“I think the beauty of being an artist is that you have the capacity to find inspiration in many, many places. I find beauty and inspiration in nature, in people’s minds, books… it’s kind of endless. You could put me in an empty room with three inanimate objects and I can pretty much guarantee you I’m going to try to make something that pleases my eye or makes that room a feel a little better for me." Juan Carlos Collada is a multi-media artist with creativity in his DNA. A Miami native, he studied Painting and Printmaking at Miami Dade College. He firmly believes that artists should experience and experiment with various mediums. He has lived and worked as a textile designer in Milan, a furniture designer in San Francisco, a decorative lighting designer in North Carolina and as a fashion stylist in Miami. He currently divides his time between Toronto, Canada and Naples, Florida. As a child, Juan Carlos spent time in the Florida Keys enjoying a connection with the outdoors. He was heavily influenced by his surroundings, fostering a life-long love of nature. For him, “home” is the intersection of art, nature, and strong family ties. Collada’s art brings together his love of design and the natural world. Inspired by nature, Collada is best known for his butterfly themed works, ethereal and graceful pieces that climb the walls and take on a life of their own. These lyrical compositions are made up of hand-cut, dyed and painted feathers and housed in acrylic cases. Collada says that the forms and undulations of the works come to him organically; once the first butterfly is placed, the rest follow until it has grown into a completed piece.