words & art from an optimist
The journey back to my Self is soil lined carefully, optimistically within the walls of a raw wound. The touch of Earth trapped underneath fingernails waiting to be washed again, and again, and again. Dirt. Caught in between my gums and my teeth, a softness, and sweetness, and inevitable bitterness of consuming the inedible. The … Continue reading pebbles & stones →
Remember who you are. I heard this last week, or the week before. Remember who I am. A cacophony of sounds, and smells, and words, and textures, and lullabies I can never seem to remember. Remember who I am. Unfinished anthologies, painted over portraits, haikus, a cracked sculpture lined with gold. The scent of cinnamon, … Continue reading everything will work out →
February. Spots and splashes of yellow, purple, blue, and grey grew in vibrancy as each day passed. The bruising. The aftermath of a trauma that I failed to fit neatly under a two inch bandage. I fell hard. Against a marble trimming. I woke up in a daze, convinced I was no longer living. My … Continue reading a consumption of time →
Press your palms on her. Feel. Experience. I meditated with this, I took my time. I followed my gut. I used a glass bowl- equal part dirt and mod podge. I didn’t wear gloves. I used my hand… to scoop the mixture and press it on the canvas. I let the paint drip. My room … Continue reading “tierra” →
I am 9. I am hidden underneath the bathroom sink. Maybe if I hide, she’ll forget. Mami was downstairs, by her side a bowl filled with mayo, olive oil, and two eggs. Last time, I had to leave it in my hair for four hours. Trails of mayo leaked from my plastic wrapped head down … Continue reading “I wait.” →
My response to a scholarship prompt: 2020 was a challenging year in many respects. What have you learned about yourself that will enable you to thrive in school, your career, and in life? (250-500 words) Breathe in. Hold. Release. Your breath. Your expectations. The pressure. To be “on” all the time. To be “productive” all … Continue reading 2020 Taught Me to Breathe →
Every day for months, I looked at an unfinished version of her. Blotches of exposed canvas, asymmetrical eyes. and colors that fought with one another rather than danced greeted me each rising. I did not rush myself. I breathed in the potential she could become and found solace with the process. Soon, when I was … Continue reading “cease resistance” →
20×20″ acrylic on canvas, worked and reworked. the beauty of acrylic is nothing ever has to stay still– my paintings can evolve and grow alongside me. I finished the first version of this painting last year. I added some grapes in July. Surreal leaves in August. A little grey in September. Brown spheres in October. … Continue reading “un jarrón de flores” →
18×24″ acrylic on canvas
four colors, two days, one brush. I wanted her to both blend into the canvas as well as stand out; she is one with her surroundings such as we are all interconnected with one another, every place, every field, every tree, every sea.