Photographer's Career Takes Off

As a young Mexican immigrant to Napa, Israel Valencia chose because "I wanted to be a pilot," he recalled, and Vintage was offering an aviation class that year.

But it was his English as a Second Language teacher, Sushanna Ellington, who helped Valencia find his true calling, he said: "She actually helped me find my path as an artist."

As he began to see the world with an artist's eyes, a chance placement in a photography class was all it took for Valencia to discover the craft he wanted to pursue: "I just felt it in my gut," he said.

By 11th grade, Valencia had his first art show and sold his first photo. Now almost 35, he has been a working photographer ever since: he even ran the photography department at the St. Helena Star for more than a year when he was still a teenager, he said, until leukemia sidelined him. 

After four years of treatment and two bone marrow transplants, Valencia has been in remission since 2001. He spent about eight of those years working for artist Gordon Huether while continuing to pursue his own career.

Most recently, Valencia's work was featured in the annual "Meet the Makers" exhibition, which recently closed at Mumm Napa. Sponsored by , this year's show focused on food artisans and Valencia's photos were among the most appealing in the exhibition.

A portrait of proprietor Steve Sando shows the ebullient foodie surrounded by the heirloom beans he sells; famed mushroom hunter Connie Green appears like a Druid priestess in the woods.

Perhaps the most arresting image is that of a young Latino man holding out a handful of hypodermic syringes, each loaded with a different color. He's no doctor: That's Alejandro Vazquez of Napa, who has perfected a technique for making gelatin desserts that look exactly like real flowers.

Valencia came across Vazquez by chance: "My cousin hired him to make a jello," he said. "When I looked at it I was just mesmerized at what I saw. He’s doing something completely different, unique — and it's food."

Food itself steps into the spotlight in Valencia's "Primavera Rota" series, displayed at , where Valencia is the artist in residence. In this series, everyday items like a pomegranate and a wisp of onion core seem to glow with significance.

"A lot of my creativity over the last five years has come from nature itself," he said.

Valencia's latest show, a retrospective of works dating back to 1993, opens tonight at Wildcat Vintage Clothing on First Street. Part of downtown Napa's "First Friday" celebration, the opening includes live music and light refreshments and starts at 6 p.m.

Works from Valencia's "Primavera Rota" series are displayed at Bistro Sabor, also on First Street.

Currently studying digital graphic technology at Napa Valley College, Valencia aspires to turn his photographs into sculptures and to create private and public art installations of his works.

"I have endless ideas for sculptures that everyone can relate to by nature, no pun intended," he said.

For more photographs by Valencia, please see: 

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