me supplies to take home during the weekend.

She said, "Here, play with it "and if you don't know how to use it, "you explore and then bring your creation on Monday.

"I will review it and I'll tell you "what is it that you did good, "what is it you need more help."

So she was very encouraging.

And also, sometimes some of the class projects, she would send them into competitions in the area.

After the weekend, I'll come to school and she's like, "Oh look, you won first place.

"You won second place."

And I was like, "I didn't even apply for it."

She said, "No, I did it for you."

So she really encouraged me.

And that's something that she told me at the end.

Towards my almost graduation day she said, "You should consider art as something to do "if you don't have another thing "that you want to pursue as a career."

And I gave it a shot and said, "Well, let's see how that goes."

- So from that moment on, did you know that that was your focus, that you would be an artist?

Or did you think about doing art as a side companion to whatever you would do for a living?

- Yeah, well, I registered.

For my major, I was going to be like a youth pastor or youth counselor and art was going to be my minor 'cause I was like, maybe I can do my own designs or little drawings for something.

And it wasn't until I got to university and I met an art professor where I really saw his passion on how he really love what he was doing.

And I connected with him right away and I was like, "You know what?

"Maybe art is my calling."

'Cause I did like the part of working with the youth, but I felt like I really enjoy more the art piece.

- Well, and then I know there's an intersection of your love of art and education or working with youth.

You actually worked in an elementary school.

- Yes.

- How long did you do that for?

- For 10 years.

And then when I moved here, I also worked at a school here in Cleveland and I taught first, second year students.

Well, prior to that, when we just moved to Chattanooga, I was teaching art classes to kids.

So I was like, this doing really interwoven really well.

- Why is that important to you though?

Why is that dedication to your art but through the eyes of youth so fulfilling?

- I think it's because that's what I experienced when I moved to the States that somebody saw me and found my potential and explore it and helped me.

And I look for it and I was able to find it and I feel like I should pay for it that way.

Who knows, maybe the next big artist in the coming decades is here and I'll be able to contribute to that, their bringing up, yeah.

- Do you remember the very first piece of art you ever sold?

- Yes, actually, it was to pay my rent, yeah.

- How old were you?

- Well, like that to sell sell?

Yeah, I was about 19.

- Wow.

- Yeah, and that's when I was in art school.

- Okay.

- And I was renting a small room.

And that month, I used all my money for art supplies for the school, so I couldn't afford to pay my rent.

And I spoke to Atlanta.

I said, "If I give you a painting, "do you think you'll cover some rent?"

And he said, "Well, how much is it, right?"

And I said, "Well, it can be like "about two or three months of rent."

He said, "Okay, well then, "you don't have to pay rent for three months."

I'm like, "Okay."

So I kinda like trade off, yeah.

- For Alex Paul, that early affirmation fortified a belief that his art could resonate with prospective clients, collectors, and gallerists, and that his passion could blossom into a successful career.

But though his business has grown over the years, one thing has remained constant, his openness to exploring different styles, subjects, and media.

(upbeat music) So how did you decide what to focus on because you are so extraordinary in terms of the breadth of what you do.

You're a visual artist, you're a muralist, you're a sculptor.

We're even surrounded by so many different mediums in this own garage that are by your work of hand, by your handy work.

How did you figure out which medium you wanted to pursue?

I guess you haven't had to decide which, you pursue them all.

- Well, something that I have learned is that I like to transition from one medium to the other just because one strengthens the other.

And when I take a break from one to focus on another one that probably needs some improvement or I need to like, I haven't pay attention to it as much, then once I go back, let's say now that I'm doing sculpting, when I go back to painting, I know my paintings now be stronger than before just because sculpting have kinda like gave me some of those tools or understanding that probably I was lacking before.

So I see them as one is helping the other one.

- Well, and I know you talk a lot about being a narrative artist that there's a story in all of your pieces.

Why is that so important to you?

- I feel like we all have a story, an interesting stories that we need to share and our stories are probably going to inspire someone else.

And that's what I like to do with my art.

Like somebody's going to see it and connect with it and maybe even find themselves in that piece and it will resonate with them, and yeah.

And I just feel that that's a way to connect with others, yeah.

- So when did you move to Chattanooga?

- Back in 2010.

- And what was it like for you, not only moving to a new town, but moving to a new art scene?

I mean, this is a whole new place for you to build a new, but also to bridge what you had accomplished for many years before.

- Well, there wasn't that many artists when I came, or maybe that I didn't know.

But like in the ones that I was able to know, But like in the ones that I was able to know, I saw that all of them, even though we're doing different stuff at the same time, we became a community.

Let's say there was something that I didn't know what to do, but somebody approached me that they wanted a commission, let's say in a acrylic painting, I knew I wasn't that great, so I would refer it to someone else.

So I saw that the artist community, we would like help each other rather than like in other bigger cities, the parties that competition and then that who wants to take the most commissions and don't share with someone else.

I noticed that that was different here, that the artists, even if we didn't know that much of each other, we'd be like, "You know what?

"I know this person that can do better for you, yeah."

- And how has it been now that you look back on your Chattanooga journey through art?

Has that been something you're glad you came here?

Do you think it could have been a different journey somewhere else?

Or was that community really what fortified you as an artist?

- Yeah, I think my art career, I feel like if I want to give credit, it's gonna be Chattanooga.

It started here like when I was back in Chicago, I was doing art, but not as much as here.

Here is where I establish my art.

And from here, I'm like, I'm going elsewhere, like to other states.

So I feel like Chattanooga was the place where I consider myself like my birth on the art world, yeah.

- I wanna talk about your process because I know you've said that your artwork starts with either meeting your subject or getting to know your subject, but what does that mean?

Is it mean you have a conversation?

Are you looking at photos?

I know you're very tactile, like with the Bessie Smith statue, you're looking at her headpiece and the feathers.

What does that mean for you as the artist before you can even begin to paint someone or to sculpt someone?

- Yeah, well, I do work for photographs, but if I have the chance of meeting the person that I'm going to be sculpting or painting, I do like a quick meet at a coffee shop just to talk about what is that they like, stories of their childhood.

So it's kinda like an interview that I'm doing.

I just want to know who they are.

So when I create this piece of art, not only capture their looks, but the essence of who they are.

That's what is more important for me.

Whoever sees them, they can see a little bit of their spirit in a way, yeah.

- So I wanna talk about that as it related to your sculpture of Thaddeus Stevens.

Tell me about that Gettysburg experience.

How did that even come about?

- Well, that was actually a national search that they were doing.

And at first, I wasn't going to apply for it because I was doing murals, so I wasn't creating sculptures before.

Well, I did, but not as much as now.

So I said, "You know what?

"I think it's a good time for me "to start sculpting, right?"

And I started looking for all these sculpting articles and I came through a few.

And when I saw this one, and this organization, the Palestinian Society, they put tons of articles for everyone supplied to read to see if this is what they want to pursue.

So I was reading every article.

I went on a YouTube page, look at all their documentaries.

I think there was even a movie back then, the Lincoln movie where Thaddeus Stevens comes up in that video.

So I really immersed myself into his life and I was like, you know what?

I feel very connected with what he's doing.

- And for people who don't know, I mean, he was a representative.

He was instrumental in the 14th Amendment in passing that.

They call him the father of the 14th Amendment.

So all of that did his impact on civil rights in this country.

Is that what resonated with you or was it just he looked good?

(laughs) - Well, it was that.

It was his work and that he stood up for those that probably at that moment were suffering and needed a voice and he was the voice of many.

And not only like the 14 Amendment, but I know he helped with the 13th, and then also the 15th.

So seeing all that and then seeing also that he kind of like supported the women's movement.

And so seeing all this, that how back in the 1800s, right, 18 something, he was really involved into it.

I said, "You know what?

"This is a good person to really sculpt."

Yeah, and thankfully, I submitted my proposal and I got the call that I was the one that was selected.

At first, I couldn't believe it because I was like, "Oh, wait."

Now it was becoming real.

To me, it was like, "Let's just give it a try."

But now it's like, okay, now you have to create it.

And I'm like, okay.

And I had two years to create it.

- Two years, and let me also add, you were the first Latino artist to have a sculpture in a collection of more than 1,300 in that Gettysburg Collection.

- [Alex] Yes.

- How important was that for you?

- Well, for me, it kinda like reassured me that I was on the right path when I chose to do it.

And that looking at my childhood, especially my bringing up that my parents sacrifice was paying off, and that they invested in me.

They believed in me.

Like none of them told me, "You're doing art?

"Why don't you pursue a different career "that maybe monetary wise bring us money "because art might not."

They were like, "If you're gonna do it, do it.

"But promise me that you're gonna do it to your 100%.

"You're not gonna quit.

"You're just gonna go for it."

And I took that advice to heart and haven't given up.

- Whether he's sculpting, painting, or running his business, it's clear that Alex Paul's discipline, resilience, and passion have served him well throughout his career.

And here in his studio, we're surrounded by evidence of his success.

So I couldn't miss an opportunity to get an inside look at his creative process.

Okay, I have so many questions.

- All right.

- But first and foremost, I feel like I'm in my own private museum.

This is incredible to see your work.

But can we start with this person, guy skeleton?

- Oh, sure, yes.

- What is this?

- That's anatomical study for facial reconstruction.

- Okay.

- Actually, about two years ago, two or three years ago, I had the privilege to take intense class with a forensic artist, Karen Taylor, in Texas.

She's very well known for that.

She has done a lot for like ID in people.

And that's the class that she takes.

From a skull, we create the muscle and the tissues, and then we can try to kinda like identify the look of the person.

- So you're really consumed with the anatomy of something, not just the artistic representation.

It starts literally at the skull.

- Yes, and these are even perspective from sculpting because when I do let's say like a portrait, I kinda like add clay and then start removing to get the likeness from this.

It was to understanding the actual anatomy of what was happening, how the inside actually influences the skin and the surface.

- So when you start to sculpt, do you do it on something like this?

- No.

- No, you do, this is the word I used, an armature.

- Yes, an armature.

- Okay, okay, what is an armature?

It's sort of like this, right, okay.

- And depending on how large the piece is, for example, this can be used full of clay.

There's another one that I will show you the minute that I can use like foam.

- Okay.

- Or I use the installation foam when there are larger pieces and I just attach it to the wire.

And then I have to start cutting it off to get the shape of whatever I'm sculpting, and then I apply the clay into it.

Yeah, so all depending on the size of the piece on how the armature is going to be looking.

- And I want people to understand, I mean, it is such a multilayered process.

- It is.

- Literally and figuratively speaking because you start with this.

It goes to, what's after this?

That turns into a clay, anything clay?

- Well, if you see up here.

- Yeah.

- So I had a PVC pipe which replace my wire, and then you have foam.

- Okay.

- So the foam, I have to like cut it into a little bit of the proportion of whatever I'm sculpting because I have to always think that I'm gonna have about a half an inch or maybe a little over of clay.

So this is going to give me that this has to be an anatomically correct in a way to influence my finishing product, yeah.

Whenever you're creating a sculpture, you have to think not only three-dimensional 'cause it has to look good all around, but you have to know how much you're building up.

- And then here is, I said it's sort of like the graveyard of all of the old clay.

- It is.

- It feels what's back to like, it's so sad at the end, what happens?

So after you make the mold, we didn't show that, but the mold of it, and then the clay, you recycle.

- The clay gets repurposed, yes.

So I have to unfortunately cut down that, break down the pieces, then it goes into my little, what is it?

- Yeah, the crockpot, the slow cooker.

I was like, mine looks like that.

And I'm not even an artist, so (laughs).

- I get to melt and then we move into this location.

I'll bring you some of.

So I put it into some silicone molds to turn it into that, and then cut into smaller pieces so I can reuse it and do it.

- And then start all over.

- Start all over, yeah.

So they all go back to squares, going back to square one.

(both laughing) - From squares of clay to sculptures that are alive with story and emotion, the care and attention that Alex Paul puts into his work is sure to leave a legacy of a skilled and thoughtful artist.

Perhaps more importantly, his contributions to public art in his community and beyond will continue to impact all who engage with it.

Well, you clearly have mastered the English language since you were 11.

But the also is that your art still speaks volumes and speaks to people and to communities in ways that words don't always speak.

So when people look at your murals, when they look at your sculptures, what do you hope they hear from your artwork?

- To tell you the truth, what I like the most is when they're in silent.

They're just looking at it and they're having like a conversation with the art that to me, it's like, I don't need to know what is it that is moving you, but I'm just happy to see that they're just staring at it and contemplating the artwork, yeah.

- And what's the goal for the future?

What's the hope?

Is there a place you want to be?

Is there a sculpture you want to be commissioned to make?

If someone said, "Here's an endowment, "do whatever you'd like with this and make one beautiful, magnificent piece that speaks to you."

What would that be?

- Ooh, that's a good question.

I haven't thought about it much, but I think it would be something to celebrate diversity and union.

I feel like each city, each town, each country can be only stronger when we work together.

And for the, how can I say it?

For the development of that region if we all work together.

'Cause at the end, we all have the same goals.

We want our kids to have better lives than us.

We want to live a legacy.

We want them to be well off, to be well-educated.

So I think if we can all understand that, that's pretty much a similar goal that we all have, if we can just remove some of those barriers.

Sometimes they're invisible barriers that we put in between ourselves.

So if we can just do that, and if I can create a piece that kinda like tells that, then I think that'll be nice too.

- Well, from what I can tell, every piece that you've created tells that story.

And so your legacy is quite remarkable already.

- Oh, thank you.

- Thank you, Alex Paul.

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