Exhibition: 2025 El Corazón (30th Anniversary)
February 1-March 8, 2025
- Paulina Altamirano
- Jeff Brown
- Nephtali Colon
- Jacqui Daniels
- Dale DuBord
- Jeane Elliott Clayton
- Julie England
- Damien Gaffney
- Jose Giron
- Corey Godfrey
- Hector Guerra
- Derrick Hardin
- Deidre Hardin
- Mark Hernandez
- Sherry Hockett
- September Hoskins
- Rachel Larlee
- Braulio Lazon-Conde
- Renae Lesley
- JW Lynn
- Monica Melgar
- Holli Michener
- Ruth Monjaras
- Jiyoung Moore
- Steven Quevedo
- Rosalía Salazar
- Evan Sartin
- Jacqueline Smith
- Christina Thomas
- Mandy Trull
- Natasha Vega
- Rachel Velasquez
- Miguel A. Venegas
- Wendy Woodring
- Vladimir Zuniga
Paulina Altamirano
Growing Together
On March 8, 2023, I experienced an event that forever changed me—a moment of profound loss as my body revealed that my twins would not come into this world. The grief was overwhelming, and I carried the weight of unfulfilled hope in my hands. That day marked the beginning of a journey through sorrow, depression, and anxiety, which settled heavily on my being.
But over time, light began to pierce through the darkness. With the unwavering patience of my life partner and the quiet, grounding presence of our dog, I found strength in love and resilience in connection. This piece of art emerged from that journey.
“Growing Together” is a testament to growth, love, and the loyalty that has sustained me through this process of healing and acceptance. It symbolizes not only the pain of loss but also the beauty of transformation—the power of unity and the strength found in shared vulnerability.
This work invites you to witness the beauty that can arise from loss, the strength that blooms in connection, and the power of love to carry us forward. It is a testament to the truth that together, we heal. Together, we grow.
(469) 839-2095
https://www.instagram.com/vaiavaia.borduur/
https://www.instagram.com/vaiavaia.borduur/
Jeff Brown
Immaculate Heart
Jeff Brown received his MFA from the University of Guanajuato in Mexico, and his Master of Art Education at the Hartford Art School in Connecticut. His work is in the permanent collection f the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center and the Harwood Museum of Art in Taos, NM. He has shown extensively in Colorado Springs, Pueblo, and Denver, CO; California, and Taos, NM, and numerous other locations.
Discarded bits of cultural ephemera, lost artifacts, corroded materials and time-worn weathered surfaces and patinas, evident of nature’s ravaging effects– these are the particularly romantic and exotic sources that inspire my work. Many of my pieces are nostalgic and reminiscent of once-significant objects, often from my own childhood; a Cracker Jack toy “surprise,” a discarded lead soldier or a fragment of foreign paper currency. The aesthetic criteria for a found object’s inclusion in my assemblage or collage is its venerable sense of time, wear and use with the feeling of origins from another time or far-away place. I’m after a sense of familiarity mixed with a feeling of rebirth and even a reaction of challenge or mystery with that which we would otherwise feel comfortable… that, and a purely aesthetic combination of materials, objects, and original artwork.
The best collages or assemblages combine the “memory aspect” – recognition of the source material – with the pleasurable violence of transfiguration. Found objects and materials based art takes images and sounds that we’re all familiar with and re-organize them in a way that is unfamiliar. The trick is to maintain the clever impact once the “joke” has faded.
jeffchasbrown@gmail.com
(719) 459-1968
http://www.instagram.com/artistguyjeff
Nephtali Colon
Who controls your heart
Born on May 13, 1975, Nephtali Colón, of Puerto Rican nationality, grew up immersed in a vibrant culture where music and art were the essence of his life. Deeply inspired by talented family members who left an indelible mark on his soul, he decided to pursue an artistic path. His formal training began at the School of Plastic Arts and Design in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he specialized in Graphic Design and Fine Arts, particularly painting. This foundation allowed him to build a career as a Graphic Designer in various advertising agencies throughout Puerto Rico.
In 2003, Nephtali emigrated to the United States with his family, beginning a new chapter that blended music and creative projects. During this period, he worked as a creative director for local magazines and founded his own advertising agency, Citric Mind, showcasing his talent and passion for the arts, leaving his mark on the communities of Orlando and Kissimmee.
In 2013, Nephtali took on a new professional challenge as an upper-level art teacher. Over a decade, he shared his knowledge with countless students, teaching them that art is an omnipresent form of expression. While music remained a cornerstone of his life, his teaching experience offered him fresh perspectives and challenges as a visual artist, enriching his artistic practice.
Between 2019 and 2024, Nephtali participated in numerous local and international exhibitions, establishing himself as a prominent artist in Texas and Florida. He was part of significant collective exhibitions such as “Pinceles de la Patria” (Brushes of the Homeland), presented at Artes de la Rosa, Fort Worth, Texas, where he exhibited alongside other distinguished Puerto Rican artists. He also participated in the “Fashion by Art Exhibition”, a collaborative event that brought together artists from different cities and countries with fashion designers, presenting a memorable collection. During this exhibition, a collector acquired his piece titled “Don Q”, highlighting the impact of his work.
What can you expect from his work? Inspiration, nostalgia, and storytelling. Nephtali’s art blends history and literature, expressed through a versatile and captivating style. Each painting, series, and creation transports the viewer to a story, touching their emotions and awakening their senses. Immerse yourself in his creative universe: let his art move you, inspire you, and take you on an unforgettable journey.
Jacqui Daniels
El Corazon De Una Madre
The heart of a mother is that of a warrior. She goes to battle to enter the spirit world and face death to bring forth new life Earthside. For those that survive the battle, death is still inevitable, shedding old skin and birthing transformation of herself as well as a new life.
She gives birth to a love beyond earthly comprehension. Something only the spirit can describe. The umbilical cord is cut, but the tie is never broken for she gave a piece of herself just for you. Her struggles and sacrifices may never be fully recognized and appreciated in this lifetime, but this does not deter her dedication. Her persistence and care is endless and spans lifetimes. The veins transmit messages of the heart across generations, like the beating of a drum, that teach me, give me strength and guidance.
This piece was created in honor of the journeys, struggles, and the sacrifices of the Mothers that came before me that have shaped who I am today. I honor them through prayer, through continuing the medicine they share, living in reciprocity with land and community, and by walking my path in an honest and good way. In gratitude.
Pictured are seven generations of direct matriarchal lineage. Our hearts are all connected over the span of space and time via cochineal hand dyed wool veins. The colors for this painting were all harvested from the Earth: clay from the river, ash of burnt offerings of Copal, Juniper, and Palo Santo, locally harvested cochineal, and handmade Beam paints. The medicine and plants of the homelands are intertwined with us: prickly pear cactus, sage brush, chaparral, pinon resin, juniper, and cempasuchil. The bones and skin are that of the snake to represent renewal, transformation and birth. In the center is a pot of river harvested clay holding offerings of Copal resin from Mexico and Pinon resin from New Mexico.
The soil represents the womb of the original Mother, Madre Tierra, who births us all and consumes us in death.
nettleguruherbs@gmail.com
https://www.instagram.com/nettle_guru
Dale DuBord
Recovering from Lost Love
This is my third appearance in the annual El Corazon exhibition the show is special to me as it was the first public show I participated in. My sculptures are primarily the female torsos and hearts. I see both subjects having the same sensuous lines that are complimented by the natural curves the wood grains. Wood is sourced from damaged trees around Dallas comprised of Pecan, Oak, Cedar, Cedar Elm, Maple and Osage Orange.
ddnodak@gmail.com
(214) 236-0772
https://www.instagram.com/dalejdubord
Jeane Elliott Clayton
Home is Where the Heart Is
Moments in time, imagined worlds expressed through intuition and inspiration are common themes in my work. Threads of connection, seen and unseen, mysteries of that which cannot be explained and “je ne sais quoi” narratives are all part of my visual inquiry. I am interested in expressing essences and mysteries of being through various media.
We are comprised of being and existence, but are much more. Curiosity, learning, joie de vivre, playfulness, empathy, despondence, courage, etherealness are a few which influence expression in my work.
artjecodesign@gmail.com
http://www.artjecojeaneelliottclaytonoriginals.com
https://www.instagram.cpm/art_jeco
Julie England
Heart Blooms
The Earth’s diverse surface is fascinating. The vegetative environments invite viewers to visit a place. Local light and atmosphere affect the plant life that thrives, the colors we see and experience of mood and energy. These paintings explore memory and landscape with complex spatial environments that hover between painterly realism and abstract passages.
Raised in Wisconsin, Florida and Texas my first thirteen years piqued my interest in diverse landscapes and flora. These paintings are inspired by places. Whether a mass of color blur or the focal point, each is recording its environment and time. My creative practice focusing on materials and process reflects my chemical engineering background. The bold use of initial marks that swirl through the backgrounds of floral compositions, echo and amplify the rhythms of the naturally drawn floral elements. Visual density from transparent to opaque create organic textures. Color is a vehicle to convey energy from nature.
julie@julieenglandart.com
https://www.julieenglandart.com/
https://www.facebook.com/julieenglandart
https://www.instagram.com/julieenglandart_botanical/
Damien Gaffney
The Heart is in the Head
I have observed and represented the human person for most of my life. I love scenic and architectonic elements, but I find individuals standing in relationship with God, other people, and the natural world the most important and beautiful subjects of art, and the subjects most freeing to me.
Truth and reality call all people. We must accept the call. As artists, we must put in effort to represent accurately the exciting internal workings of human beings, as well as the important events of life shared with others. The explorations of the body and spirit nest in the human form as a subject, powerful in metaphor.
I begin my work using a collection of media and thematic elements I am thankful to have been exposed to throughout my life. I long to share with and learn from others, and to encourage all people to pick up the tools of artistic endeavor. I see them as gifts of the body and spirit that are, in the most real and fundamental way universally available.
designtxdkg@gmail.com
https://www.instagram.com/designtxdkg/
Jose Giron
Queen of Hearts
“Finding your true love amidst countless possibilities feels like a stroke of sheer luck. To look upon your queen and hold her close is nothing short of a triumph over the impossible.”
(469) 408-5619
Corey Godfrey
Total Eclipse of the Heart
Corey Godfrey’s work is rooted in a fascination with “craft” materials, inspired by the creativity of her 1980s childhood. Her discovery of yarn ignited a passion for its historical ties to women’s strength. Guided by dream imagery, her works act as visual storyboards, capturing memories that evolve as time softens them
Vibrant yarn layers symbolize the passage of time, with each thread reflecting aging and mental health challenges, while patterns reveal tension and harmony. These transformations invite viewers to uncover what lies beneath the surface as both intimate and expansive—offering moments of connection, reflection, and discovery.
coreyamandagodfrey@gmail.com
(214) 534-5121
https://www.instagram.com/coreygodfreyart
Hector Guerra
The Guarded Heart
This piece explores the tender resilience of the human spirit in the face of pain and loss. Life’s trials can leave scars, teaching us to shield our hearts, to retreat from the vulnerability that comes with connection. But in protecting ourselves too fiercely, we risk missing out on the healing power of love and companionship. The Guarded Heart reflects this delicate balance—how fear and self-preservation can isolate us, yet how hope and courage can guide us back toward openness and connection.
rushector1@gmail.com
Derrick Hardin
Tin Woman
This piece is in honor of my mother and fellow artist, Deidre Hardin, a 12-year heart transplant survivor. This work was made in celebration of her strength and resilience in the face of adversity which always serves as a constant motivator for my own journey through life.
‘Tin Woman’ is part of a collection of works entitled, “Paresthesia” after the medical term for the feeling of pins and needles. Conveyed through the utilization of the drawing technique of stippling. Where I utilize small dots to create the desired image and various degrees of shading. Symbolizing different feelings of numbness toward a variety of aspects of black life and realities, including history, life, love, and death.
Deidre Hardin
TOSKA
The artwork expresses my personal immoderate battles with SLE Lupus and journey to a heart transplant. A parallel tale to the Tin Man in the movie The Wiz. The Tin Man character also experiences the aches and pains of life on his journey to receive a new heart.
SLE Lupus is an autoimmune dis-ease that affects the nervous system. Lupus is not just brain fog, extreme fatigue and joint stiffness. It’s a complete physical, mental, and emotional assault on the body. My initial attack came in the form of several mini strokes and lowered the immune system; causing my body to battle within itself. It was the precursor to needing a heart transplant years later. Finding alternative healing methods for joint pain allows me to continue to create. For instance, kneading clay increases mobility to relieve arthritic pain in my hands and copper has natural healing elements for blood circulation. Both of these elements are a permanent part of the work I create today. My primary genre is my health journey. The figurative sculptures with exposed copper wire depict the feeling of raw nerve pain. Clay represents relief and wholeness, or the removal of what no longer serves. Though the work is of a personal nature, it can be viewed as life lessons outlining the tenuous interactions between our interior and exterior environments. “TOSKA” is a visual example of yearning for everything and nothing all at once; an anguish from the bottom of the heart.
I consider my work to be a glimpse of what it looks and feels like living as, “A riddle wrapped in a mystery; inside an enigma” – W. Churchill
hardin.tinwoman@gmail.com
(214) 604-2327
https://www.instagram.com/1tinwoman
Mark Hernandez
Heart of Stone
“Heart of Flesh” is a work that shows that when we lean on the fragility of our flesh, we distance ourselves from others, growing hardened by life’s challenges. These experiences coil around us like a spine of suffering, hardening our hearts into stone and building walls that separate us from the world. In this state, we become inaccessible, unable to truly connect with those around us. We move through life, yet remain detached, locked away in our own prisons of pain. The world passes by, but we remain distant, disconnected, as if we’re watching life unfold from behind a veil, unable to reach out or be reached.
FineArtsMH@gmail.com
(806) 231-0849
http://www.MarkHernandezFineArts.com
Sherry Hockett
Create In Me A New Heart
Sherry Incorporates a visual alphabet into her work, so the art is speaking, praying and or encouraging in each art piece as led by the spirit. The At times Sherry puts music in her art making it tri sensory. alphabet came to her in a dream years ago .At that time she created a series on the art of Solomon with the alphabet, sold the work and put the alphabet away for 23 years. In the past Sherry received scholarships with the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts experimental arts program then attended the Dallas Art Institute for a year. Sherry Showed at numerous places in Dallas, Texas, Deep Ellum, McKinney, Texas and favorite place to show was at the Biblical Arts Museum before it was destroyed by fire. Currently Sherry has been showing at the Creative Arts Center in Bonham Texas and Winnsboro, Texas.
Her purpose is to spread God’s Word and Prayers and Scripture through her art with whatever time she has left on this earth.
ronniensherry@yahoo.com
(214) 491-9348
September Hoskins
Heart of the Spirit
This piece is my interpretation of the holy Spirit and man. I took inspiration from The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo in the sistine chapel.
septemberhoskins@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61568847722285&mibextid=ZbWKwL
Rachel Larlee
Love is Messy
My work is a conversation between memory, place, and process, shaped by the contrasts between my upbringing in the Devon countryside and my life in Dallas, Texas. Through the interplay of watercolor, stitching, and mixed media, I explore how past experiences and environments inform my journey toward wholeness and equilibrium. Stitching, often the final layer, serves as both a meditative act and a way to weave in the emotions that remain unspoken.
info@rachellarleecreates.com
(469) 744-9703
HTTPS://www.rachellarleecreates.com
https://www.instagram.com/rachellarleestudio
Braulio Lazon-Conde
Yo-llotl
In “Yo-llotl,” I delve into a captivating exploration of emotions, intellect, and spirituality through a unique paper mache mask that beautifully intertwines the heart with reason. The title, inspired by the Nahuatl word “yollotl,” meaning heart, reflects a deeply personal and introspective journey that pays homage to the wisdom of my ancestors.
This work aims to reclaim a profound philosophy: that true knowledge and wisdom originate from the heart, rather than being confined solely to the mind. Within the mask, the essence of this ancient wisdom comes alive, crafted from transformed tree pulp and imbued with the striking crimson of cochineal, a symbol of sacrifice that carries with it whispers of secrets for the soul.
As we tune in to the heartbeat of the world around us, let’s remember that our lives are intricately connected to the natural world and the communities that nurture us. In embracing this awareness, may we uncover the wisdom to live in harmony and summon the courage to walk boldly along the path of the heart.
Blazonconde@gmail.com
(469) 524-9613
@baru_lab
Renae Lesley
Sacred Heart of Cherokee
As a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and a TERO certified artist, the tiny but mighty work I bring to the El Corazon exhibit is a reflection of the profoundly sacred nature of my culture and language. I approach my art practice mindfully, attuned to the immense gift that is the creative act, and to the spirit that I aim to honor with each layer of paint, each mark made, and each unfolding that appears along the way. At the long-ago request of an elder, it is my ongoing goal to help preserve the endangered language of the Cherokee. I attempt to do so by including Sequoyah’s syllabary in my art. The act of carving Tsalagi into the wood is a deeply spiritual practice in itself- a way to honor the language that helped shape my identity and continues to guide my path as an artist.
In alignment with the theme of El Corazon, I chose the heart, ᎠᏓᏅᏙ, as a tribute to the values and wisdom of my ancestors. The heart represents the essence of what it means to be Cherokee—resilient, enduring, and filled with love for the language and culture that sustain us. My intention with this piece is to bring awareness to the importance of preserving what is precious and to help keep our stories alive.
(214) 923-1981
https://www.facebook.com/renaelesley
https://www.instagram.com/renae.issance
JW Lynn
The Huntress
Blossoming
(2 artworks submitted)
JW Lynn is a creative reuse and visionary artist currently designing in Dallas, Texas. Oftentimes mystical and a little odd, her work explores the whimsical, macabre, and spiritual world of perception, identity, and impermanence. She is passionate about utilizing natural elements in unison with prefabricated materials since it is a readily available teacher that shows us the ever evolving cycle of life. This approach aims to help us learn how to release our attachment to even the most beautiful of things, and shift our mindsets about how we view what we discard, thus lessening our impact on the planet. Her work has been exhibited at local galleries since 2009. You can view all her past and current artwork at redosquared.com.
redosquared@gmail.com
(281) 630-2368
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61562248367124
https://www.instagram.com/redosquared/
Monica Melgar
Falling
My artwork is created in a meditative state in which I disconnect the ego and allow the process to unfold in the present moment. My works are created with a freehand style of line work that emerges organically one line at a time.
Each piece begins with a single line, that slowly starts to set the tone by informing the next line and the next and so on and so on. In this space, I release control and allow for the composition to be guided by a dialogue between instinct and intuition. The lines I create are spontaneous yet deliberate, weaving together a visual language that is personal but universal at the same time. Each artwork evolves organically, and instead of each decision feeling like a conscious choice it is more like a discovery.
This approach is a practice in vulnerability and release. As a way to quiet the mind and channel a sense of flow, I connect to a space of stillness and wonder. Through this practice, I hope to create a space for the viewer to experience a moment of pure expression, free from external influence, and invite them to connect with more instinctive and emotional layers of their own perception. Each painting serves as a record of presence, a celebration of the unplanned and imperfect. It is an invitation to embrace the beauty of spontaneity and to find meaning in the act of creation itself.
monica@monicamelgarart.com
(832) 544-0249
https://www.monicamelgarart.com
https://www.facebook.com/MonicaMelgarArt/
https://www.instagram.com/monicamelgarart/
Holli Michener
Orbital Blossoms
Orbital Blossoms is a reflection of a transformative time in my life. After my dad’s heart transplant in December 2021, I stumbled upon wooden heart cutouts that immediately drew me in. That next year, I began talk therapy for the first time—a new and often uncomfortable experience. As I navigated this journey of self-discovery and healing, a vulnerability surfaced. This series explores the complexity of being seen, capturing the delicate balance between the beauty and wariness of embracing fragility.
As a surrealist painter, I aim to inspire a celebration of the beauty in being peculiar. Our world is filled with confusing ideas and stereotypes that only gain power when we accept them. I strive to stay open to life’s complexities, resisting the urge to put things into neat boxes. My ultimate goal is to express these ideas in a whimsical, offbeat way that reflects my personality.
I’m inspired by contemporary artists such as Ron English, Casey Weldon, Jim McKenzie, Dorielle Cami, and Hannah Yata.
the.art.flirt@gmail.com
(817) 980-9953
https://www.hollimichener.com/shop
https://www.instagram.com/the_art_flirt
Ruth Monjaras
What’s Mine is Yours
To my friends, family, and partner:
Visceral love is what I have for you. A deep, agonizingly beautiful feeling. When I think of you, my heart overflows and words fail me. I cannot properly, or poetically, or beautifully express myself, so I cut myself open and give you my heart. I wish I could give you the world, but I don’t have much to offer. I hope this is enough.
Sincerely,
Ruth M.
tristehuevo@gmail.com
https://laborer-of-love.weebly.com/
https://www.instagram.com/laborer.of.love
Jiyoung Moore
My Heart is in Full Bloom
Seven months ago, I had to say goodbye to my beloved dog, Max. All he ever had was his endless love for us. I used to joke, saying, “Max, you have nothing but love!” and laugh.
Max, who was made entirely of love, left us, overflowing with nothing but love.
Maybe that’s why—whenever I think of him, the sadness is brief, but the happiness lingers. Max planted a precious seed in my heart, and from that warmth, a sprout grew, thrived, and eventually blossomed. Now, my heart is in full bloom.
aelphie@artlover.com
(817) 986-7085
https://www.instagram.com/ji.moore
Steven Quevedo
Order and Chaos
El Corazón Fugitivo
Coming from a background in architecture and design, the fascination of materials, space and form have informed both my drawings and paintings. Architecture is an art and science in which many realms of spatial and formal investigations may be explored, from the conceptual to the built works. Conceptual drawings and paintings permeate in architectural design as a means for contemplation between the built and the unbuilt. My investigations in the use of marmorino Venetian plaster stem from an appreciation in the traditional work in fresco and secco paintings as well as the interior application of the material within architectural works. This application of the pigments into the plaster is a tactical engagement with the media which challenges the precision of architectural drawings. The media is worked in many layers and burnished to varying levels of textures and polish. Combining narrative imagery with these abstracted backgrounds is a process which seeks to amalgamate the abstract with the realism.
For El Corazón, the investigation into the traditional representations of the heart is examined as anatomical depictions evoking the myths which surround the heart. As a symbol of emotional and chaos countered with intuition and logic, the work “Order and Chaos” integrates two small sculptures: a magnification lens with a counterweight for logic and reason and a small vial containing a love potion for superstition and faith. The second piece, “El Corazón Fugitivo” used an engraving of the heart from the Denis Diderot’s Encyclopédie. The image was redrawn as a sgraffito drawing in which a coat of white plaster was placed as a base and then painted over with black inks. The image is then “scratched” out to recall the details of Diderot’s engravings.
squevedo@uta.edu
Rosalía Salazar
Interwoven
Tendrils remind me of hands; embraces, connections, relationships, support systems…
Have you ever observed the precious way in which they dance their way towards the light? They reach out until they find supports to help the plant climb and stabilize herself. In return, every part of the plans is able to thrive; understanding that all flourishing is mutual.
Could us, humans, possibly become more like that?
https://www.instagram.com/romaver
Evan Sartin
Need You Want You
Creation, connection, and culture. Each piece comes straight from the heart.
evsartin@gmail.com
https://www.Instagram.com/bosque.norte
Jacqueline Smith
Marfa 5
My work explores memory and identity through woodcut, linocut, and chine collé printmaking. I draw on childhood iconography and personal experiences, using these images to reflect on the emotional impact of past moments.
jaq18smith@gmail.com
https://www.instagram.com/smiths_print_alchemy/
Christina Thomas
Low, Dull, Quick
Low, Dull, Quick draws its title from Edgar Allan Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart, where the narrator describes the heartbeat that plagues him as “a low, dull, quick sound, such as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton.”
The work explores the relationship between mind and body during moments of heightened anxiety, such as an unsettling awareness of one’s own heartbeat.
The familiarity we all have with textiles invites a sense of calm, but the quilting and stuffed textures create subtle distortions, echoing the physical tension and warped perceptions that often accompany anxiety.
I invite viewers to contemplate the interplay of comfort and unease and to explore the deep connection between physical and emotional experience.
crudecollages@yahoo.com
https://www.instagram.com/party4grandma
Mandy Trull
How Do We Put It All Away?
This piece illustrates the treacherous lottery that we subject our hearts to every day. All sorts of outside forces regularly batter, burn, and bruise us to the core. Our hearts are torn open, laid bare, but when we look inside, through the damage and the pain, that is where we find ourselves. We have the option to rename the pain as experience, and to understand that it is an integral part of us; that it helps shape us into the people we are today.
How Do We Put It All Away? is a collage of printer paper, card stock, handmade washi kozo, glossy book pages, and junk mail. The sanguine center droplets of faceted briolettes and deep red UV resin surround a glass mirror, while wire-wrapped twine sutures and real adhesive bandages attempt to hold everything together. As a personal touch, the background is a collection of still images from one of several CT scans I had of my own chest last year—my own heart on display for all to see.
https://www.instagram.com/puffytuffet
Natasha Vega
And her name echoed in the meadow
“A moonbeam struck her on the head, she made a heart,
And now she’s dead.
Though the living die first, the dead never die;
her name was an echo in a meadow near the sky.
I made the work from paper, dear; the paper’s opaque, is the message clear?
Though the heart here seen grows flowers,
its blood therein is the passage of the hours”
-Bc. Griffith
As a paper maker, Vega’s work is a study between ancient practices, botanical scraps, and rugged wavy edges. At her home studio she likes to integrate traditional techniques, often working outside with the sun- collecting dried flowers, leaves and grasses to embed into the paper pulp, holding shape and time; a natural resounding of its environment. Each piece is infused with delicate textures- a harmonious blend of tangles and soft crispy paper layers. Occasionally, embellishments of fragmented jewelry are embroidered throughout the piece, recuerdos of things lost and found. Above all, Vega remains contemplative of the beauty in debris.
Natasha Vega is a creator based out of Dallas, Texas but is known to float back and forth between New York City. She turned to papermaking due to the alchemy of the medium. Paper can act as a skin, a pulp, a hyde, or a cloth*
She has previously shown at:
Tempest Gallery, “Welcome Stranger”- Ridgewood, NY 2024
The Morgan Conservatory 9th Annual Juried Show- Cleveland, OH 2021
NYC Crit Club- Brooklyn, NY 2020
Rachel Velasquez
Petals Of The Soul
My painting is a symbolic representation of love. Throughout our lives we give pieces of ourselves to others. The process of giving your heart is a very intimate and vulnerable act. It’s a risk we take and sometimes others do not reciprocate the same level of love we give them. The petals portray pieces of our soul we give to the others and over time it can harden our hearts.
rach4123@icloud.com
(720) 301-1828
https://www.instagram.com/rachelv_artistry
Miguel A. Venegas
Love Through Suffering
Miguel Angel Venegas, born in El Paso, Texas, in 1974, is a self-taught artist whose work draws deeply from his life experiences and cultural heritage. Raised in Juarez, Mexico, he was profoundly influenced by the “Cholo” subculture, particularly the graffiti and murals that adorned his neighborhood park. His artistic vision is a commitment to telling stories through raw, unfiltered imagery.
Miguel’s unconventional education came from unlikely mentors. In county jail, a Cuban arms dealer introduced him to acrylic painting, and later, an older Chicano convict who had studied oils in Leavenworth during the 1970s revealed the medium’s beauty, tricking a hesitant Miguel into discovering its possibilities for himself.
Having spent over three decades incarcerated, Miguel embraced a “use whatever is at hand” philosophy in his art. From cigarette filters and rags to toothbrushes and broom straws, he turned everyday items into tools of creativity until he eventually gained access to traditional materials like brushes, airbrushes, and tools for working with leather, wood, and metal.
Currently serving as a unit artist at the Coffield Unit—a role he has held in two other facilities—Miguel explores a wide range of media, with a special affinity for tattoos and murals, which he regards as some of the oldest forms of human expression. His subjects span religion, culture, portraiture, landscapes, animals, and calligraphy, but one image recurs throughout his work: the Virgin of Guadalupe, his Holy Mother, who holds a special place in his heart and artistry.
Miguel Angel Venegas is a testament to resilience and the transformative power of art, using his talent to reflect the beauty and struggles of life with honesty and depth.
mccaindennis@gmail.com
Wendy Woodring
Open to Transformation
Open to transformation, it is the evolution of internal consciousness that manifests itself from the heart, ready to be shared with others. The heart is like the cocoon that was responsible for filling itself with knowledge to generate that metamorphosis, turning it into a butterfly ready to take flight and the freedom of human consciousness.
Wendy Woodring
https://www.stormingdesigns.com
designs.storming@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/StormingDesigns
https://www.instagram.com/storming.designs.sa/
Vladimir Zuniga
Silent Love
Vladimir grew up in the magical town of San Miguel De Allende in central Mexico surrounded by artists, mountains, beautiful architecture, and a rich cultural history. As a child he was fascinated by the themes of the 1970s, including his father’s car collection and popular toy action figures at the time. Although Vladimir was a natural and accomplished athlete from a young age, his father saw something special in the way Vladimir viewed the world and enrolled him in various art workshops taught by esteemed artisans in San Miguel. As Vladimir learned the intricacies of welding, papier maché, and other tactile art disciplines he discovered a love of creating something tangible and lasting with his hands.
As an adult Vladimir realized he needed to fill the void of losing his father during the pandemic lockdown of 2020 and felt his father’s encouragement from beyond to began sculpting clay figures that had been living in his mind for decades. Inspired by his favorite classic cars, flora and fauna indigenous to Mexico and Texas, and his love of fashion and tennis shoes, Vladimir began his deep dive into perfecting his sculpting skills. His sculptures emphasize texture and details the eye may not catch the first few times a viewer meets them, which adds to the delightful sense of humor he portrays in each piece. Vladimir feels that life is precious yet fleeting and we all deserve to have beautiful objects in our everyday lives that make us smile.
Vladimir wants you to know that anyone can learn new art disciplines no matter their age, and a great way to begin is just by getting your hands dirty in a ball of clay.
Vladzuniga@hotmail.com
