Hamsa (meaning “swan” in Sanskrit) is a mixed-medium artist originally from Minnesota. She has worked mainly as a commission artist; creating works specifically for public institutions, corporate buildings, and private collectors throughout Minnesota. She does not measure her ingredients but instead prefers to give up control and “collaborate with the unknown” to produce abstract backgrounds. She uses an acrylic pour technique of combining paint, paints additive, and silicon to create a reaction similar to an oil slick.

Ivan Benavides was born and raised in The Rio Grande Valley. Growing up art was a large part of his life. As an adult, he pursued his passion for art by getting his bachelors in fine art. As a touring commercial photographer, Ivan would photograph landscapes of nature in his off time. In 2017 his fascination with the beauty of nature led to his making of art from nature itself. Woodturning is a subtractive art- meaning to take away from. This craft uses a wood lathe with hand-held tools to cut a shape that is symmetrical around the axis of rotation. Ivan takes this a step further by using mostly salvaged timber gathered throughout Texas. By using salvaged timber, natural imperfections in the wood can add unforeseen difficulty. Ivan uses these “imperfections” to his advantage by creating one-of-a-kind art pieces. With functional art such as bowls, vases, decor, and select furniture, Ivan hopes to bring nature into the home of others.

Peruvian/American artist originally from Arequipa, Peru. She received her BFA in Studio Art with an emphasis in Illustration. During her time in school, she discovered her love for printmaking and the spontaneity that the ink brings to her work. She enjoys creating imagery that focuses on storytelling and narration but adds a surreal twist. Cristina creates her work primarily through traditional relief printing methods where she carves and prints all her work by hand and utilizes traditional Japanese, Nepalese and Thai papers. When she is not carving, Cristina works as a professional designer creating branding and marketing content for clients.

Adriana Martinez grew up between the two worlds of urban Texas and coastal Mexico. Her love of art and native wonders is a heartfelt pursuit that has led her all around the world from Texas to San Miguel de Allende to Florence, Italy; from Italy to Spain and Morocco; from Europe back to Mexico, dramatically steeped in its own complex web of histories and rich, resplendent cultures. She is a visual artist, a dream illustrator, a painter of souls, and often works closely with private collectors and ethnic groups. Adriana currently lives in Los Fresnos, TX with her beautiful family and pets.

Vilma was born in Brownsville, Texas, and raised by Mexican parents. She grew up surrounded by people who create art and has always looked up to them. She continuously experiments with many different types of art such as photography, and jewelry making and although she focuses on candle making she is also continuing her painting dreams. She is a multitalented mixed-media artist with a focus on modern dimensional art. She is inspired by the many artists she’s surrounded by and by her personal life experiences.

Mexican/American jeweler originally from Matamoros, MX now living in Port Isabel, TX. Joel’s interest in jewelry was sparked in 2019 when a local jeweler asked Joel to assist him in making new pieces. He loved the way he could lose himself all day making jewelry. “I almost became obsessed with Jewelry making.” Apart from this short mentorship, Joel is mainly self-taught.

The inspiration for Joel’s work is the natural stones he uses, as they are “pieces of art themselves”. He loves finding the perfect way to set and enhance their natural beauty.

Joel aspires to create jewelry that is so loved it’s worn every day and later becomes heirlooms passed down from generation to generation.

Kalid Puentes grew up in Houston, TX. Growing up he spent most of his free time playing soccer and later received a full-ride soccer scholarship at Belmont University where he studied liberal arts. He went on to get his master’s in contemporary art at Oxford Brook’s University in Oxford, England. He then went to Brunel University in London, England for his Doctorate in philosophy.

His doctorate’s discipline was in performance studies and his dissertation was aimed at distinguishing art from propaganda, more specifically how a socio-political context influences art; how society affects the interpretation of art. This interest in the study was in part inspired by Kalid’s own struggles growing up to understand multi-layered communication and symbolism.

It was this same struggle that led Kalid to start painting at the age of 20-yrs-old. Painting was a way to express himself without words which provided incredible comfort and release. As a multimedia artist, Kalid mainly creates abstract work that allows an open and inquiring mind to enter the painting and see where it takes them. “My art is aimed at presenting the sublime: the space where reflection upon infinite possibilities confronts our understanding of reality and the limitation of perception.”