Rising Stars: Meet Varin Acevedo of Ohio

Today we’d like to introduce you to Varin Acevedo.

Hi Varin , thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I am a silhouette artist in the true tradition. Although I live in the Cleveland area, I travel to events, weddings and festivals all over the country in my camper van. When I go to a wedding or other event I set up a station and the guests will sit down in front of me. In about two minutes, I will cut their profile from black paper and adhere it to a decorative board for them to take home. People enjoy watching me cut it using nothing but scissors and paper and are often amazed at the likeness.

Before I was a silhouette artist, I designed museum exhibits. Since silhouettes are an historical art form I would see a lot of them and thought they were endearing. I started to collect antique silhouettes to study the technique and read books about the history. I did this for fun, never thinking it would lead to a second career. At first, I just did them for friends and family, but after I retired, people were asking me to do fundraisers and parties. It has been 12 years since and I am still busy and loving it

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Traveling from city to city is a challenge when you are staying in a new location every night, but I really do love seeing the country this way and meeting so many new people at happy occasions.

I do wish that more people knew what silhouettes were and could appreciate the history. Before photography, they were called a “poor man’s portrait” and that they were once the only way to record someone’s countenance if you were not rich enough for an oil painting.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
While I love cutting silhouettes, and keeping the art alive, I am most proud of my work as a museum exhibit designer. I love that visitors could be educated and entertained at the same time. Walking through an exhibit I designed and watching the visitors interact was very satisfying.
I also have done book and magazine illustrations, fabric design and graphic art alongside painting and drawing for my own amusement.

Cutting silhouettes combines my love of art snd history and travel into one package. Combine that with a fun celebration and you have a perfect job.

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
Silhouettes are never going to be a big industry since they are created individually and by hand. There are ways to create silhouettes digitally, but I prefer to keep the art alive. I just hope to keep doing this as long as I am able.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sweet-silhouette.com
• Instagram: @varinsilhouettes
• Facebook: sweet-silhouette by varin