Master sculptor Mario Chiodo visited the Rio Hondo campus on Sept. 23 that left a mark on aspiring artists.

Chiodo gave a beautiful presentation at the Wray Theater about his beginnings as an artist, and sharing amazing pieces and statues he created throughout his artistic career.

He gave his personal political view on how art is necessary for schools and how important it is for the youth to grasp on to it.

He also continued to lecture on the art politics and his huge success as an artist.

Chiodo grew up in Oakland, California with musically creative parents and stated that he wanted to be an artist since a very young age, and aspired to want to take a dive in the art world.

He remembers being in kindergarten and the natural impulse to want to create things of how he felt and how to interpret them from the heart.

The first memory he has of creating the pieces he loves today is taking mud and trying to make a skeleton head when he was five and recalls looking up to artists Michelangelo and Rodano, even up until this day.

Chiodo has made many marks around the world such as creating the art of Las Vegas hotel and resort, Caesar’s Palace, as well as working for Universal Studios and Lucas Films.

He started his own company at a young age and currently offers college students to intern for him via his official website.

Chiodo appears very humble when he talks about his success as an artist saying, “I could only say I’m doing, living what I love to, and I feel grateful everyday… I know a lot of people would love to do what I do, so I don’t take it for granted.”

When sharing advice for the youth dreaming to break into the struggling art industry, Chiodo said, “Lots of advice, but one thing is the more you acknowledge what you don’t know, the quicker you’ll learn; and that’s probably the single biggest thing that changed me to try to progress… because if you act like you’ll know, you’re never going to learn. Just gotta keep pursuing.”

Although Chiodo has created beautiful statues across the world, he admits he doesn’t have any favorites. He loves them individually because they all come from him.

As of now Chiodo is working on nine major projects that will stand in the next five years.

These projects will based of historical content telling the stories of immigrant workers, to the story of Joe DiMaggio, and the Italians that were in internment camps.

There will also be a fantasy dark side project which will involve creatures and movies.

You can find more of Mario Chiodo’s amazing work at www.chiodoart.com.