Today we’d like to introduce you to Daphne Guzman.
Hi Daphne, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My story starts as a volunteer with senior citizens as a scout/girl scout leader at the age of 11.
My first big community art project was back in 2010 with Proyecto Fronteras down in Tijuana where I gave an environmental workshop with some art related activities to a school of children from a native community, where that summer I had just turned 16 years of age the previous winter.
While choosing high schools in middle school, my dad always gave me space and guidance over what to study and where I wanted to study. I’m a dual citizen and at that point having to choose so early on a career for my future, I choose a path that I already knew.
I did my undergraduate degree in Social Work, where I continued learning new techniques and working in the field with communities. Then focused my bachelor’s on a career where I could explore photography since that was my first constant art medium.
During that time in college, I not only discovered different art forms that I much more preferred doing. Block Printing and Ceramics but also dived in to getting more skilled in Collage, Drawing and learning how to Paint.
Art Therapy was an extra class given in-between semesters and after that class I knew that this was something I wanted to integrate in my time while volunteering. It was in 2013 to 2015 that I was giving my time and energy to the vulnerable red areas of Tijuana in a project called Experiencia Scout founded by USAID. Here I would teach students how to integrate themselves into our little community, I gave art classes and worked on environmental projects with ages 5-18. At some point I was also providing another workshop to a community of children with HIV.
During 2016 I decided to go fully into my art career, I had already given a lot of time into volunteering and wanted to experience a life where art could be a possibility for me. At this point we were having at least one art exhibition each semester, if not more. After that, I ended up working with two galleries for a short period of time for my social and professional practices: 206 Arte Contemporáneo and Caja Galería. In 2018 I was working full time at a restaurant and finishing my BFA. I also did a full year of studies in Art Therapy from IMPA (Instituto Mexicano de Psicoterapia de Arte). Then I started to freelance an adult ceramic workshop in the extra room of one of my friends house.
Then the Pandemic happened.
My work and dreams like everyone else’s were changed during that time.
I don’t regret staying in and taking care of what would now be the last years of my grandmothers life. “Tortilla Lady” from The Museum of Man, now the Museum of Us, that was my grandmother. I see myself in her so much now, she devoted forty years of her life to the museum, and the city proclaimed July 10th as “Señora Diana Montoya Day”.
During 2020 I went back to food service. Then slowly climbed up again. I worked with the YMCA and was nominated for the Nurturing Award. I guess my 20 years of experience with First Aid finally showed or the fact that I worked with 8 elementary schools from Old Town Charter School to Bay Park Elementary, helping out on and off with Longfellow Elementary. Then we started a new Y program at Sacred Heart Perish School. After this I stationed at McKinley Elementary, while helping on and off at Franklin Elementary school. I’ve also given art classes to other elementary schools like Washington, Birney, Foster and Olivewood.
Then I found myself in a non profit where I could finally teach Art, working with City Heights and Barrio Logan Probation Schools. After a year I started working inside Detention Centers like East Mesa and YTC.
After 3 years of multitasking jobs here and there (Shout out to A Reason to Survive and Casa Familiar) I was then offered to work as an Independent Contractor for the San Diego County of Education. That’s where I am working right now as an Art Educator to Teenagers. While also studying my Masters in Special Education.
Up until now I have worked with several communities around California like Mission Bay, Hillcrest, City Heights, Barrio Logan, National City, San Ysidro and even North County like Vista, San Marcos and Escondido.
While work is important, I try hard to make space for my own personal art where I still exhibit my Art whenever I can. This year I have exhibited my students artwork from JCCS at the SD Library. Also, two of my art pieces were displayed in CEART Tijuana this year with the all-women’s Collective called Martes. Last year I exhibited at The Front Arte y Cultura. And I have had an individual exhibition back in 2018 in Nett Nett, when they were still active.
Social Work, Art Therapy, Special Education and Art are my life and I’m glad to say I have a long career of helping others.
Alright, 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 hasn’t been a smooth road. How can it be? my first experiences volunteering where feeding and helping our elderly unprivileged, mentally unstable grandmother’s and grandfather’s. Breaking stigmas with our baja Indigenous populations while also helping out immigrants stationed in Tijuana.
I’m happy that I learned through actions how to be emotionally aware, respectful and caring of others at a young age. Even so, I had to sign up for therapy because working with abused students, gang affiliated, teens that are on suicide watch, teens with drug abuse problems, students with special needs and all the school to prison pipeline minorities is not an easy job. Injustices are some of the things that light a raging fire inside of me and I just can’t.
But, Art has a way of helping my students and myself along this ongoing process.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I categorize as a Multidisciplinary Artist because I like working with materials depending on my mood or life situation. Sometimes I work with acrylics, pastels and canvases too much with my teens that I don’t feel like going home and painting 3 hours extra with the same materials, sometimes I do but it’s rare. Same with clay.
My last projects have been a bit more on the big scale, like textile printing. Ceramics and Painting have been my more private work, I have about four or five paintings I haven’t shared to the internet yet and some practice of anatomy sculptures.
I am most proud of the murals I have done with my students, It gives me a visual reason to continue teaching even when those hard days come where some teens don’t want to participate and we just end up tossing out materials.
What sets me apart from others is that I have been working on my life career since I was young, I love what I do and do what I love. Not everyone can witness what I have witness and dealt with what I have dealt without having to break apart and then switch careers or jobs. I’m too much of an aquarius to leave my communities aside.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
My parents, always. Both had rough upbringings but decided to give us their worlds, so me and my two brothers could thrive and be the best amazing humans we could ever be or try to be. That’s an engineer and a psychologist for you.
My grandmother Diana, where she devoted her life to Balboa Park. Working inside a Museum where she would entertain big groups of people daily.
My Art Therapy teacher Lidice Figueroa, she was the first to show me what that meant and how important it is for our mental health and others. I would also include my other art teachers Marytere with block printing, Garzon with drawing, Yulka with sculpting, Juan V. with ceramics, Raul I. with painting, they all played an important part in teaching me about contemporary art.
And lastly, my biggest cheerleader at the moment, previously a coworker but now a friend: Rachel G. who has possibly saved my life in more ways than she knows just for being herself and helping me with the overall of life inside and outside of the jails.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daphne.guzman.art/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daphne-guzman-a33843124/
Image Credits
All pics taken by me, artworks made by students and some few are my personal.
