President Obama by Gloria Valdes Tarasca
We were so inspired today to meet the amazingly talented Mexican-born artist, Gloria Valdes “Tarasca”. She joined Empowered Women International to learn how to promote her work, and reach out to foundations and secure funding for exhibitions and cultural educational programs. Gloria is self-taught and her work is inspired by her ancestral people, the Tarascans, original inhabitants of Michoacán state, in western Mexico where she was born, and for whom, and in their honor she has named herself. Gloria has 280 original artworks of her own, and she plans to create a museum, one day, that will celebrate her cultural heritage.
From an early age, Gloria Valdes, “Tarasca”, realized she was different from the rest. Scolded by adults for her restlessness and inability to focus, she was often rejected by her playmates. Diagnosed as dyslexic and hyperactive, in addition to suffering from Osteogenesis Imperfecta, a bone disease impeding her movement. Gloria gradually quit the physical activities she enjoyed and took sole refuge in painting.
Her art, she says, is as much as expression of her personality as it is an opportunity for psychoanalysis. “Painting is a medium through which at once I become patient and psychoanalyst. One of the things that I enjoy the most is seeing an idea realized in a painting. It’s the thrill of knowing that I can create something from nothing.”
Check out Gloria’s art portfolio and invite her to showcase her art in your community!