What is your favorite type of art to create?

I create contemporary figurative portraiture centering Indigenous women from the Americas who embody a radiant spiritual presence. Blending oil and airbrush, I explore ancestral memory and ornate symmetry. My paintings transform real stories into ethereal realms where the sacred and surreal converge, offering spaces of sanctuary, dignity, and resilience.

Where do you find inspiration?

I draw inspiration from ancestral memory and lived experiences within Indigenous and migrant communities. I center stories of resilience, displacement, and healing to create work that affirms visibility and empowerment. Through meditation, I access subconscious imagery where the sacred and surreal converge, forming a universal visual language of color, pattern, and symbolism.

What would you do with $25,000?

Navigating my father’s incarceration due to untreated mental illness has shaped my commitment to community wellness. With this support, I would invest in a studio to collaborate with him, honoring his legacy as a master wood carver. Together, we transform family heirlooms into ornate frames and create a collection responding to the aesthetic duality between Indigenous histories and the European Renaissance. The space would host exhibitions, offer art classes, and mentor youth and elders.