
Exhibition: 2026 El Corazón
Dates: February 7-March 7, 2026
- IVANEVID
- Trish Allen
- Carina Alvarado
- Lynn Wilkes Armstrong
- Miguel Avila
- Wendy Barkett
- Jon Black
- Teresa Calderon
- Cynthia Castillo
- Erica Con
- Erica Con
- Gabby Cornelio
- Jacqui Daniels
- Gail Dauer
- Dale DuBord
- Kristen Elzey
- Peggy Espinel
- Celine Espinoza
- Pam Ewell
- Tija Falkner
- Victor Ferretiz
- Cristabel Fonseca
- Corey Godfrey
- Gustavo Gonzalez
- Andie Hamilton
- Melanie Hardy McVey
- CJ Hochevar
- Audrey Hong
- Danny Hurley
- Daniele Jones
- Heather Lampe
- Sarah Landreau
- Braulio Lazon-Conde
- Alison Ledbetter
- Renae Lesley
- Romulo Martinez
- Stephen McDaniel
- Bobby Miller
- Nayeli Miranda
- Karen Musgraves
- Lisa Nigro
- Nancy Ofori
- Angel Ohome
- Jennifer Oropeza
- Laura Pappas
- Eric Joseph Pouncie Jr.
- Marie Santiago
- Raul Servin
- Dayana Stetco
- Miss Sue
- Mandy Trull
- Sherry Wade-Hockett
- J Alan Whiteside
- Rebecca Winslow
- Kyle Wood
- Byron Zarrabi
- Robbie Zeske
IVANEVID
MEXICORAZÓN
Ivanevid’s work explores energy in motion—the interplay of form, texture, light, and shadow in constant transformation. Rooted in his beginnings as a graffiti artist in Mexico City, his practice bridges urban expression with studio-based abstraction. He employs a wide range of media to create compositions that evoke both chaos and harmony. Now based in North Texas, his work reflects on impermanence, interconnectedness, and material alchemy. His artworks, murals, and street art have been exhibited or installed in over 40 cities across more than 15 countries across the globe, including London, New York, Tokyo, Stockholm, and Mexico City.
info@ivanevid.com
https://www.ivanevid.com
https://www.instagram.com/ivanevid
Trish Allen
Fight for Love
This artwork is inspired by the different layers of love itself. My work is done with various materials that I can cut into shapes, layer and embellish with different mediums.
My thought for this particular piece is driven by the social climate in the world right now. My piece gives a nod to the military to represent the fight, the wood print represents nature, leopard for animals and the plaid for myself. Love is needed in all things to survive and my hope is that it prevails.
allentrish567@gmail.com
Carina Alvarado
Corazon Mio
My work explores memory, pressure, and identity through bold color, layered imagery, and visual tension. Drawing from childhood experiences, cultural references, and everyday systems we’re expected to navigate, I’m interested in how weight accumulates emotionally, socially, and internally.
Numbers, symbols, and familiar forms appear as personal forces that shape time, value, and self-perception rather than neutral measurements. Color is used aggressively and intentionally to create a tension between attraction and discomfort, inviting viewers in before asking them to sit with something heavier.
The work lives in the in-between, where humor and anxiety coexist, nostalgia meets pressure, and visibility and invisibility overlap.
carinaoalvarado@gmail.com
(469) 367-1473
https://www.facebook.com/carina.o.alvarado
https://www.instagram.com/artbycoa/
Lynn Wilkes Armstrong
My Prickly Heart
The clay rules the process.
The function defines the form.
Elemental magic takes place as earthen clay is softened by water to workability, dried by air and time, and finished in fire.
My process borrows from varied skills.
I roll the clay into sheets like pastry.
Using printmaking methods I impress textures into the responsive surface of the smooth slabs.
Like a dressmaker I use paper templates to cut the pattern pieces that will fit together to make my forms.
Two dimensions are shaped and integrated into a volumetric vessel before allowing it to harden into a functional form. Fired in the kiln, and then fired again with a thin layer of glassy glaze to fulfill its use, the earth becomes art.
The clay is transformed.
Earth, water, air, and fire.
From my hand to yours…
lynn@bothhandsstudio.com
www.bothhandsstudio.com
https://www.instagram.com/bothhandsstudio/
Miguel Avila
Untitled (Corazon Guadalupe)
My artist practice is heavily influenced by culture and memory. With an augmented contrast produced by the immigrant experience of a Mexican living and working in Texas. My work combines autobiographical elements, oftentimes detached from their native environment, displayed in new and unoccupied spaces. They invite to explore the details of otherwise modest objects, and imagine other realities by moving the spectators’ center of gravity for a moment.
https://www.miguel-avila.com/
https://www.instagram.com/miguelavilam
Wendy Barkett
Unconditional Lust
Wendy Barkett is a self-taught artist who creates from her home in Flower Mound, Texas.
She discovered her passion for art in 2020 with the purchase of her first watercolor set.
After taking an online course in 2021, she quickly developed a daily creative practice guided by intuition and curiosity.
While words often feel limiting, Wendy finds her truest voice through visual expression. Her art becomes a language of its own—one that allows emotion, memory, and meaning to surface more freely than verbal communication. She believes art is a layered story, sometimes revealing secrets, sometimes concealing meaning, and uses mixed media to explore how those layers interact, build, and transform one another.
Her work ranges from whimsical to raw and emotional, but her ultimate intention is to create space for reflection, inviting each viewer to discover their own interpretation within her work.
swbarkett@att.net
(972) 505-0411
https://www.instagram.com/wendymbbb
Jon Black
Punk Love #1: Amor-Chy in the UK.
As a creator, I remain best-known as an author of historical fiction as well as a former music journalist and music historian. Over the past year, however, I have begun to more actively explore the visual arts. Typically, the inspiration for my work originates with some puzzle of language which seems best explored through visual media (as, here, with the tension, symbiosis, and synthesis between the words “punk” and “love”). My visual work frequently utilizes pop-culture iconography, incorporates atypical materials apropos for a work’s theme, as well as makes use of the written word, thus incorporating language itself as an integral part of the lens through which a piece is encountered.
(512) 466-0805
https://jonblackwrites.com
Teresa Calderon
Grief – The Blooming Scar
Creativity has always been an intuitive part of my life. In 2025, I began creating metal art publicly as an outlet for emotions I could not put into words. This piece emerged from my journey with grief following the passing of my son, Gavin, exploring grief as a wound that never fully heals.
The heart, marked by a deep gash, represents where love and pain permanently converge. From this rupture, organic matter emerges, symbolizing the quiet resilience that takes root within sorrow and the persistence of life within it.
The forged hand bears markings honoring suicide awareness. The barbed wire reflects the intimate nature of grief—how it wraps itself around love and lives within the body. Mounted on an ornate panel reminiscent of a playing card, the piece becomes a reflection on fate, chance and the quiet echo born from life’s sudden turns.
TerryCalderon@gmail.com
(214) 537-1725
https://facebook.com/terrymcalderon
https://www.instagram.com/terry_cal
Cynthia Castillo
It’s a Fixer-Upper
It’s a Fixer-Upper addresses the experience of repeated heartbreak and the vulnerability of exposing past hurts and scars to others. The work does not hide damage, rather it acknowledges that effort and reckoning are required to become whole again. It reflects on the courage it takes to continue forward while still being visibly marked by loss.
Love is Blind
Love Is Blind carries a dual meaning. On one level, it speaks to the willingness to remain open to love again after heartbreak. On another, it reflects the pain we repeatedly accept in the name of love, often choosing feeling over clarity, and not always confronting what is present with open eyes. The use of braille paper points to perception and both trust and willful blindness. The layered materials and imperfect surfaces reflect vulnerability and a honest look at self-harmful endurance in tension and poignantly asks one to consider where love becomes an act of courage and where it becomes a quiet form of damage.
cynt.castillo@gmail.com
(254) 383-7535
https://www.etsy.com/shop/CreativeCreationbyCC
https://www.instagram.com/creative_creations_by_cc?igsh=MWY0MjZpYTVqMWg3ag%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
Erica Con
The Collective Heart, Awakening
I would like to edit my original statement if possible: A longing reverence for the shared heart of humanity.
Beyond race, class, borders, and every other way we’ve made up to create separation, we all have the same heart pumping blood through every body.
It is our inner child, our vulnerability. It is our shared capacity for empathy.
The heart is surrounded by lotus flowers, symbolizing collective wisdom and primitive memory.
A flower that emerges through mud, the lotus reflects how awareness can arise through struggle. The eyes within the lotus are both open and closed, representing humanity at different stages of awareness, all connected to the same heart.
A call to awaken to empathy, connection, and remember our collective potential.
commandspace@ericacon.com
@ericaconjures
Erica Con
Collective Heart, Awakening
A reflection on the shared heart of humanity.
Before race, class, borders, or hierarchy, there is the same heart pumping blood through every body.
It is our inner child, our shared vulnerability, and our shared capacity for empathy.
The heart is surrounded by lotus forms, symbolizing collective wisdom and ancestral memory.
A flower that emerges through mud, the lotus reflects how awareness can rise through struggle. The eyes within the lotus are both open and closed, representing humanity at different stages of awareness, all connected to the same heart.
An invitation to awaken to empathy, connection, and our collective potential.
commandspace@ericacon.com
(308) 325-8559
ericacon.com
https://www.instagram.com/ericaconjures
Gabby Cornelio
One More Beat
My artistic journey began during a time of deep vulnerability. At one point in my life, I felt strongly that God was offering me a new gift through painting—a gift that would become a way to process emotions I had not yet fully understood, but that would soon arrive through significant trials.
In time, that intuition became reality. In our family, we face the challenges of raising a child with Williams syndrome, an experience that has profoundly shaped our lives. It has been a path marked by difficulty, but also by love, growth, and inner transformation.
Through painting, I have found a source of hope, comfort, and strength. My work is rooted in real experiences of motherhood, faith, resilience, and the fragility of life. Using color and form as an emotional language, I seek to create pieces that connect with the viewer’s heart and offer light, even in moments of adversity.
gabbycorneliogallegos@gmail.com
(661) 330-8068
www.beartfulstudio.com
https://www.facebook.com/share/1CcpAN8D7v/?mibextid=wwXIfr
https://www.instagram.com/be.artful_studio?igsh=MXRjcDRpdHhmbmRxZw%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
Jacqui Daniels
Dilatasti Cor Meum
” You have enlarged my heart “
My words don’t come easily. What I feel and wish to express has a way of getting stuck before it can escape my mouth. But there is profound connection and a different type of conversation happening in the silent void that doesn’t need to be filled with useless awkward chatter. It’s a conversation of the heart. In the silent prayer the heart expands from its narrow existence to receive and give fully.
When we follow the roots and veins of the heart we are lead by the beat of ancestral drums. The beat pumps the blood of ancient ways, wisdom, guidance, and protection through us. The lessens are not easy, sometimes seemingly unbearable at times, and sometimes the roads are not ones we would have chosen for ourselves. Sometimes we are even asked to support and bear witness to another’s path we can not choose. Through hard lessons, excruciating pain and unbearable love and joy we are asked to trust the process. To trust the stories and guidance of our ancestors, those that intercede for us and Creator themself. Through this trust and relationship our hearts grow exponentially.
This painting was created with an expanded heart in gratitude for the spiritual army by the side of my family and I during recent hard times. The miracles and support will never be forgotten.
The heart is made of ground rose, homemade Agua Florida, and ground Copal
The veins are hand dyed with cochineal
The roots are from my garden
The spirits are harvested from the earth and painted with clay, prickly pear tuna, cochineal, and rose
nettleguruherbs@gmail.com
(214) 533-0953
Gail Dauer
Love, Or The Outside Looking In
I work primarily in oil, creating figurative scenes, interiors, landscapes, and still lifes that explore emotional presence within everyday experience. My paintings depict familiar or quietly observed environments—both interior and exterior—where light, shadow, and atmosphere become carriers of feeling. Rather than pursuing photographic realism, I use expressive color and value shifts to transform observed scenes into emotionally resonant spaces shaped by inner experience.
My process begins with observation from life or photographic reference, followed by intuitive drawing and layered oil paint. I am drawn to oil for its depth and flexibility, which allows me to build light gradually, revise forms, and let the image evolve. Shadow plays a central role in my work—not only creating depth, but introducing tension, vulnerability, and psychological weight. Softened edges and visible brushwork preserve a sense of movement and fragility, allowing the surface of the painting to reflect the emotional state present during its making.
Rooted in the Expressionist tradition, my work prioritizes emotional truth over objective description. Through heightened light, contrast, and color, I seek to capture how feeling shapes perception—how the heart registers presence before language. I want viewers to encounter these scenes intuitively, as if entering a quiet, suspended moment, where their own memories, emotions, and associations can surface within the space of the painting.
gaildauer@gmail.com
(646) 644-9649
https://www.instagram.com/GailDauerStudio
Dale DuBord
Lost Love
Took up sculpting first as a time filler hobby but has evolved into a passionate pursuit of form complimenting the natural lines of wood grain. Working with wood sourced from fallen trees primarily Oak, Pecan, Cedar Elm to create fluid female and heart forms. Utilizing the natural wood grain patterns to complement and enhance the shape and lines of the sculpture.
I’m a late bloomer sculptor that found my passion just four years ago The creative demons drive my pursuit of sensual forms hidden within the natural grains of woods
Working with wood sourced from fallen trees primarily Oak, Pecan, Cedar Elm to create fluid female and heart forms. Utilizing the natural wood grain patterns to complement and enhance the shape and lines of the sculpture.
ddnodak@gmail.com
(214) 236-0772
https://www.instagram.com/dalejdubord?igsh=MXJtY2l5N3ZzMDNseA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
Kristen Elzey
Kintsugi Heart
(mixed media collage)
I discovered collage during the pandemic after decades of feeling creatively blocked, and it quickly became an artistic outlet & emotional language for me. As a practicing therapist, the medium allows me to translate the inner world into visual form and share those insights with my community. I’m comforted by the patient, tactile ritual of analog collage—the gathering, cutting or tearing, arranging and questioning, and that intuitive moment when the pieces seem to claim their final places. This dance between intention & synchronicity mirrors the balance I see woven throughout the human experience: order-vs-chaos, grounding-vs-expansion, certainty-vs-curiosity, etc. This (he)artwork is inspired by the Japanese concept of “kintsugi”, the ancient art of repairing broken pottery with gold, thus honoring cracks as part of an object’s history and celebrating the strength & beauty in imperfection. I can’t imagine a lovelier metaphor for healing, resilience, and embracing the singular uniqueness within each of us.
kristenlaurenlz@gmail.com
(385) 988-6292
https://www.facebook.com/klelzey
https://www.instagram.com/elzapatista
Peggy Espinel
Corazón Partido
I am a re-emerging artist rediscovering my voice after years dedicated to caring for others. My work explores inner landscapes—grief, healing, identity, memory. I’m drawn to the emotional undercurrents of daily life and to the quiet, complex truths that surface through vulnerability. As I return to my creative practice, I approach it with curiosity, and intuition.
“Corazón Partido” was created in the aftermath of a long, life-altering relationship. In it, I explore the raw disorientation of heartbreak—how it feels to fall into darkness with no clear shape to your identity or your future. My work often grapples with themes of loss, and the quiet power of staying open when everything falls apart.
peggyirene.espinel@gmail.com
(469) 426-9747
https://www.instagram.com/_lapeggy/
Celine Espinoza
Heart of Grace
Some seasons feel quiet on the outside, but inside, everything is being reshaped. Heart of Grace was created during one of those seasons. It was a time when I was learning to let go, to soften, and to open myself to something greater than me.
At the center of the painting is a glowing cross resting inside an anatomical heart. That light represents a grace that doesn’t rush in but gently fills the spaces we didn’t realize were empty. A grace that stays even when we falter.
Though this piece is personal, it isn’t just about me. It’s about what happens when we stop striving and start receiving. My hope is that Heart of Grace offers a sense of that quiet, steady love to anyone who stands before it—however they find it and wherever they are in their journey.
threadncreate@gmail.com
@threadncreate
Pam Ewell
The Healing Heart
I’ve long been fascinated by the Japanese art of Kintsugi. Broken vessels are not discarded, but repaired with a golden bond, enhancing its flaws, making the vessel more beautiful than before.
Our hearts are like this. They are broken countless times in our lifetime, and often heal from tragic circumstances with years of love, compassion, and forgiveness. Some hurts, I believe never heal or take much longer. Our hearts store love, heartache, milestones, and countless loved ones.
The result is a heart that is stronger and more lovely than we ever knew was possible. To see the process involved (less than 1:30) and the hundreds of photos hidden inside, go to
https://youtube.com/shorts/1097yDRQk7g?si=U0jaNi4_dEwp-lBQ
pamewell555@gmail.com
(214) 578-8381
https://pamewellart.artcall.org/
@the.artfulsoul
Tija Falkner
Heat of Gold
This piece emerged from profound frustration with how Black people are perceived and portrayed. Biased media narratives and harmful stereotypes have obscured our full humanity for far too long. This piece is my response, a visual reclamation of truth.
At the center is an anatomical heart encased in gold, set in front of the African American flag. I chose an anatomical heart deliberately, not a simple heart symbol, but the real, complex organ that sustains life. The gold represents what I witness every day: Black people with hearts of gold. People overflowing with passion, thoughtfulness, care, and love. People who extend generosity and kindness freely, often going out of their way to show it, even when the world has shown them cruelty. The flag anchors this golden heart in Black identity and collective experience.
This is my counter-narrative to every distorted image and biased assumption. Black humanity is rich and complex, and has always been golden. It is up to you to choose to see it or not.
chromaplusstudio@gmail.com
chromaplusstudio.com
https://www.instagram.com/chromaplusstudio/
Victor Ferretiz
El Abrazo
My name is Victor Ferretiz. I am a surrealist artist, and I like to paint with oils and acrylics on canvas, as well as work with mixed media on objects such as clay, old wooden boxes, textiles, and drawing paper.
My greatest inspiration comes from observing nature. My main focus is surrealism, naturalism, and magical or mystical art. Through these styles, my vision explores self-identity, memory, transformation, and the human connection with nature.
I like to be meticulous with attention to detail, and a mix of spontaneity and precision in my work. The stylization of my work is very important to me. I like to be spontaneous and forget the rules of art and immerse myself in my own inspiration to connect with myself and feel those emotions in every brushstroke.
I believe art is a powerful form of expression that transcends language and culture, which creates a dialogue between the artist and the viewer. I aim to invite viewers to engage with their own emotional connections to the environment, prompting reflection on our place within it.
victorferretizart@gmail.com
(972) 750-9236
Https://www.victorferretizart.com
Https://www.facebook.com/victorferretizart/
Https://www.instagram.com/victorferretiz.art/
Cristabel Fonseca
I love art
Feelings move the world, and art is where mine begins. I wander through techniques and textures across diverse surfaces and dimensions. Each artwork is an act of exploration and the heart manifests itself.
(214) 226-7463
HTTPS://www.cristabel.art
Corey Godfrey
The Desert Inside
Corey Godfrey’s work is grounded in a deep engagement with craft materials and shaped by the playful creativity of her 1980’s childhood. Her discovery of yarn became a defining force in her practice, drawing her to its tactile qualities and its historical ties to “women’s work”, resilience, and community. Guided by dream imagery, she creates visual storyboards that hold memories. shifting and evolving as time alters their clarity.
Her current series turns toward nature as a site of solace. Sculpted wood forms become armatures for layered yarn, exploring vulnerability, strength, renewal, and the psychological passage of time. Threads accumulate like sediment, evoking aging and mental health, while shifting patterns reveal moments of tension and harmony. These transformations invite viewers to look beneath the surface and encounter states of connection, reflection, and discovery.
Through tactile engagement and immersive form, Godfrey creates a sense of “home,” transforming spaces into ecosystems of contemplation that honor the enduring relationship between humans and the natural world, particularly in moments of personal and collective need.
coreyamandagodfrey@gmail.com
(214) 534-5121
https://coreygodfreyart.com/
https://www.instagram.com/coreygodfreyart
Gustavo Gonzalez
El Ventisette
Loteria is a staple in Mexican households, dubbed “Mexican Bingo.” I wanted to combine three skills I’ve worked with the majority of my life- masonry, welding and paint. My goal was to juxtapose a small playing card into a behemoth of a structure. Some of the materials I used were leftover from jobs decades ago to brick used in the construction of my parents home. To me the materials serve as a reminder of yesterday’s struggles and a way to honor the past. My hope is the viewer can reflect for a brief moment and appreciate how a round of cards can bring people together.
gusgonzalez89@hotmail.com
(817) 613-7931
https://www.instagram.com/tresleches89
Andie Hamilton
Beautiful Dreamer
This mixed media piece was created using layers of hand-painted papers and vintage sheet music. I’m drawn to the idea that both color and music carry memory, emotion, and rhythm. By building the image through collage, I allow fragments of the past to surface within something newly formed.
“Beautiful Dreamer” is also the title of the song on the sheet music used. I felt it was appropriate in matters of the heart.
andiehamilton@mac.com
(469) 951-8771
andieincolor.com
https://www.facebook.com/andieincolor
https://www.instagram.com/andieincolor
Melanie Hardy McVey
The Ragtag Ramblings of Love
I am primarily a painter, a habitual sketcher, and love working in whatever medium suits my needs at the time- whether that be 2D or 3D. I’m also an art teacher for 18 years, exhibiting regularly with the Kettle Art Gallery in Deep Ellum, as well as various other venues around the Metroplex.
The most recent evolution of my art has seen my usual themes of humor, nostalgia, retro vibes and that touch of realism with a whimsical direction… gradually merging with my love of sustainability. I have always been drawn to old things. I believe it has something to do with the very strong familial connections to all of my grandparents and great grandparents. They built a foundation that loved the old, and appreciated functionality, durability, and “fixin” things, instead of throwing it out and getting new. Pairing that with my growing concern about our planet that is being blanketed with garbage, and a society that is obsessed with consumerism. I find myself trying to find ways to take what is worthless, and make it precious. I want to build something beautiful out of something that has been cast aside.
This particular sculpture, in keeping with the theme of the show, incorporates hundreds of collaged signatures of the words “I love you” written by students and co-workers, as well as vintage textiles. The bulk of the sculpture is repurposed from plastic refuse, encompassing my love for all things sustainable, and capturing the many “ragtag” parts that build up that truly strong love that bonds us to our dearest ones. Love is not easy… it’s not pretty… it’s ragged and worn… but it is full of joy and beauty that radiates despite everything it has gone though.
(936) 615-7145
https://www.facebook.com/melaniehardymcvey
https://www.instagram.com/melaniehardymcvey/
CJ Hochevar
I left my heart in Thailand
Hi, I’m CJ and I like to play with glitter.
I make art out of the parts of myself I am still learning to love.
Sacred nonsense, googly eyed gremlins, and entirely too many nerdy little things that fuel my soul.
I make tiny offerings to joy, sorrow, anxiety, sarcasm, survival, and everything else in between. Wrapped in resin, coated in paint, or sculpted out of clay, these are the bits of me that I offer to a complicated world.
Please enjoy this piece inspired by the tastes, colors, and textures of Thailand. It is a truly magical place. I left my heart there, and I cannot wait to return. You should too.
Now go make something weird.
chaoscastlecreations@gmail.com
https://dot.cards/chaoscastlecreations
https://www.facebook.com/share/189yKBgvFV/
https://www.instagram.com/chaoscastlecreations?igsh=OWloN2dxcGh6dzZl
Audrey Hong
Encased
I created this piece to capture both the essence of beauty and fragility into one painting. The swan, well known for being an animal of grace and elegance, is cradling a softly beating heart. Its underlying potential is yet to be discovered, as the swan is held back by its own inability to embrace itself completely. It will be unable to soar until it releases its hold and spreads its wings to fly.
https://www.instagram.com/weeegul?igsh=MXJ6ZnJpeWRpN3Zkdw%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
Danny Hurley
Mi Corazón Palpita Como una Patata Frita
I have made a Valentines art piece for my wife every year since 1996, they include photographs, digital art, sculptures, even music videos. Some have exhibited in these El Corazon shows in the past. This year I wanted go back to a print. I decided to draw a heart in photoshop and layered many wild colored copies. I wanted to use a common Spanish phrase that described my silly love for her. “Mi Corazón Palpita Como una Patata Frita” translates to “My heart beats like a french fry”. If you look carefully, you can find our names hidden amongst the colors.
danny@dannyhurley.com
(214) 533-0971
https://www.dannyhurley.com/design/valentines
https://www.facebook.com/danny.hurley
Daniele Jones
Memento Meminisse
This sculptural assemblage explores memory and loss through weathered surfaces whose patina represents the erosion of cherished connections. Dangling images and keys suggest both the weight of remembrance and the freedom found in release.
“Memento Meminisse” – remember to remember – reflects how expansion sometimes requires contraction. By releasing inherited burdens and unwanted obligations, we create space for repair and recognize that value lies not in the material, but in its significance. The work transforms disintegration into freedom, showing how our experiences of love and loss become integrated parts of ourselves, transformed but not forgotten.
art@danielejones.com
https://danielejones.com
https://www.instagram.com/danielejonesart
Heather Lampe
Coronary Tree
Hey y’all! I’m a multi-faceted fashion designer and illustrator specializing in high detail floral illustrations.
I’m the one that smiles a lot and always finds a positive spin on an unpleasant situation. My coworkers and clients will tell you I’m easy-going with a fierce work ethic, and my friends will tell you I’m supportive with an infectious enthusiasm. When I’m not engineering a new design, you can find me at the park with my nose in a sketchbook or instructing an aerial dance/fitness class.
heather.lampe.0@gmail.com
(618) 973-3346
https://www.heatherestherlampe.com/
https://www.instagram.com/fireflyhoney/
Sarah Landreau
Than All the Roses in the World
Sarah Landreau is a sel-taught oil painter living in Dallas, Texas. She makes symbolic, surreal work that examines morality, belief, and personal change. Drawing from classical art, natural history, and religious sources, she uses animals, anatomy, and ritual objects to work through emotional and ethical questions.
Her work is shaped by growing up with strict moral rules. Rather than rejecting those ideas or treating them with nostalgia, Landreau uses them as raw material—looking closely at how guilt, devotion, resistance, and self-control take shape over time.
sarahlandreau.studio@gmail.com
https://sarahlandreau.com
https://www.facebook.com/sarahlandreau.studio/
https://www.instagram.com/sarahlandreau.studio/
Braulio Lazon-Conde
A Pulse Older Than Maps
In this woodcut, the “Corazón” is a vibration carved into the grain. It is the threshold where the internal rhythm of a life meets the unyielding lines of a border.
This pulse is an elemental force, as indifferent to a map as the tide is to a fence. We live in a fiction of geography, where ink and paper attempt to supersede the ancient currents of origin.
By centering this light over a desolate shore, the heart is returned to the sea. We move by a natural law—one felt in the chest—long before it is ever written.
Blazonconde@gmail.com
@baru_lab
Alison Ledbetter
Memento
My work delves into the exploration of internal landscapes, portraying the intimate and sacred spaces of the mind. Paintings are portrayals of the intangible, capturing the fluidity of thoughts, memories, and emotions. Each piece seeks to visualize the elusive and ephemeral experiences that shape our inner worlds. Emotions gel and meld, taking on a life of their own, evolving organically as they work their way outward, first influencing the physical self and then extending into the world at large.
I strive to create a visual language that reflects the complexity and depth of the human psyche. My paintings invite viewers on a journey of self-discovery and introspection, encouraging them to explore their own internal landscapes.
hello@alisonledbetter.com
https://www.alisonledbetter.com
https://www.instagram.com/alisonraeart/?hl=en
Renae Lesley
His Heart Is Trashy / ᎤᏲᏨᎭ ᎤᏓᏅᏙ
My son’s growing mound of waste from his 3D printing business was causing concern. Recycling those plastic offcuts proved not to be as easy as we thought. Another point of concern for me was in my struggle to decide what to create for submission to one of my favorite Dallas art exhibitions, El Corazón. The moment I noticed the shine from the sprinkling of gold supports sticking up through the rubble, far fewer golden than the many dull gray and brown trimmings, the two issues melded together for me.
I retrieved a discarded and beautifully battered canvas, complete with a sizeable hole, and began designing a sacred heart, starting with the gold pieces that reminded me of flames and on to gray fragments to twist into thorns. I spent days on end, picking through the bits, snapping and torching them into shape while gleefully watching that trash mound shrink (the heat helped immensely with volume); fussing and fusing and breathing too many fumes until I reached the result I was after.
With a university degree and several decades of tenure in the field of Environmental Science, I try to recycle, reclaim or upcycle as much as possible, especially when teaching and creating art. This piece is about as close to 100% recycled, upcycled, and reclaimed as possible.
As a TERO-certified Cherokee artist, it is also my mission to include the Native experience and our endangered language in my work. El Corazón- the heart, universally depicted throughout the ages as a symbol of love- is often portrayed, as I chose here, as both euphorically aflame as well as savagely ravaged. I knew how I wanted to name this piece but consulted a beloved elder as to whether a word for trash even existed in Tsalagi. This is how His Heart Is Trashy, ᎤᏲᏨᎭ ᎤᏓᏅᏙ (u-yo-jv-ha u-da-n(v)-to), came to be.
Make of that what you will.
(214) 923-1981
https://www.renaelesley.com
www,facebook.com/renaelesley
https://www.instagram.com/renae.issance
Romulo Martinez
Towards Warmth or Coldness (Direction)
As a person and an artist, I have always had a keen interest in humanistic, social, and introspective themes. These themes inspire me to capture them in my work, with the intention of allowing the viewer to see themselves reflected through their sensitivity and participate in the stories or dialogues depicted, or, conversely, to nourish them and fill them with new conceptual and narrative content.
I represent elements that evoke the search for self-discovery, disconnecting from reality to connect with the inner self within picturesque, playful, and surreal contexts, where human, natural, or everyday objects, in an allegorical and cartographic manner, seek to narrate a story, a state of mind, and a state of feeling, all immersed in fields of color and contrasting or mimetic nuances with a symbolic and conceptual character.
Through experimentation with mixed media and various formalities between the two-dimensional and the three-dimensional I seek to express myself, utilizing mediums such as collage, assemblage and construction, along with painting, drawing, and printmaking.
My work is an introspective and therapeutic journey, where I seek to heal and reconcile thoughts and memories with the historicity of my personal life, looking to the past through meditation to reflect on the present and visualize the future, with the hope of being able to offer myself and others certain affirmations that awaken enthusiasm and courage in their beings, regardless of the changes life presents.
roartma@gmail.com
romulomartinez.com
http://www.facebook.com/romulomartinezart
http://www.instagram.com/_romulomartinez.com
Stephen McDaniel
Art Imitates Nature
I love the world of colors found in nature and I love how impressionistic art translates and interprets those colors into life and art. In the flowing curves of nature as seen in the heart, one can envision the art of dance and the art of poetry. Proverbs 17:22 says a joyful and positive heart is like medicine. So, throw your head back, look up, and dance.
sdalemcdaniel@gmail.com
https://stevemcdanielart.com/
stevemoroccoart
Bobby Miller
A Heart Learning its Shape
My work lives in a state of controlled chaos, layering texture, rhythm, and energy into pieces that feel alive. I build compositions that shift between spontaneity and precision, almost as if they might transform the moment you look away. Rhythm, motion, and form are central to my process; they create a pulse that drives each painting forward.
I don’t create for aesthetics alone. My work is driven by the need to express what I feel internally and invite others to access their own emotions in the process. I’m constantly navigating the space between chaos, structure, and clarity, using that tension to challenge viewers to look deeper, move past the surface, and engage with their own interpretations. Through that process of seeing and sensing, I hope they find their own version of harmony.
Inspired by Pablo Picasso’s belief that “To find is the thing,” I see my practice as an act of discovery. My goal is to create a space for reflection, an experience where the mystery of abstraction opens the door to wordless appreciation. Through my work, I hope viewers don’t just see the art, but experience it, and maybe even find a piece of themselves within it.
CanvasBullyArt@gmail.com
@canvasbully
Nayeli Miranda
Passion
This painting is a representation of what passionate love can feel like. Passion is like hot lava that erupts from a volcano.
On the foreground there is a volcano with a heart erupting with “passion and love”.
In the background I chose to represent two volcanos that are part of a popular Mexican folklore story: Popocatépelt and Iztaccíhualt. This volcanoes are part of an Aztec love story in which a princess falls in love with a warrior, and when both of them die the gods turned into volcanoes in order to preserve their magnificent love.
Karen Musgraves
Frida’s Big Heart
Collage/Mixed Media
My work dances across mediums—painting, mixed media, pottery—but color always leads. Whether I’m chasing Frida’s whimsy, Matisse’s striking simplicity or Gauguin’s calming style, the thrill is in how paint, clay or found bits turn into something bright and alive. I love the tug-of-war between getting fine details on canvas just right and letting shapes blur into happy accidents. At heart, every piece is an invitation: bring it home, let it glow on your wall or shelf, remind you how wild and pretty the world still is.
karen@karenmusgraves.com
(903) 262-8068
Lisa Nigro
Heart of Medusa
My recent assemblages engage the religious, iconic, sacred, bleeding heart in its many guises. The feminine experience is exposed and observed through the old idiom of “Served on a Silver Platter.” Ceramic hearts are juxtaposed with silver platters, bowls, goblets, and cutlery informing the viewer of woman’s fragile and changing place in society, past and present in both American and European culture, where duties, expectations, and rights to our minds, hearts, and bodies are blurred to the point of dismantlement.
drakamistress@gmail.com
(775) 437-6696
https://www.lisanigro.com (currently under construction)
https://www.facebook.com/LisaNigroArtist/
https://www.instagram.com/drakamama/
Nancy Ofori
Full of Life
My work is layered and multifaceted, drawing on everyday experiences—both extraordinary and ordinary—filtered through the lens of my cultural heritage. As a Hispanic woman, I explore themes of identity, memory, and belonging by blending personal narratives with cultural references. Acrylic paint and thread are central to my practice; my enduring fascination with textiles allows me to stitch together stories through texture and form. Through vibrant layers and tactile surfaces, I aim to evoke a sense of childhood wonder and invite viewers to discover the extraordinary within the everyday.
nancy@nancyoforiart.com
(818) 679-4650
nancyoforiart.com
https://www.facebook.com/nancyoofori
https://www.instagram.com/nancyoforiart/?hl=en
Angel Ohome
Tying Myself Back Together
I created this piece while reflecting on the resilience I have had to build within myself after facing multiple difficulties in a short timeframe. Creating pottery is a slow process. You have to make the work, patiently wait for it to dry to the appropriate state to mold it, wait for it to dry again, fire it, add glaze, then fire it again. A single piece can take over a month to complete. This slow and at times tedious process is a mirror of the work of healing the heart. It requires patience. It is a process that cannot be rushed. In the end, just like a work of art, the result can be unexpected and cathartic, illuminating the beauty that was already present every step of the way.
ohomeangel@gmail.com
https://www.alaseeds.com
@alaseedspottery
Jennifer Oropeza
Sol Ardiente
Inspired by the tradition of the papel picado, this work was created by wood and spray paint as a beloved gift to my mother. This piece shows the battle of an immigrant chasing a new dream in a new land while carrying a deep longing for their birth land. The heart of the design is from the land my mother left – Durango, Mexico. Known as the Land of the Scorpions, Durango symbolizes transformation or the cycle of life itself. This work is to honor my mother’s birth place and to continue holding a lasting space in her heart.
(903) 259-8394
https://www.instagram.com/jnzco/
Laura Pappas
Heart Air Balloon Ride
This painting shows the fragile space between love, loss, and the fear of what comes after heartbreak. The balloons act as vessels of emotional survival, hovering between ascent and collapse, symbolizing the desperate attempt to protect oneself from further damage after losing someone deeply loved. Clinging to heartbreak becomes a form of survival, as letting go feels dangerous, as the figures hang above an unknown landscape.
This work reflects the moment when an ending and a beginning exist together. It captures the tension between holding on and trusting the fall. Heart Air Balloon Ride is about the desperation of nearing the end of something meaningful, and the quiet terror and possibility of stepping into what comes next.
lauraepappas@gmail.com
(214) 422-5020
http://www.instagram.com/laurapappasart
Eric Joseph Pouncie Jr.
The Chamber
The art I create explores the interplay of light and shadow, evolving with the passage of time from day to night. My creative process embraces both the organic and the industrial, incorporating materials like paper, wood, encaustic medium, watercolor, and various found objects. Each element is transformed into something new through deliberate manipulation.
Humanity and the traces of our existence are at the heart and inspire my work. Our thoughts blend with our spaces within nature, embodying a paradox of simplicity and complexity.
My work often features figures, including myself, in an alternate but parallel reality, shifting against the ever-changing backdrop of our environment and blurring the boundaries between the familiar and the surreal.
For me, the early stages of a new piece start as a chaotic flicker; I never know if I have the fuel to complete the journey. The process is a puzzle, and I look back and smile as I conjure up ideas to bring the entire composition together.
I hope those who encounter my art can find personal meaning or simply a moment of enjoyment. I feel deeply grateful for the opportunity to create, and I aspire for my work to offer a sense of curiosity and discovery to all who engage with it.
https://www.facebook.com/ericjosephpounciejr
www.instagram.com/eerieentity
Marie Santiago
Mi Corazon, In The Beginning She Had to Die to Live
Who am I? A question I still ask myself. I’m a first generation Chicana. But my heart and soul is pride, love and the fire of my indigenous roots gifted by my ancestor’s de Mexico. As a new artist my hope is to inspire everyone to grow, heal and thrive beyond the traumas of the past. They do not define you. We hold the power in ourselves to choose our path. Mi Corazón is the first piece I created to help me begin my journey. My hope is that my artwork will help each person that crosses its path. A very special thank you to Jose Vargas. His very simple message “I like your art” awoke a fire in me. Thanks to you I was to do create Mi Corazón without fear or guilt. I don’t fear judgment. I feel free!
mariesantiago1977@gmail.com
https://www.instagram.com/losmuertosstudio
Raul Servin
Corazon de Madre
In this painting you see an oversized heart in the background of a mother with her child surrounded by cactus all over with agave and a bright light, and that is it, next! But wait, let me explain. It is a memory of my mother and the place I was born, in the desert mountains of the state of Guerrero, Mex.. There is a small town, named Ixcapuzalco. I don’t have any idea from where the name came, but I know that there it only rains for three months of the year and the other nine months are hot and dry. There was no electricity, water, WIC, Welfare, Human Services, or help from the government. So how did people survive there? Mother Nature provided us with agave, cactus, and a hot sun. I grew up drinking aguamiel (agave’s water), cactus and all the grubs, worms and insects that lived around those plants. She dried and roasted them and yummy. We finally moved out of my beloved town to a city. I thought I was tough. I knew how to survive with almost nothing, only the three essential elements: water, food (protein from fruit and veggies) and the big heart of my mother (for 13 children.) I try to show it in this painting. I hope I succeeded.
servin98@msn.com
(210) 381-8337
Dayana Stetco
Habitat
Dayana Stetco is a Romanian textile artist, playwright, and former artistic director of the experimental ensemble, The Milena Theatre Group.
After decades of directing plays and building stage models, she started creating a cast of characters she calls The Irregulars – anthropomorphic beings inspired by the natural world and the dark side of fairytales.
Art pieces made from vintage and reclaimed fabrics, with frayed edges and noticeable hand stitching, The Irregulars have rich life stories detailed in little notebooks they carry everywhere. Happy to occupy an empty room corner, or sit on a bookshelf or desk, they know what all of us should know (and could have learned from books): that objects and places preserve memories better than people.
dayanasimona12@gmail.com
(337) 255-5553
https://www.facebook.com/dayanastetco
Instagram.com/ds_irregulars/
Miss Sue
The Lord Created The Heart and
The Lord Regenerates The Heart
The desire to know God has led me on a journey of exploration, study, and discovery of God’s truth through the Bible. The goal of my Bible art journey is to create visual pieces like this one that represent an overview and message of the Bible.
My hope with this piece is to promote discussions and discoveries that lead to knowing God, understanding our origins, purpose, and destination, resulting in a regenerated heart.
Previously, my medium was clay. In this piece, I used cloth and markers because these tools give me the freedom to work in any environment and continue my Bible Art Journey.
Contact BibleArtJourney@yahoo.com for print enquiries.
BibleArtJourney@yahoo.com
Mandy Trull
December 17, 2025
My mother passed away, very unexpectedly, on December 17, 2025. She was beautiful, full of life, with a large network of friends and a social calendar full of fun activities, but she also had trouble managing her emotions throughout her life, which caused a massive rip in our mother/daughter relationship. I spent years processing and releasing the trauma of having a mother who I could not count on for emotional stability, and when I had finally forgiven her and started learning to enjoy her as a friend, she died. The heart in my piece contains all of my most pervasive thoughts, feelings, and frustrations about her passing, all in my own handwriting. The inside of the frame contains excerpts from a message our pastor gave very shortly after my piece was completed, proving to me that the Holy Spirit really does show up with exactly what you need, exactly when you need it.
puffytuffet@gmail.com
Sherry Wade-Hockett
Steadfast Love
My work is an offering of healing, hope, and restoration. Each piece begins as a prayer and becomes a visual language of the heart — el corazón — where faith, pain, beauty, and redemption meet.
I work primarily with ink, watercolor, and alcohol markers on paper, building layers of color, light, and hidden words. These hidden messages are an essential part of my practice. They invite the viewer to slow down, look closer, and discover scripture, prayer, and truth woven into the artwork itself — much like God weaves healing into our lives in ways we don’t always see at first.
My imagery is inspired by broken places made whole, cracked spaces filled with light, and hearts that are mended through grace. I am drawn to themes of restoration, divine presence, and the quiet power of prayer. Every line is intentional. Every color carries meaning. Every piece is created with the belief that art can be a sacred encounter.
This collection is an invitation to pause, breathe, and let your heart be seen.
Because even the most broken heart can glow again.
— Sherry Wade-Hockett
ronniensherry@yahoo.com
(214) 491-9348
redbubble.com/people/sh1953
Https://www.facebook.com/ChristianPrayerArtbySherryHockett
Hytps://www.instagram.com/#sherrywadehockettartist
J Alan Whiteside
And Yet, the Beat Goes On
In my image “And Yet, the Beat Goes On,” I portray a human heart as damaged, exposed, and scarred by physical and/or emotional trauma. Despite being fractured and vulnerable, our hearts remain defiant, buoyed by hope and love. Subtle echoes of an electrocardiogram’s uneven lines and the interrupted flow of a musical score reminder us of a pulse that may waver but endures. Injury is not erased but weathered, possibly to be healed in the future. From this endurance arises resilience: a determined beat that persists.
As a photographic artist, I combine shapes, color, and texture in compositions that express ideas, story fragments, or my feelings about a scene or subject. While many of my images reveal intimate details of landscapes, I also enjoy creating impressionistic abstract collages that incorporate my photographs, such as this image.
j.alan.whiteside@gmail.com
(214) 394-6874
https://alanwhiteside.zenfolio.com
Rebecca Winslow
Huge Beaded Heart Brooch
Colored glass has always captivated me. This fascination eventually led me to mosaic art. Along the way, I also found quilting. Both practices involve making and assembling components to form a new object. There is something about that act that brings me joy and comfort. In 2025 I began to study the beading techniques of indigenous cultures in the US and Canada. This felt like the ideal fusion of glass mosaic and sewing, but on a much smaller scale. I want to move forward using these techniques to create my own unique works that blur the boundaries of jewelry and gallery art.
Nature and biology are my muses. I have been fascinated with medical illustration since I was in grade school. My favorite biology assignments were anatomy diagrams such as bones, eyes, and of course … the heart. For me, a doctor visit is always better if I have time to study the informational anatomy posters that adorn the examination room walls.
I try to inject as much passion as possible into my work. Each item is thoughtfully placed to communicate my vision to the viewer. I am very emotional while I work and my piece cannot help but absorb my feelings. My art is imprinted with my thoughts and emotions whether the viewer knows it or not.
beckwins@att.net
Kyle Wood
Heart of Nature
A pulsing vabration of life courses through the arteries and viens of nature, depicted in the fractals of color that springs up through the earth. With a surreal view into the heart of nature, I portray the passionate desire to bring forth vigorous life across the face of earth.
kylemarkwood@gmail.com
(972) 795-7915
https://kylewoodcreations.com/
www.instagram.com/kylewoodcreations/
Byron Zarrabi
Corazon Pesado
Artist Statement: Byron Zarrabi — Corazón Pesado
In the heart of East Dallas, where steel meets soul, Corazón Pesado rises as a visceral embodiment of memory, emotion, and transformation. Forged from darkened steel and shaped with anatomical abstract precision, this sculpture is more than a heart—it is a vessel of lived experience, a monument to the weight we carry and the resilience we forge.
My art is forged in fire—literally and spiritually. Like Kaveh, the legendary Persian blacksmith who defied tyranny with his hammer, I shape metal not to dominate, but to transform. Steel, cold and unyielding, becomes expressive, emotive, even tender under my hands. Corazón Pesado is a testament to that alchemy. Arteries and veins stretch outward like questions, like longing. It is heavy, yes—but not with despair. It carries the weight of choice: the decision to build rather than destroy.
This sculpture is my heart—heavy with memory, light with possibility. It is the storm and the stillness. It is the punch and the pause. It is the firefly in the forge.
Welcome to Corazón Pesado. Welcome to Firefly Metals.
byronz@frieflymetals.com
(214) 883-7745
https://fireflymetals.com/
https://www.facebook.com/fireflymetalworksllc/
https://www.instagram.com/fireflymetalworksllc/
Robbie Zeske
My Heart is a Canyon
Embroidered Felted Wool 2025
My heart has always been an adventurer, seeking nature in my free time and in my artwork. This past year my work focused on felting scenes from my wanders. This work embodies the heart of the Grand Canyon; the heights of the plateaus, the depth of the gorges, and carvings of the ages by the wild and free arteries of the Colorado River. Being in wonderous environs like the Canyon make me feel miniscule, at the same time shrinking the weight of my troubles and leaving me in awe.
robbiezeske@gmail.com
(469) 790-4008
https://www.facebook.com/robbie.zeske
https:www.instagram.com/robbiezeske

