One of the most valuable things that I took from this class was the way that Indigenous creators are always creating and through these works they bring healing, connectedness, and circularity to their communities. Creating is the most active form of resisting. It is the most powerful tool that people have and for Indigenous peoples it is a way of creating cultural continuity for generations to come. I would like to take what I have learned from this class to help me create more of my own work using art, specifically paintings.
My art will explore how art can be a place for holding memories, bringing pain and wounds to the surface (literally putting it on a surface). Through this work I hope to honor past memory and envision brighter futures. I hope to create a sense of knowing and belonging, to shed light, to shed tears, to release, to mourn loss, to feel wounds and to heal. I want to work on art that breaks away from silence, art that tells and shares. When language can’t be used, when words are not enough to tell, art is another platform and medium for releasing and expressing.
This will be a personal project for myself. I have been getting opportunities to display and sell and I will be updating on the website, feel free to follow my Instagram art page which is where I will be posting more information.
Lastly, thank you to my classmates and Laura for actively working to create safe spaces for learning and for being so lovely.
© Copyright Brenda Gonzalez, 2019
Editor's Note: To view the artwork from this student project view the Instagram page linked here, or find it @suckyoulynt_art on Instagram.