I moved to the U.S. at eleven years old from Bolivia. My artwork is focused on my experience as a woman of color, an immigrant, growing up in suburban Kansas. Throughout the years, my artistic practice has been a reflection of who I was at the time I made the artwork. I have used art as an outlet for my anguish. Transforming heartache into visual art. Documenting my emotional evolution.

In my 2D work I explore different aspects of my heritage, culture and language. Exploring how my culture fits into the “melting pot.” I am trying to find the connection between American culture and my Bolivian Heritage. I have been influenced by the cultures that surround me. These cultures show up in my work as symbolism such as sugar skulls, roses, monarch butterflies, and flames. I have been inspired by the way Frida Kahlo expresses her raw emotions in her paintings.

Half way through my college career I have found my love for watercolors. Transparency and layering of the colors has given me the opportunity to show a more vulnerable side of me in my work. I have learned to use movement of sound in my watercolor paintings. Learning to express emotion through rhythm and color. In my painting named “bilingual” I have learned the power of collage and how using text can provide another layer of depth to the work. For this piece I have explored different ways of using text to portray the challenges of being bilingual and learning the English language. For me, watercolors have been a way of showing the multiple and complex layers of emotions.

Working with ceramics was an unexpected, yet incredible experience. Learning the craft of molding clay was a new phase in my emotional growth. The process of building figure sculptures is how I portray human emotions using animal body language. Showing that without our consciousness, our animal impulses and instincts are still present at our core. Inspired by Beth Cavener, I learned how to detach myself from emotion and transfer them into a sculpture. What I enjoy the most about clay is the feeling of control of the outcome of something that lives in the 3D world. The process of clay turning into ceramic is parallel to the idea of growth and evolution.  During the bisque stage I see the project as a blank canvas and like to bring some of those painting techniques and use them with glaze. I lean towards using more underglaze because of the bright colors and it is better for decoration patterns.

Art is a way humans express their thoughts, feelings and emotions. For me art is a way to process my feelings and emotions. I believe it is important to disconnect oneself from past trauma. And be able to see the “before and after” of an experience. The stimulus for my work comes from the desire to dominate the emotions I feel in every cell of my body.