Karma is a Chicana educator and artist from Colorado who was blessed to grow up between two worlds, the urban life of the city and the natural wonders of the Rocky Mountains. Both have inspired her work as an artist and educator. Karma has always had an innate desire for exploration and traveled to many cities in the U.S., landing her in Phoenix for three years. It was there her passions to create and hone her skills as an artist were fueled by the many prolific artists she was surrounded by.
As an artist, Karma said she loves painting and connecting with animals along with using symbolism and adding vibrant colors to her work. For this project, she wanted to highlight her mixed heritage as well as migration.
“Without migration, I would not exist here in Colorado,” Karma said. “The bald eagle represents the American heritage and the golden eagle represents my Mexican heritage. In-between the birds is the Nahuatl "tlatolli", a symbol for speech, discord and communication among other interpretations.”
“The hummingbird/s and monarch are representations of migration, both make long distance journeys between North and Central America, relying on the land and plants to survive. Hummingbirds and monarchs are visual interpretations of my ancestors, something you see a lot in Chicana/o or Mexican art. The monarch was intentionally painted on the back of the jersey; my grandmothers who have my back are always guiding me in spirt.”
Karma is a self-taught painter, muralist and curator. Her talents are not limited to the paint and palette; she has helped organize successful vendor markets for FemFest, taught for the EPIC Arts program out of Redline Gallery, taught with Museo de las Americas for ten years and suicide-prevention program, Voz y Corazon for six years.
Currently, Karma has found her home as an art teacher at Lake Middle School.
You can check out her Instagram here and her Website here.
