E16. Interview! Manuel Cordero Talks Building Haunted Houses for a Living and the Creative Process in Fine Arts Painting

Welcome to the inaugural interview of my interview series! In this series I invite people onto my podcast to talk about living the unconventional life, being a late bloomer, being a generalist, the creative process, and how to balance a personal creative practice with the necessity of making a living.Manuel Cordero is a senior set designer at Universal Studios Orlando, where he works on their yearly Halloween Horror Nights event and other live immersive entertainment experiences. He is also an accomplished fine arts painter. We talk about the long path that led to his current job, why being a generalist is essential for what he does, and how he puts being a generalist into practice in his work. You'll also hear about how 9/11 caused him to pick up the brush and finally commit to fine arts painting, what an experience of doing a commissioned piece taught him about the downside of creating art for money, and why he paid an art model extra to learn how to play a conga drum before sitting for one of his paintings. This is a wide-ranging discussion that touches on the creative process in work and play, and Manuel has some great wisdom to share about staying motivated, diversifying your practice, and the necessity of remaining open-minded and curious along the way. I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did!