Artist Bio:

I am a musician and artist who creates and performs through various music and art mediums. I immigrated to this country when I was 8 years old from Quito, Ecuador. I served in the U.S. Navy and now I'm currently getting my associate in arts, with a concentration in music. I've been performing in diverse music ensembles since middle school, and I've known I wanted to be a singer and performer since I was little. I've been taking pictures since I was five; I used to carry a dark blue plastic film camera around my wrist all the time. This past year, I’ve been getting back into shooting film photography. I’ve been studying and have been making pottery and ceramics for almost two years now.

Artwork Statement:

When I was first stationed in San Diego, I felt like a passive observer in an unfamiliar city. While I was receiving mental health treatment, I was accepted into a VA surfing workshop program. At this time in my life, I felt lost and lonely and never left the military base I lived at. The surfing program pushed me to wake up early in the morning; it pushed me to socialize and to step out of my comfort zone physically and mentally. I was always amazed by how many people would consistently be there early in the morning. A majority of the dedicated surfers would get there as the sun is first coming up to maximize their time out in the water. Some people would run along the beach, I presumed as a part of their morning routine before work. Some of these people had been going to this beach since they were kids, who are now in their 80s and they're still not tired of the view. Others would walk their dogs and some just read books on foldable chairs under umbrellas. People of all ages all coming together for moments in time along the coastline to share the same view of the ocean.