Today we’d like to introduce you to Maria Balderas.
Maria, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I was born in Celaya Guanajuato, Mexico and was brought to the United States for a better future at the age of six or seven. I am now 20, a DACA recipient and an artist. To get to where I am today has not been easy. I started creating art for as long as I can remember and at a young age, art helped me express myself; it truly made me happy for I would draw and paint my fantasies and dreams. During high school, I continued to make art, but at the same time, I learned the differences of what it truly meant to be born in a different country, even if I was too young to understand the concept of a border amongst two countries. It seemed that I was now facing the “immigration experience.”
My last year of high school I felt like I was stuck. I felt sad, defeated and truly depressed like if there was no hope or salvation. I was slowly suffocating. There was no one I could talk to or that I thought would honestly understand me; the advice I was given was to become a welder or to wait for changes in the future. They even advised me to get married. I used all those feelings and emotions and portrayed them on canvases and though it didn’t change my situation, it allowed me to breathe during the times I felt like I was drowning. I was soon able to be part of panel discussions and voice my art through events made possible by contests from places like the Latin American Association and the Consul of Mexico. I also managed to get an internship thanks to a teacher of mine. During this period of growth, I’ve learned that I wanted to represent internal and external problems that we face as humans through my art, regardless of who we are or where we come from; Themes like depression, mental health, war, are what I focus on though I still I show the bits of hope in every piece I create. I now paint my reality and learned that the hardships I’ve endured shaped me into the artist, woman, and dreamer I am today.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not been a smooth road for me. My obstacles were policies that I could not change and my mental wellbeing. I would cry myself to sleep numerous times and I had feelings that were slowly killing me and thoughts a young girl or anyone shouldn’t have. Every door I viewed as open would shut me down. The advice I give young women starting their journey is for them to know that no matter their hardships there is always hope and that we can endure so much more than we think we can. The older I’ve gotten, I’ve learned that it’s vital to know your worth and to keep doing what truly makes you happy, to keep knocking on doors and to not be afraid to make your voice be heard, to ignore the people who minimize you for being a person who dreams big.
Please tell us about being an artist.
I like to say that I do bits of everything, from illustrations to murals but I mainly focus on portraits of people I make up in my mind. I concentrate on the eyes of the faces I paint or illustrate. I try to make them realistic or profound so the viewer can feel as if they can see a message within the eyes or the way the art looks back at them. What sets me apart from others is that every single piece of art I’ve created has my beauty mark. I like to add this touch in order to give the art a part of me. My work is also in no set of medium or style because through it, I like to show a feeling, and it would seem different when painted on canvas, paper, or wood. I would also say that I am most proud of the work that makes people perceive or connect to the theme or visual or my art.
Often it feels as if the media, by and large, is only focused on the obstacles faced by women, but we feel it’s important to also look for the opportunities. In your view, are there opportunities that you see that women are particularly well positioned for?
My answer is no, though you do see females taking important roles the only particular jobs women are well positioned for are stereotypically “feminine.” Unfortunately, at this time, women remain in the news because we are still fighting for equal rights. There are some advances, such as more women becoming CEO’s of major companies now and they are gaining more momentum in politics to fight for our equality, but until we are all seen in one light, then you will continue to see us in the news fighting and paving the way for the generations of young women to come.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mariabalderas984.wixsite.com/art_de_m
- Email: balderasmaria23@yahoo.com
- Instagram: Art_de_M and maria7ove
Image Credit:
personal photo by: Alana. A
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