Be Yourself
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Artist Statement
Ana C. Fernandez
All my childhood was spent in Mexico, and the perspective of life and opportunities are very different. I started in the art world since I was very young. For as long as I can remember, I was the girl who used whatever was within my reach to do something. I always spent time painting, coloring, and drawing. My mother reminds me a lot that a family member from Mexico City once saw me painting and made a comment that I would be an artist. But at that time neither my family nor I, who was 6 years old, thought that this could be my future. As I started growing I started doing things with my hands, using wood, metals, and things that I could use to make decorations, and pictures. But time passed. My time and attention began to change. I was growing and I was moving away from creating things and painting. Although art is not something I had in mind, you could appreciate it in all school work. I adorned them, with very elaborate and attention-grabbing presentations, only because I liked and enjoyed doing it. When I entered high school I had to present classes, make murals, and, although at that time I did not see it, today yes, I can say that art was overflowing everywhere, at least the details that nobody sees, had artistic expression in the works. I started to see it as a hobby, something extra that I could do in my free time, but I did not even consider it a career or something I would study. At that time I was interested in architecture, a career very similar to art. When I started studying in the United States, many things changed, my outlook on life changed, and I saw opportunities that I did not have in Mexico. I had to take an art class, which at the time did not take the necessary attention until I was in class and enjoying everything I did, everything I imagined and did. It was then that I knew I wanted to study art, that I wanted to learn more. It was something that I had inside me. It was very difficult for me to decide to choose an art career, in Mexico and in my family, you don’t see it as something nominal, something possible to perform. But in the United States, it was different, and although my family did not see it as I did, I decided to start my art career. I learned more, I learned more about the materials, the tests, the type of wood, the oil paints, and how to give a good finish. What I already knew more about, what I was learning, made me love my career more. But the rumors that I will not be able to support my family continued. I chose to start a career in psychology, thinking that with it I could complement my art career. I am almost not able to graduate with my two careers. The art career, that I have loved since I was a child, I fall in love every day when I discover something new. My career in psychology, which I hated at first, helped me to grow, to see things from another perspective, and unconsciously helped me to see art from another point of view. The decision to study art despite bad comments and negativity was the best decision I could have made, dedicating myself to something that I like, that I enjoy, and doesn’t feel like a job. Complementing my career with a psychology degree was the best option. I grew up personally, Socially, and , sociable, by expressing myself in my art.
UTRGV School of Art Brownsville Campus 