As a child, making arts and crafts was a
way to pass the time and make something.
When my family moved to Florida I found myself in a new environment and immediately
learned that I was different. I was alien to the majority of the people around
me. Within a year I was blessed with my art teacher, Mrs. Houdeshell. She introduced me to all art mediums and I
quickly learned that creating art produced attention. I gained acceptance,
admiration, and praise for my creative class assignments and artwork. In my preteen head I concluded that with
paint, brushes, clay, images, and bright colors I could inform and tell others
of the place I was from. As a
consequence I would no longer feel alienation. I thought, “people just don’t
know where I am from! I will paint it, sculpted it, and I will dance it”. At the same time I replenished the empty
space inside, longing for family members, festive holidays and parties,
swimming in the warm ocean, speaking and being understood. My new language, loved by all, became the tactility
of the paint and the possibilities of color that produced an image of both
physical and emotion experiences. Sense,
art has become a way to continue to revisit moments, experiences, and
celebrations of the world I am situated in.
I need to remove myself from the world to
situate myself in it. It is like praying
in church, going to a Holy place, a quiet space to release and recharge the
soul. My experience as a human being
from a small festive warm island and my need to share its warmth comes out
through the brush.
