What shows are being planned, now that things are opening back up?

I have a pop-up show with ArtPop class of 2022 at Le Meridien hotel on June 11. I’m also one of the commissioned designers for the 2022 ArtPop Upcycled Fashion Show scheduled for Saturday, September 10. They will provide me with a retired ArtPop Cities Program billboard vinyl that I will transform into one wearable fashion on the 7th annual fundraiser. Proceeds from the event will go directly toward their mission of showcasing local artists, equipping them to achieve sustainable success, and making art accessible to all. I did a similar show with Adams Outdoor back in 2016, in which I created a dress made from an old Coca-Cola billboard they had taken down.

What do you think is the biggest accomplishment of the group?

Being able to collaborate with other artists and help them succeed was the biggest accomplishment of the group. We encouraged artists to recycle and use those as the main materials to create artwork.

What else have you been up to?

Last month, I was invited to speak at the foundation day of my high school in the Philippines. In April, I was invited to be a guest speaker for UNC Charlotte Senior Seminar. Being selected as an inspirational speaker for my alma mater (high school and university) was very important to me, because I was able to reflect as an artist and alumna.

You have been teaching art for some time now. Where are you teaching now?

I teach at The Brawley, an IB World School in Mooresville, NC. I have a group of diverse students, and I’m very grateful. My students are also  making dresses made from recycled materials. We just finished an Art Showcase, and I have three students who created dresses made from newspaper, plastic, and scrap yarns. I showed them my work to inspire them. I also have 7th grade students who are making dresses made from papers for their personal projects.

I hear you were selected to prepare some art work by your talented students to be sent into space! How did this come about, and what is the purpose?

My students were asked to create postcards that will be mailed to Blue Origin. “On the next scheduled launch, student postcards will be loaded into New Shepherd’s payload and flown into space! Once the flight into space is complete, Blue Origin will stamp each postcard as “Flown in Space” and return them to students to keep as a space souvenir.”

The theme of the postcard is about light. We are participating in a global initiative of UNESCO’s International Day of Light (May 16). The idea is to show evidence of the connection between Art and Science through combining the Superintendent’s Art Show with UNESCO’s International Day of Light. Our District’s Fine Arts Coordinator, Courtney Frasier, delivered this exciting news. She organizes the annual Superintendent’s Art Show. I’m grateful to Mrs. Frasier! Her dedication to the community is one of a kind! She is really inspiring.

How do you inspire your students to spur their artistic creativity?

My students are wonderful. They are very inspiring, and I learn so much from them. Art is a core class at the IB school, which means students take art for one year, and it’s treated like English and math. In art, we talk about how art helps develop identity. It’s about communication, change, and aesthetics. I always make sure that they always start with who they are. This way they will take ownership.

ArtPop Digital Billboards