Born and raised in Boyle Heights/East Los Angeles, CA.
Lived in Chico, CA where I spent most of it pursuing printmaking as an art studio major at CSU Chico.
What piqued my interest in the medium was my exposure through medieval renaissance, art history, indigenous folk art, and band merch/cover art. Having seen many reuses of the same medieval works, I wanted to help contribute with original works to those who want to the same aesthetics and compositions that complement their music and vision.
•Identity & decolonization
This medium also allowed me to feel closer to my roots and identity after my exposure to various printmakers of color, past and present. It allowed me to further channel my disdain for the church through iconoclasm and deconstruct harmful mindsets with the ever-eternal pursuit of being someone that matriarchs in my ancestral lineage and current, would be proud of.
I dive today to learn about what was lost to time. But through these hand carved works, I like to believe I honor the Mixtec artisans before me who too would carve relief images in and use amatl for codices.
•Flores de Meztli
One of my biggest artist influences and inspirations in the contemporary art world is my best friend and my other half, Jazmine. @crystalizedbonez. Having come across her work in a group show we were in last year in April, I’ve been in awe as a big fan of her impeccable skill, ethic, along with relatable subject matter, imagery, and themes. She’s an artist I look up to and aspire to be like
Also, together we formed our little collaborative art entity known as Flores de Meztli when we vend together at events.
Flores De Meztli translates to Moonflower. Our work shares qualities of the flower in the way we bloom even through the dark transitional periods of our life. We document and express resilience from the generational trauma of colonization and create narratives from personal perspective or revisionist history. Through the vibrant acrylic paintings of Jazmine Puentes, and monochromatic relief work of Brian Nicolas-Espinoza, our work is symbiotic like the relationship between life and death. We create work to rekindle our relationship to lost indigenous identity and embrace our cultural upbringings unabashedly.