I am the sum of experiences, thoughts and feelings that inhabit my being. I am every person I ever met. I am my country and all the places I’ve lived in. I am the landscape. I am the temple. I am the tools, the ships, the highways. I am the presence and the absence. I am the love for it all.
Collective Painting I
Acrylic on panel, 2019.
39.37 by 39.37” (100 cm by 100 cm).
I’m learning to be a better listener. I grew up thinking it was my role to tell everyone what to do and how to do it. I thought I wouldn’t survive otherwise. Now it makes me inflexible and isolated and I am aware that it’s time to be another way. It’s hard, because part of me feels I’ll never be heard unless I give advice, but this year I am also learning to listen to myself and pay attention to how I feel. Now I don’t need others to hear me as much because I’m the one who needs to listen.
Las Meninas.
12” by 9.25” (30.5 cm by 23.5 cm).
Acrylic on paper, 2019.
When I began to paint, I didn’t know what to explore in this medium. As a jeweler, one of my first decisions was to make pieces that were wearable, and that helped me define what came next. On a white canvas, I could go anywhere, and this freedom was intimidating. I remained stuck for months.
At first, I tried to paint what I saw, then what I imagined. I explored realism and figurative work, but felt freer with abstraction. I used paint as a way to express myself, but then gravitated towards drawing. I drew organic, then geometric shapes. Then I got lost in trying to integrate the background into the foreground.
Finally, I decided to paint what I would normally make into jewelry. I realized that my emotions and inner reality are naturally expressed in each visual choice I make, no matter what medium I use. The subject is the vessel that contains who I am.
This series integrates what I previously explored in ceramics, jewelry and printmaking. It includes my love for primal shapes, folk art and textiles. By narrowing my focus, the doors opened to endless possibilities.
The Coronation of the Virgin.
12” by 9.25” (30.5 cm by 23.5 cm).
Acrylic on paper, 2019.
Morning light in my painting studio.
An insect as royal as a prince.
Don Balthasar Carlos.
13.97” by 10.23” (35.5 cm by 26 cm).
Acrylic on paper, 2019.
I live a few blocks from The Frida Kahlo Museum. Every day there are lines of people from all around the world waiting to visit her blue house. The last time I entered was in high school, over 25 years ago, but whenever I walk by her windows, I feel her presence and imagine her when she was alive. I see her walking out her front door wearing her colorful mexican textiles and layers of silver jewelry. Her home feels like an oasis in the city, a small island where a woman could paint what she felt, where she could process and express the challenges life brought her way. Now her home is a temple, a reminder that we can embrace the pain and joy of being human and transform it into something beautiful.
Portrait of a Lady.
13.97” by 10.23” (35.5 cm by 26 cm).
Acrylic on paper, 2019.
On weekends I visit a park called Los Viveros de Coyoacán. At the heart is a tree nursery, surrounded by a 1.5 mile track filled with people, young and old. When I join them, I feel I enter the river of life. We all move at our own pace: some run, others hobble, a few push stollers down the gravel path. I feel exhilerated as I walk and observe those around me, we all seem so different, yet so alike in our humanity. We all know love, joy, sorrow and discovery. We all have to let go of so much during our lifetime, and we can all connect to the beauty of each moment. This is how I feel as I rejoin you here after many months of introspection.
My life used to be all about work and productivity, my sense of worth was based on it, but much has changed this year, and today I feel blessed just to be here, with the warm Spring air on my skin, as I look at the birds through my window. I now paint, and I enjoy it immensely, but what I value most is that I feel alive.
I hope that one day I can describe in words what I experienced this year, but for now I offer my art as a visual diary. It’s the best way I’ve found to express who I am.
My paintings are inspired by the past; from textiles, sculptures and buildings created by ancient cultures. Like them, I am attracted to all that inhabits this earth, but more so to our experience of life, and how it translates into symbols within our subconscious.
For this series, I used antique art books as a canvas. I painted lightly over the printed image, leaving it visible enough to contrast with my drawings. The first series I will show you, was made on a book of paintings by the 17th century Spanish artist, Diego Velázquez. I named each piece with the title of his original painting. There are more to come.
Paintings from top to bottom, left to right:
Philip IV as a Hunter; Master of the Hunt; The Forge of Vulcan; Portrait of a Man; Portrait of Philip IV; Christ in the House of Martha; The Triumph of Bacchus.
All are 12” by 9.25” (30.5 cm by 23.5 cm).
Acrylic on paper, 2019.
Today is the final day of my ten year Anniversary Sale.
Everything in my online shop is 50% off.
The sale ends tonight at 8 pm, CST.
I'd like to thank all of you who have supported my creative path during this 10 Year Anniversary Sale. You have inspired me to create even deeper and more meaningful work!
For those of you would still like to take home the piece you love, everything in my Etsy shop is now 40% off.
The sale ends this Sunday, November 18, at 8pm CST.
My friend Kevin Wallace, art advocate, author, and director of the Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts, recently published, Intersection: Art and Life, an important and beautiful book that reminds us why we thrive when art is part of our life.
The book features over 280 images and insights from 150+ contemporary artists, including Beatrice Wood.
I am honored that he included my work!
From the inside cover:
“Throughout history, art was naturally intertwined with people’s daily lives: a vessel for water, a carving to record a war, objects to capture religion and identity.
But today art can seem very separate from our lives, and, as our society careens its way through change and conflict, it may seem increasingly irrelevant. This book is about what your daily life is missing if you’re disconnected from art and how you can fix it”.
“Alone, we can do so little; together we can do so much.”
It’s been ten years since I created my first jewelry collection.
Since then, I’ve made over 2,000 one-of-a-kind pieces that now accompany you on your path. Thank you for being my partner in this creative cycle! Meeting you in person and online has been a gift.
To celebrate our 10 year anniversary, everything in my Etsy shop is now 30% off.
The sale will end next Sunday, November 18, at 8pm CST.
May we continue to explore the world of possibilities together!
I’ve just added new jewelry to my online shop.
All of these items are one of a kind, and many were part of my personal collection. I’ve decided to let them go to open the space to new ideas.
I've added detailed sizes and measurements to each listing. Please make sure a piece fits you before you make your purchase.
Have an inspiring weekend!
Thank you for your warm welcome! I am moved and uplifted by your loving messages. It's great to be back with my tribe!
I know many of you have missed her, so here is magnificent Muna!
She’s now 11 months old, still a lively kitten, and a great companion. She likes to cuddle, but only after we’ve played for a long time. She's brave and smart and loves to chase the ball. She looks black, but the root of her fur is white, which is why I call her Muna-Bear!
It has been six months of absence.
Musibatty has gone through a process of profound transformation. As an artist, as a woman and as a human being I have had to go down to the depths of my roots and rethink fundamental aspects of myself.
This life is a journey of discovery, not only of the world, but of ourselves. And this last part is, perhaps, the most difficult, because it confronts us with our broken and wounded parts. We all have the option of making that trip to the dark side of our mind, but few are willing to do so. It is understandable, because it hurts. But for some of us, especially those who insist on making art, it is indispensable.
The subject of art is the very essence of the artist. There is no other way to do it. And if, as an artist, I want to offer the world something authentic, something valuable, something that aspires to be called real art, nobody could save me these months of introspection.
Because of that, I have had to be absent. But also for that, now I must return.
Musibatty returns, but no longer as a signature for ornamental art, but as a signature of deep art. Of the kind of art that aims to show us the most intimate twists and turns of a person's soul. That is my commitment with myself and with you, to create art that opens doors to a different appreciation of the world. At least, that will be my intent.
I hope that this road, this life, this work will offer you and me new visions, new symbols, new interpretations of what life is and what we are in this changing and surprising world that we have inherited from the hands of the cosmos.
Welcome back to the Musibatty experience. Thanks for still being here, I'm glad we can meet again.
I’m taking a break to focus on a new project. I’ll be back soon with new ideas!
Drawing ideas for my next series.
I will add the Sediment Earrings to my online shop this Monday, at 1 pm CST.
Please sign up here if you would like me to email you as soon as they are available.
Happy weekend!
If these earrings were I Ching Hexagrams, they would symbolize change. Their counsel would be: a steadfast attitude brings success.
Unwavering Earrings.
Handmade with recycled sterling silver.
This Monday in my online shop.
Pay attention to everything that gets you excited. That's your spirit saying yes! I want more of that, that's where I want to go. That's my new direction.
Spark Earrings.
Handmade with recycled sterling silver.
Soon in my online shop.
