W10: Final Words

I'm honored to have gone through some of the motions of an artists but more so a Chicana Artist. It's only been in my daydreams and passing thoughts that I could be able to develop the skills and qualities of an artist to live it out as one. Immersing myself in the diverse backgrounds if Chicana Artists alone in the work they produce, the lives they lead, the struggles they've overcone it's been a trip reflecting in their stories and more so trying to process the sort of motivation they've given me to produce art and treasure art myself. It's almost tragic to think how quick art is overlooked or taken for granted and much more from Women of Color Artists. Thinking back to a class conversation we had over the process of recognition for a Chicana artists: how much does a Chicana artist have to kill herself to be valued?

With newfound respect, the art I produced this quarter has been a surprise to myself but more a presented method for healing and an outlet for my personal emotions. I'm thinking back at the feeling of the ongoing process of my skill and I realize it's something that should be constant,y worked on and oracticed not only to get better but to also contiously release negative emotions that I keep bottled up as a queer student of color. I'm also amazed with the work that my classmates were able to produce along with the stories that they were able to share as to what inspired them to create. It was the last class session that I really enjoyed and saw the feeling of accomplishment in the look of my classmates faces. We accomplished something beautiful together as a collective and as artists.

The sort of stories I'm taking away spans from the consciousness of various Chicanas. From an alternative sex-positive attitude that's aware of them toxic nature sex work industry to an awareness that art plays a crucial role in social movements. To a self love approach to our bodies that many Chicanas like Laura Aguilar constantly battle to accomplish through the mediums of art. I realize that art but more so the art of Chicana Artists produces a school of thought for awareness of not just social movements but also cultural power.