Statement

Through hand dyeing processes, piecing, painting, embroidery, and applique, I am able to relive the tension created by the contrast between the world as perceived by my memory, and events I have evidence for. I often feel as though I have one foot in memory and one foot in my present world, both ever changing with time.

It is characteristic of my work to use remnants, found textiles, family portraits, and relics as a way to reconcile these two. With having a mother that extensively recorded my childhood, I have been able to find certain unknown or partially known moments in time that drive me to manifest them through my work. I intentionally choose colors from specific memories, most often my childhood house; tan textured walls and deep brown molding is what I will always recognize as home. In quilting, piecing acts as a way for me to combine these small moments into a memory cache. The repetitive nature of quilting is similar to the repetitive motion of shuffling through photo album pages. The effort of recollection often fades memories over time, creating a sense of softness; this is the feeling I aim to evoke through my handling of painting and quilting.

Through my work, the viewer will be able to question what it means to be a part of a family that is both strained and dynamic, while feeling my familiarity with the experience of being a first generation Mexican-American.