Strokes 2 Threads

After graduating from Parsons School in Design I returned to Venezuela, my hometown, and worked during 10 years designing, producing and selling my own brand of women's fashion. I worked closely with women who were the breadwinners for their family. I devised a campaign to motivate young voters. I focused on using the fabric waste to create packaging, accessories and programs in alliance with different non-profits to make creative projects. I also made canvas bags educating on the impact of plastic bags in our oceans. My designs were sold in Venezuela and abroad. It was an amazing ten years and I am still in contact with that group of women with whom we created and amazing team and bond.

After working as a fashion designer for ten years I hoped on Don Bartolo. A beautiful project in which I designed and marketed "chinchorros". In alliance with a non-profit we would teach women in rural areas of Cojedes, Venezuela how to braid chinchorros to become breadwinners for their families. We would provide them with guidelines, materials and courses on family values and home economics.

Way before buying vintage was in fashion, a group of women, including myself created an event in which we would sell donated vintage clothing. It has been 15 years since that day and now we sell above 4000 pieces of clothing on the day of the event which is celebrated yearly.  All the profits are for the non-profit Fundacion ProCura de La Paralisis to which I have been a part of since I was a 9 year old.

This project was a catharsis. It tells the very personal, but universal story of accepting the difficult things in life and seeing them in a new light only after surrendering and accepting it and its lesson. I also co-illustrated it with watercolors. This book has truly been a gift for me. Hopefully the english version will be out soon. 

I can hear my soul sing when I enter a flow state of creating, painting, cutting, glueing. I find inspiration in my personal exploration of the psyche, the ocean, fruits, colors, my heritage. My practice is personal, almost medicinal, but never selfish. An aesthetic expression of my soul.