Featured Artist: ESTHER MARIA PAGAN

Esther Maria Pagan

Describes herself: "I am a Butterfly Mermaid with Wings of Fire".
Is a Latin American Artist.She was born in Youngstown, Ohio. Her parents were both of a Puerto Rican background. She was raised in the South, West and North Bronx. Her roots are deep and full of beauty.As an inspirational local Bronx artist Esther Maria Pagan found that integrating herself in the world of Art was a given.
In her early career, Esther Maria Pagan studied Hair Design at the Robert Fiance Makeup Academy. She was a stylist and Photographer which helped to put her through school.
She continued her artistic journey working at F.I.T. and Parson’s studying Fashion Design, Communications, Millinery Design and Fine Arts. Esther has worked in the Garment Industry with many of Fashion’s Greats, like: Liz Claiborne, Badgeley Mischka and Escada.versatile in many areas she longed to work a more soulful type artwork, so she studied massage therapy at the Swedish Institute College of Health Sciences. She became a NYC licensed massage therapist. Enamored with her new platform she worked closely with doctors and became obsessed with the phenomenon called, “The Human Body.”

She has dedicated herself to learning as much as she could about different forms and Technic in order to make her craft perfect, by doing so she gained knowledge and learned how to guide her clients to better understand their pain and conditions. She also worked scheduling radiology appointments for patients in a CT. hospital which by chance led her to take notice that over 50% of the calls she handled where Cancer related. This inspired Esther Maria to design "Avant Garde Hats" , photographing them with nude models.

She looked to design and create a hat Calendar. The intent is to sell and allow part of the proceeds to help individuals with Cancer.Her hat designs vary in many mediums. The calendars demonstrate her designed hats in photographs featuring nude models, each hat and model are carefully selected.

Esther Maria was diagnosed with Breast Cancer on September 17th, 2012. She under went a double mastectomy on October 17th, 2012. She has undergone 6 surgeries and will undergo her last one this April 2014, making her journey will be complete. She looked to making this time a positive one, so she started writing her experience from the time she was diagnosed. Her blog: mycolorsofcancer.com takes a deep and personal look into the passages and the battle with cancer. She feels that she has a grand responsibility and her purpose is to educate and reach out to those with Cancer, specifically Breast Cancer.
Her inspiration takes her to create one of kind pieces. She has aspirations of getting published and becoming an inspirational speaker. Esther has found healing through art by placing the beauty of her surroundings thus creating a voice through her craft.

Her biggest influences have been her Puerto Rican roots and her family. Her struggles have made her and a strong, beautiful and humble human being. She loves abstract artists like Picasso, Dali, Kahlo, Matisse, Basquiat just to name a few of her favorite. She finds their work magical because they were artists whom thought out side of the box and their works were an example of such.
The women in her family also have had a huge influence on Esther Maria's upbringing.Her mother was a floral designer. Her maternal grandmother was a Floor Manager at a Button Factory in the garment district. Her paternal grandmother was a genius with the knitting needles, making beautiful pieces of art. Her "Titi" (aunt) Lola was a sample maker for Ann Klein. Yes these strong beautiful women were the ones that influenced her beginnings.
As she states: "Go to the large corporations and look on the sidelines and see who are the true artists." Yes, those are the women of her family. "My hands are my livelihood." "The women in my family have influenced and made my hands her heart and soul tick since age 5."

Esther Maria Pagan considers her work to be one of a kind, hand-made, unique, abstract, couture and eccentric. "I have been sewing since the age of 5. My mother was a floral designer on Bleecker Street and my maternal grandmother was the manager at a button factory in the garment industry. My fraternal grandmother was an expert crochet knitter. My mother would hand me a needle and thread with all the accessories needed to make dresses for my Barbie dolls. I attribute my talents and inspiration to my culture. My mother always dressed with style and etiquette, she never forgot her matching shoes, gloves, hat and clutch. This has been embedded in my head since I was a child. I love the glamour and beauty that go along with fashion. As an artist, I have always given back to my community, hence, “Artisan 4 A Cause.” As a body worker I find our community needs help with all medical conditions that affect our society. My goal is to give back to individuals with debilitating diseases."

Esther Maria Pagan: "My definition of art is to think out side of the box." Working with any form or medium. Creating with the human body, the human mind, the soul and spirit, allowing the flow of the color to spring out of her hands to form a creative process. One that is in tune with self and the rest the Universe. Using life as her Muse and creating Art with conviction and raw passion.That is Esther Maria Pagan's definition of art!.


*To know more about this artist and her craft you can contact Esther Maria Pagan with any questions or comments at her personal Email: atesty427@yahoo.com
or visit her web blog and website link at:

Esther Pagan on Linkedin
Star Angel on FB
Destress1 on FB

Featured Artist: PATRICIA ARIEL

 

 

Patricia Ariel 

 Was born and raised in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil where she lived for many years. Patricia was brought up with strong rooted influences that are the core of her personal maturity. Having lived in the working class of Rio De Janeiro she learned from a young age the wisdom and respect for the spiritual as well as the physical environment. It was easy to love and learn of the mystical world because she was present in many Afro-Brazilian rituals. She grew up within a powerful group of healers, exposing her to rituals of healing, channeling spirits, and later participating actively in spiritual seances. All of these colorful experiences marked her life very vividly, so much that she considers herself a cultural hybrid. The heavy influence of this spirituality became the pillar of her values which are very present in her artwork today and always. 

Patricia Ariel began to paint when she was about three years old, she had a very imaginative childhood, and in spite of having a lot of fun with her brother and cousins, her favorite time was really spent on her own. She would spend many hours creating stories, characters, drawing comic books, reading, and listening to music. Patricia's mother was very nurturing and encouraged her artistic interests. She would pay for drawing and dance classes, and would allow her to use their rooftop for rehearsals while Patricia was involved with theater and music activities. Patricia's love for the arts has always been a consistent and unconditional desire to create. Patricia balanced her shyness and through her art, she grew to deal with many emotional issues throughout her life like depression and social phobia. She feels that art has been therapeutic and healing and honestly does not know where or how she would be right now if not for the arts. Patricia Ariel is a self-taught artist, with some formal instruction in visual arts, that including training in academic drawing and fashion design. In her early years her art has also been expressed through theater, dance, and music. Patricia is a hardworker, she worked in several jobs relating to visual communication and teaching. She later returned to school to study fashion design, and gained a degree in Art Education in her early 30's. Patricia also had aspirations of becoming a graphic novel writter and illustrator so she wrote and illustrated a novel which she is hoping to publish one day. Although never published she thrilled in the idea of creation, she also started a project to teach arts to the poor children as her vision was to give and teach, although it did not grow this project remains part of her heart.


In 2005 Patricia Ariel took the decision to move to the US to get married, because she felt limited in my self-expression due to the language barrier she saw the visual arts as her only career path for that time. She worked feverishly drawing and creating as much as she could. She wanted to show her work on the internet, and it was just a matter of time before she began to sell, making commissions, and having her work recognized and displayed everywhere. Meanwhile her daughter Isobel was born. She was divorced few years later and moved with her to the Northwest, where she lives and works now. She never thought about becoming a gallery artist. This happened way later, after she moved to the United States. She found it practical to incorporate her work within graphic design and fashion so that she would have a successful working career. Her decision to become a professional fine artist Patricia Ariel's works are of many mediums, her favorites being acrylic and pencils. She also has dabbled in oil and watercolors.

Her biggest artistic influences have been the Pre-Raphaelites and art nouveau artists and designers. Klimt, Schiele, Evelyn de Morgan, the Mackintoshes, all those fine folks of the 19th century and early 20ths. Dave McKean has a special spot in her altar.The type of work she creates is heavily reflective of her strong spiritual insights and connections with the mystism the beauty of nature, the magic of the psychic it diverse dimensions the symbolist and movement in the arts and literature. She finds that a big piece of her is still lost in those contemporary times. Music is also an inspiration to the beauty and expressiveness of the human body she finds it to be a sacred role and agent of our spiritual evolution and how it contains the universe in it. These mysteries inspire Patricia. Her work is combined with the beauty of the human figure filled with dimensional patterns and expressive abstract designs.


Patricia Ariel's representation of the human form brings forth an uncanny realistic pressence of essence. Her realms of thoughts and imagination are combined with the realistic presence and the desire of dimensional dreams. She drowns her audience with pure electricity and fire. She is an artist that creates a vision of energy in it's purest form. Her work leaves the viewer with a deeper sense of the human heart and it's many conditons.Every element that appears in her images has a distinct symbolism or personal meaning. Her inspiration comes from her spirituality, and all that it involves: the natural world, the bonds spirit/matter, life cycles, darkness and light, the symbolic languages like the Tarot and astrology, the human emotions and psyche. Patricia Ariel considers her work to be a platform for healing and used to label herself as a Neosymbolism, but with growing interest in abstractionism and its incorporation to her figurative work.

She states: " I am becoming more and more confused about my artistic identity, I might find out someday".
The word Patricia Ariel describes herself as, is: Movement.
Her work: metaphysical poetry.

-Patricia is currently a member of the Energy Art Movement.
UPCOMING SHOWS

July
Temple of The Soul – Bodies and Sacred Systems, group show. Alexi Era Gallery, St. Louis, MO.
The Bees Knees, group show. Alexi Era Gallery, St. Louis, MO.
Hidden Kingdoms, group show. The Dream Factory, Frankfurt, Germany.

September
Irrelevant Roots, a Copycat Violence Collective show. Thumbprint Gallery, La Jolla, CA.

November
Children of Roscharch, group Show. Phone Booth Gallery, Long Beach, CA.

If you wish to learn more about this artist please visit the link:
http://www.patricia-ariel.com

Contact Email: ariel@patricia-ariel.com

Featured Artist: MIA ROMAN

Mia Roman es nuestra artista del mes, ella es una fuente de inspiracióny creatividad, es una artista muy espiritual.
Mia nació y creció de de Brooklyn, su madre y su padre son ambos de Puerto Rico decente. La madre de Mia Roman es de Ponce y su padre es de Fajardo, Puerto Rico.
Mia Roman ha recorrido Europa, el Caribe y América Latina. Ella ha tenido la suerte de conocer a gente maravillosa y he visitado en lugares emocionantes. Puerto Rico fue el lugar que solía ir durante la mayor parte de sus primeros veranos de juventud. Le encantaba la libertad de este mágico lugar, donde a menudo corta plátanos directamente de los árboles y poder relajarse en una hamaca. Mia estaba encantada de pasar sus vacaciones en compañía de sus primos. Mia Roman se crió en Brooklyn, Nueva York, donde su corazón permanece. Ella cree que Brooklyn fue el escalón para su , fuerza, valentía, y la supervivencia, y fue allí donde aprendió cómo sobrevivir infancia y sus años adolescentes, ella a menudo correr más rápido que cualquier chico de la cuadra.

Maravilloso viaje de Mia Roman en el mundo del arte comenzó desde que era un niño corriendo descalzo y salvaje. Ser un artista de cuarta generación y el mayor de 5, creció en un ambiente muy creativo que le enseñó libertad de expresión a través de la creacion.
La inspiración de Mia Roman proviene de muchos lugares diferentes. A ella le encanta la espiritualidad, la política, viajar, los eventos actuales, la religión, la cultura, la música, la poesía, la familia, los libros ... "VIDA", en general, es una verdadera inspiración para Mia. Ella puede caminar por la calle y ver a alguien con un vestido y el patrón o los colores del vestido inspirará una nueva idea. Todos los días hay algo que la inspira  para crear. No hay nada más hermoso que el ritmo de la vida y por lo que ella no puede fijar el punto una cosa específica, todo es interesante e inspirador. Como ella dice "mi verdadera inspiración es una gran olla de LA  SOPA DE LA VIDA!".
Cuando empezó la enseñanza y la pintura Mia comenzó a dedicar más tiempo al arte. Uno de sus mayores influencias y uno muy cercano y querido ha sido el abuelo de Mia el senor Fernando Román Sr. Era un maravilloso pintor de parorama que amaba a su tierra natal de Puerto Rico. El exponer sus obras de arte allí. Justo después de la muerte de su abuelo Mia recibió una gran caja en el correo. La caja contenía todas las herramientas y la inspiración que necesitaba para empezar, sus materiales de arte, cuadernos de dibujo, recortes, pinceles, pinturas, lámparas, etc. El remitente no era otro solo que el senor Fernando Roman Sr., ella supo de inmediato que le había enviado a Mia un mensaje muy especial y una señal para ella nunca dejara de pintar y compartir su pasión por el arte con el mundo. Eso fue en 2006, des de cuando ella nunca ha mirado atrás. Mia Roman siempre da gracias por este hermoso mensaje y regalo, y lleva sus pinceles a todas sus exposiciones, promociones y funciones. Ella se siente muy agradecida y muy feliz de ser parte de todos los muchos movimientos artísticos que cual ha sido involucrada.
Otra de las _ influencias más importantes de Mia ha sido centrada en la espiritualidad, y su familia, para ella la cultura es muy importante. Estos han ha sido anclas muy importantes para Mia Roman, y son una de las _ mayores influencias en la su vida y el arte. Mia Roman encuentra fuerza y la confidencialidad dentro de sus raíces internas ella piensa que puede estar de pie estar sobre una estrella y volar, volar y soñar sin límites.

Su influencia artística ha sido la artista mexicana Frida Kahlo, Mia Roman descubre que su obra refleja algunas de estilo de Kahlo. Mia Roman admira la valentía de Frida y le encanta que Frida usó su arte para contar su historia, después de haber sido capaz de cantar su canción y vivir su vida en una paleta llena de colores no de la de otros !!!. Eso es lo que Mia Roman encuentra admirable, inspirador y valiente.
Mia Roman le gusta trabajar en la una variedad de medios, ella ama cada proceso y encuentra consuelo en la creación de diferentes tipos de obrasMia Roman ha iniciado un negocio de planificación de fiestas y también diseña ropa, sus diseños de joyas son únicas y expresivas, la decoración del hogar de las técnicas mixtas es único y muy influyente. Helene aporta fiereza, fuerza y ​​un sentido de la feminidad que envuelve todo lo que toca.
Mia Roman es una artista autodidacta con un título en negocios y su pasión por las artes tienen la ha llevado a convertido en una educadora de un medio mixto y artista visual expresiva. Mia también es una curador de artesdel expresivo facilitador del taller de artes y un gran empresario. Sus obras han sido exhibidas y forman parte de colecciones privadas a nivel internacional y en los Estados Unidos.
Mia Roman ha enseñado el arte de las técnicas mixtas en "Arte Carnaval de los Niños" en NYC niños tan menores como 4-8 años de edad. Sus enseñanzas también se han extendido en el "Riverbank State Park", "El Centro de Artes Leroy Neiman y _ Vélez Cultural y Educativo Clemente Soto Center", y actualmente es la Directora Artes y Artes Expresivas profesor en el "Ruth Fernandez Family Residence", ubicado en Bronx, Nueva York. En la actualidad ofrece clases privadas de arte en toda la zona metropolitana.

Mia Roman es la fundadora de "Art by Mia" y ha curado varias exposiciones dentro y fuera de la zona de Nueva York, incluyendo pero no limitado a "Visiones de Puerto Rico", "Latinas EnFoco", "Viaje de la Mujer", "FEMICIDIO", y "ADIÓS SILENCIO", que fue una colaboración global de más de 300 mujeres que comparten sus voces a través de la pluma y el papel. Sus obras han aparecido en numerosas exposiciones, universidades, galerías y residir en muchas colecciones privadas, Mia ha sido un artista exponer en el 2012 y 2013 de Art Basel Miami Beach International Muestra de Arte, donde su arte ha vendido dos años, Mia fue reconocido con una mención de el Honorable presidente del condado de Queens Helen Marshall M. por su contribución artística y humanitaria a la comunidad como un artista puertorriqueña, Mia Roman es un artista autodidacta y emprendedora tiene la misión de para suministrar las herramientas y el espacio donde las personas pueden explorar para ella la descubrir libremente a través del juego creativo mediante la combinación de y su pasión por la humanidad, la creatividad y la espiritualidad, Ella siente que cada parte de su la creacion es un fiel reflejo de dónde venía y hacia dónde puede llevar sus destino siguiente. Los cuadros de Mia Roman reflejan la espiritualidad, la cultura, el espíritu humano, Ellos hablan al espectador colocando las realidades de hoy frente y al centro y que brilla una luz en la promoción de las mujeres y los los eventos actuales de los tiempos.