Apasionada

mixed media 

8x10

2022

Part of the mujer collection
this collection was made by a woman, inspired by women, and created in honor of women. this series was created to celebrate our femininity, courage and complexity. mujer translates to woman in Spanish, and the afrolatina in me really wanted to take the time to create something that celebrates women with a hint of culture mixed into it! growing up, I have always been surrounded by badass women who do unimaginable things, so I wanted to make something to honor that. I draw women in my life and name each piece after the quality I admire the most in them. When I look at each woman, I am inspired to embody the qualities they represent even on my most draining and disempowering days.

apasionada - The second woman in the collection, who inspired me to not focus on the bad, but instead channel my creativity in a new way since I could not do calligraphy for weddings and events at the time. We have been best friends for 17 years and we have always supported each other through our different passions. She is currently living in LA pursuing her dream as an actress.

INSPIRATION- These drawings were influenced by the women in my life. Initially, I made them faceless because I wanted women to see themselves, not another specific woman. When I introduced the collection to my Tia Mayra, she noticed the resemblance to the Dominican Faceless Dolls . The “faceless dolls,” or sin rostro, were woman figurines initially created by the Dominican artist Liliana Mera Limé back in the 1980s. They were designed with the complexity and sensuality of the woman in mind. The dolls are faceless because the Dominican woman has no ONE face—it is a representation of how our culture is a mixture of African, European and indigenous identities, races and cultures. In that same light, the mujeres in the collection are faceless, because the feminine culture itself is extremely diverse, but also all-inclusive.