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

Hi Stephanie, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I have always been an artsy person, it started off as little sketches on my homework pages and every notebook I could find. When I got into makeup it gave me an opportunity to bring my drawings to life. I love being able to transform myself into random creatures and characters.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My art has always been my life, but when I moved to Mexico it transformed. Being surrounded by so much art and color really inspired my art. I am proud of where I come from and I wanted to show it through my art. When I moved here this year I felt a strong urge to share the art that Mexican culture has to give but I showed it through my art. I had some struggles at first when I didn’t have a lot of materials for my artistic looks, but I started mixing what I had on hand and learning from trial and error. But balancing my life, work and my art has definitely been a very big issue for me. It can be very isolating at times but I’m grateful to have people reaching out and helping me out. I would like to inspire other people to try new things, taking risks has been something very scary since I prefer to stay where I am safe, but this last year has been the riskiest I have ever been. I left behind a life to come and build a better one for myself and my career.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Everything is thanks to my mom, brother, and my boyfriend. They have been there since the very beginning and I couldn’t be where I am at right now without them cheering me on.

Instagram: shiny_alpaca

Youtube: Shiny Alpaca

Other: Tiktok: @shiny_alpaca

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutHTX is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.