Today we’d like to introduce you to Ana Herrera.
Hi Ana, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Ana C Herrera, I am an emerging, binational, multidisciplinary artist based in San Diego, Ca and Tecate, Baja California. I’ve been creating my whole life, for me art in any form either materialized or ephemeral is the projection of the expression of oneself. When I was younger art was about letting my feelings out of my system, it wasn’t about being aesthetic, conceptualized or objective, it was all about catharsis and it’s a journey I like to share since I feel art has saved me in so many ways starting with that. I just knew that my life became better when I just let my hands do the talking. Art has always been part of my life, ever since I was a child I would draw everywhere and with anything I got my hands on. My mother put me in drawing classes when I was about 6 years old and I participated in my first art expo when I was 8 y/o and won my first school art competition when I was 11. For most of my middle school and highschool days I focused more on sports than art; it wasn’t till I graduated that I started working as an administrative assistant that I knew I wanted to keep making art, more than that, a living. Studying abroad was an option, so I moved to Mexico, and there my perception in how I viewed and experienced art expanded. After graduating from visual arts in UABC (Universidad Autonoma de Baja California) I started working with an independent company giving private art classes in bars, recreation centers, and nursing homes around San Diego, I would set up my booth in OB and in events around town and in Mexico, whilst exhibiting my art and collaborating in cultural events all around Baja California. I worked behind the scenes in film for a couple of years in the art department and now I have my own studio in Tecate, Baja California where you can find my work. I love to find new ways to exhibit, experiment and play with my art and that’s what I continue to do as an emerging artist.
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?
My whole life I’ve been dealing with an invisible chronic illness and I remember constantly feeling lonely, existential, useless, and non-worthy as I grew up; there’s just a lot of limitations that you have to follow and accept in order to have a decent life. I live with the hypermobility syndrome disorder, that meant I couldn’t do what others did and as a sports fanatic it was frustrating having to stop because it was painful, I walked differently, and dislocating my bones was and is a constant in my life, getting sick from my stomach; the dr.s office/labs are places I spend a lot of my time at and I feel for anyone that has to live with an invisible chronic illness because you have to sit down and listen to everyone who doesn’t understand your pain say it’s not real when it’s an everyday event for MANY. From my illness I have learned that I am only limited physically, I am more than what my body is capable of doing, and my mind is powerful and I learned that from my illness. Another struggle I had during art school was a huge language and cultural barrier when it came down to writing and expressing myself in Spanish, even though it is my first language, I had never learned the proper way to speak or write it since I had been going to school in California for most of my life, I would write down my essays in English and google translate it to Spanish and sometimes I would send it to my friend so she could proofread and edit my scrambled thoughts, people thought I was rude or I just couldn’t get my ideas across.
At the end of the day every challenge makes me stronger, I am my biggest enemy and my biggest motivation and it’s something I have to remind myself sometimes.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a multi-disciplinary artist, which means I like to combine different art forms like textile, illustration, photography, ceramics, found objects, and art installations to create sculptures or bi-dimensional artworks. My work has been exhibited in places like CEART (Centro Estatal de las Artes, ICBC (Cultural Institute of Baja California), The Tijuana Society of History, The Representation of Government of Quintana Roo, Ciudad de Mexico, Art Doc. Gallery and also in the background of some Netflix and independent movies from the times I worked in the art department building sets for films and commercials. In April of this year, I was contacted from Ted x Talks Tecate and I was honored to have designed and built the stage and the art exhibition for that Ted event. One thing I love to do is collaborate in cultural events where artists come together and share their music, art, and small businesses and where we can all grow as a community so I’m always open to go to new places and meet people that support and love art as much as I do. I am proud of myself for finding ways in which I can live through art, even if sometimes it gets hard there’s always something that reminds me that I am where I want to be, I do what I love to do and I should be grateful that I have the privilege to have had people that truly believe in what I do and that support me.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I don’t believe in luck, I believe that we have to be cleverer and find and pursue new opportunities, research more, and stop expecting that just because we’re good at something we’re going to be successful. Even if it works for some people, I cannot depend on my talent or being in the right place at the right time. I work and move around a lot to get my art showcased and exhibited and sometimes I feel more successful than other times. Getting my work out there did help me meet people that pushed me to develop my abilities and polish my work, the people that matter actually take their time to see my expos, collaborate, ask questions and support my business, it’s about getting out there, trusting yourself and the outcome.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/ann.celia
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/ann.celiaha
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOjN6-ImPPk&t=25s
- Other: www.instagram.com/nudodespues
Image Credits
Ana Herrera
Ann Celia
Greta Marin
Cesar Garcia
