How did textiles as a medium become your focus as an artist?
As a child I used crocheting, sewing, and looming as a way to escape the chaos I was experiencing around me. I’m a multidisciplinary artist at heart, but the voice of textile and fiber is my undeniable medium of choice at the moment. It’s the language I use to most fluently express chaos, feminism, resilience and freedom, but also to link cultures, history and the cosmos. In uncertain times, I feel that textiles have a powerful voice.

Where do you find inspiration?
The Ancestors, nature, cultures and being active in community.

Diosa Luna is one of our favorite pieces you’ve made, and it speaks to your Puerto Rican and Taíno heritage. How does Taíno culture play a role in your work?
Diosa Luna is my favorite too! This work connected me to the magical realm of my ancestors, and honors the Taíno moon goddess Diosa Luna. Being raised in a multicultural family with deep ties to Puerto Rican culture, together with my education in Latin cultures, introduced me to a new type of art activism, spiritually awakened activism, which strengthened my connection to my indigenous roots. I am not dismissing all of the cultures within me, Caribbean and European alike, but rather honoring a forgotten Native voice, which contributes significantly to all of our history in the US. You'd be amazed at how many Taíno words are still in our vocabulary today, but you wouldn't know it. Please look it up, it's fascinating. I give my work Taino names to write us back into history as well as touching on life experiences that unify rather than divide us as humans.

You just finished some new work for a group show currently on view at Praxis Gallery here in NYC. What is this work about?
Warikè, Hekiti Warikè Cuyo, “We see one, we see light.“ Making this work felt raw; my inner works tapping into the collective trauma of division and identity, and reflecting light and dreams of unity. I feel super fortunate to have made this work specifically at this moment for this group exhibition. It feels beyond present and perfect timing.

You mentioned the idea of being an art nomad. What do you love most about making work in different environments, countries, and studio settings?
I moved around a lot growing up so I learned the importance of being adaptable to new settings and being an observer. I am also curious by nature, and I get my inspiration from the bigger picture perspective. I feel more connected when I experience how the larger family lives around the world. It allows my work freedom to be universal rather than site specific.

What is your favorite place to make art?
Outside on a blanket surrounded by mountains, water and green. I love working in Mexico, the south of France, and Switzerland and then putting it together in Brooklyn. A real New York story.

NYC has been your home base for most of your life, but it sounds like you might be ready to move upstate or somewhere outside of the city. What are you most looking forward to with country life?
There is something brewing in upstate NY, however I just committed to being in Coyoacán, Mexico City for part of the year so I haven’t given up on city life just yet, but looking forward to a more calm, colorful, tree filled city. Although I will be traveling for most of the year I wanted to ground myself in a Latin culture that honors one's indigenousness. It just feels right at the moment for the art I want to make.

You’ve shared a few drawings from your sketchbook with us. Do you start with sketching to work out ideas or are some pieces made on the fly?
I make it a priority to draw every day! To keep some structure in my unusual studio practice. I sketch out ideas as they come to me, sometimes it's repetitive shapes, and sometimes it feels like excessive doodling. Sketching eventually makes room for the textile work to come through and to have a clear channel for work to be made on the fly.

While you still call NYC home, what do you love most about being a New Yorker?
My years of wild New York stories I have for every block! Being elbow to elbow with every culture, multiple cultures, means great food. And the NYC friendships that are forever bonded in concrete :)