Elsa Mora a.k.a. Elsita
Cuban multi-disiplinary artist who creates illustrations, sculptures, jewellery, and paper cut outs.
"My name is Elsa Mora and my nickname is Elsita, but you can call me either way. I am a multimedia Artist currently living in Los Angeles, California, with my husband Bill and our two children.
I am one of eight children. All of us were born and raised in Holguin, a province in the island of Cuba. My birthday used to be on May 8 (of 1971) until I discovered that it was the wrong date. It turned out that I had actually been born a day after, on May 9. What happened was that my Mom liked May 8 better because it was Mother's Day the year when I was born.
But at age 16, the lady at the office where I was issuing my first ID told me the truth. My Dad, who's good at remembering small details like that, confirmed that the lady was right.
That incident did something interesting to my brain. It made me think that in the end I could be whoever I wanted to be.
I grew up poor, but poverty taught me a series of important lessons that I will always treasure. I learned that the most precious possession that you have is your mind. I also learned that creativity and imagination could solve any problem, weather it's a material problem or an emotional one.
My education took place in the Cuban public school system. I started walking to school by myself on the 4th grade. It was a long walk in an area full of delinquent and alcoholic people that hung out in the morning.
I saw these people deteriorate to the point where they looked like ghosts. Watching them taught me lots of things that I didn't learn at school, like the slow and devastating effect of losing control of your life.
But my life back then was also full of fascinating people. There are so many characters from my neighborhood that I remember with affection. One of the main things that I learned from them was the power of having a sense of humor. Sometimes when nothing seemed to solve my problems, humor did the trick. ... "
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