Luz Lua

The awareness of my own mortality motivates me to find a deeper perspective to fully and introspectively appreciate the gift of life.

My life began in Michoacan, Mexico where I was born.  Later my family and I moved to the United States where I became an artist as well as an educator.  I graduated from the University of the Pacific with a Masters in Education and later completed a Masters in Fine Arts degree at the Institute Allende in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico.

Mexico and the United States provide me with an awareness of the Mexican and American culture.  I feel engaged within two countries that I love and respect.  Mexico is my birthplace, and it provides me with a rich culture, my primary language, and an extended family.  The United States provides me with an environment that I appreciate as a diverse collective society.

Both countries have the intimacy of home.  Unfortunately, sometimes I feel that I am not completely Mexican, nor entirely American.  The following "dicho" can best define this stage: “Ni de aqui, Ni de alla.”  Although, there is a sense of displacement, I realize that we all share an identical need for love.  It is foolish to dwell on external differences, because our basic natures are the same.

In my work, I seek to find the truth about myself, others and my surroundings.  Art is the place of intuitive understanding and deeper, perhaps even spiritual realizations.  Art has the capacity to give people insight into the value and meaning of life.

My creative challenge is to become a more integral artist, engaging from matter, body, mind, and soul to spirit while evoking on both an individual and collective level.  This is an inspiring ideal.