My journey as an artist began in search of myself. I was a young child who spent a lot of my free time doodling and drawing. In high school I took to oil painting and in college my professor, Hardy Hanson, encouraged me to learn to draw by primarily drawing self-portraits. As a young collegiate at the University of California, Santa Cruz, I found myself not always recognizing the person I was drawing in the mirror. Every portrait looked a little different, each project had a different expression, every drawing changed even though I continued to draw the same subject, me. I realized I could spend the rest of my life just drawing that single subject and never tire of finding something new with who I was.
I continued to explore art and discovered printmaking. Although I had been painting since I was a freshman in high school, my primary loves were drawing and photography. Printmaking seemed to be the perfect melding of the two media. My emphasis as an undergraduate was in printmaking, primarily intaglio and lithography.
Through studying art history, I found that the artists that influenced me most were other artists who drew themselves. As a print maker I admired Albrecht Durer, Katie Kollwitz and Edvard Munch. As a woman of Mexican descent I was drawn to Frida Kahlo and later in life found Faith Ringgold to be an influential artist as well. These artists helped me to shape the way I thought about craftsmanship, expression of self, and creativity.
I see art as simply the act of creation. The greatest art forms we create are ourselves, our children and our friendships. The artwork I create is a way to express who I am, who I want to be and admire the people, places, or pets in my life. When I am doing a photo shoot for friends, or a portrait of my daughter, I am offering up a little of who I am for them. As a teacher it is my greatest joy to pass on a love of art and creating art. It is my hope that every student leaves my classroom feeling like they are capable of creating something special, both outside and within themselves.
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Updated August 14, 2015. Older artist statement written February 5, 2009