Created as a reflection of self, Pedazos is an introspective characterization of how pieces of self shift in response to experiences with others. Language adopted by the community, tastes informed by new encounters, mannerisms altered through watching others. We are all pieces we have adopted from our loved ones.

Adriana Lopez-Ospina is a Colombian American mixed media artist currently working on a new woven wool installation series titled fiber. After receiving her BA in Studio Art with an emphasis in sculpture at Saint Louis University she moved back to the Coachella Valley to pursue an art career. Adriana is inspired by her family’s Colombian heritage and culture. Lopez-Ospina has been working in golf leaf for the past five years that culminated in her series titled All that Glitters is Fools Gold. This series focused on abstract figures in its beginning stages then evolved into adding patterns in order to illustrate various moods. Adriana has since moved into working with fiber that she naturally dies to create installations. She continues to explore new ways to weave texture and pattern to communicate various issues and life moments.

This piece explores the truth that all humans are more similar than they are different. We are all made from the same matter that the rest of the world is. We all belong to the universe equally.

I make work that exists in the gray area between contemporary craft and sculpture. My practice combines functional design with personal narratives to varying degrees; some works act as usable tools and others are abstracted to the point of uselessness. Both personal and cultural connections are examined through decontextualized simulacra and recontextualized materials. I explore alternative processes of working with traditional and commonplace materials like wood, paper, found materials, and everyday ephemera. I explore themes of universality, media and material, femininity and masculinity in craft, and possession through creation.

My work seeks to explore the human body as a medium and in relation to other media. I utilize design theory to emphasize the tactility of materials and apply the humanist approach of contemporary craft to sculpture. I play with the human scale that contemporary craft typically considers. Throughout my practice I explore the questions: What are the connections between humans and our materials? Our objects? Our tools?

Fully Loaded Gun is a teenage punk odyssey written in an exquisite corpse style by the performers themselves. Everything was spawned from the idea of creating a film about what the characters the musicians play while performing do while they're not performing. The film is a combination documentary/narrative hybrid and attempts to answer the question 'What happens when you exquisite corpse a documentary'?

How do you exquisite corpse a documentary? In his first experimental narrative feature 17 year old director Césaire José Carroll-Domínguez introduces us to the modern youth of the San Diego/Tijuana experimental punk scene and shows us exactly what they're doing...nothing.

This work explores identity and belonging in a botanical way, using plein-air watercolor as media. This work juxtaposes the ways we openly receive plants, animals, nature in all the obvious ways, but hesitate to accept others, and sometimes ourselves. I hope this serene image can offer a point of meditation and comfort as we navigate our identities and links to one another.

My work is about representation and seeing oneself in my work. This is a sincere

approach to speak up for myself, validate my own lived experiences and in many ways, create authorship and ownership over the narrative. I am a graphic designer with a great affinity for new media and traditional art forms. I am a parent, educator and the co-founder of a 16 year-old rural social enterprise in India called Kara Weaves.

As an artist I let all these diverse yet impactful aspects of my life inform my art practice. Community,representation and resilience are an integral part of the stories in my work. As such I use my formal training as a graphic designer to create my paintings, leveraging form to explore content and vice versa. My work resides in the tension between common meanings of symbols /objects & the personal experiences that paint and mark-making can create for a viewer.

“Kip” is a rendering of a “famous family” photograph of my uncle. It began as a photo, translated into a digital drawing. It was then laser-cut from hardwoods, chosen for grain and color, and puzzled back together into a portrait.

I’ve created the artwork “Kip” while teaching an art class to highschoolers on the subject of the “Chosen Family Tree” at A Reason To Survive in National City. I have been working in drawing and portraiture for the past few years, but in designing this class, I’ve been reaching into my own history (and family photo albums) for inspiration.

“Kip” is a rendering, in laser cut hardwoods, of a photograph of my uncle as a teenager. A fairly famous photo, in my family, as he was on his way to a concert (I think Prince?) where he was very much out of character - memorably, famously, out of character.

I come from a family who always had an extra person crashing on the couch, and for more than half of my life, that person was Kip. He became a criminal, in a way that was both circumstance and choice, and slowly disappeared from our family. At first, prison, we suspected, but then, who knows. But he belongs with us - if ever he chooses to return.

Within my Barrio based series exploring the hidden beauty of Logan Heights, where San Diego and Tijuana, merge, I navigate the social landscape as a Latina wielding my lens. The trilogy of pieces intricately weaves together the imagery of California palm trees, street culture, and the nuanced space where religion and faith take divergent paths. Along the palm-lined streets, my photography echoes the spirit of self-determination, reflecting the essence of the Barrio.

As a woman in a male-dominated spaces, my photography journey becomes a personal exploration of identity. Navigating through the social structures of imperialism and capitalism as an undocumented artist and mother, my visual storytelling reflects the resilience and vibrancy of the Latinx experience. Through the lens, I capture not just scenes, but the essence of my own journey—a unique narrative woven into the cultural fabric of Logan Heights.

Día Soto's body of work intersects her personal, political, and cultural narratives, captured through the mediums of photography, literature, and art. Her creative expressions serve as a representation of the challenges she has faced and triumphed over. Driven by a passion that transcends sight and invokes the senses, Día Soto revels in breaking artistic conventions. Known under the artistic handle 'Colors of the Barrio / Colores del Barrio,' she specializes in barrio-based street film photography, crafting each shot with intention to intimately capture moments. As a woman who delights in rule-breaking, her poetry, short stories, and community contributions align with social justice causes, advocating for immigration rights, mental health support for People of Color, and more. This commitment has not only shaped her art but also earned her numerous scholarships. Currently serving as the 2023 Artist-In-Residence at Street Of Dreams Musicians For Education, Día Soto continues to use her creativity as a powerful tool for change.

This piece is a prayer to my ancestors and my existence. It honors the grounded nature in my and the expansiveness I hold as well. It includes pieces from my altar and from nature. This piece is an altar itself. A reminder that I belong to nature and that I owe my existence to the people that came before me.

I am a mixed media artist inspired by nature, my ancestors, transformation, expansion, movement, and queerness. I like to co-create with the universe and let it guide me to choose the words, images, and items to use for my art creations. I often create my art outside and use movement to allow it to flow. It is my intention to inspire people to connect to themselves, nature, their ancestors, and to question their perceptions and reality through my art.

"Passing Through" depicts a woman in a moment of bliss as a passenger through the desert.

"Ocotillo" is beautiful but spiky native plant to Joshua Tree. The woman is reminded that this is Mother Nature's house, and she is a humbled guest.

"Cozy Embrace" is a cozy embrace onto of a rock where two women are sharing a peaceful desert moment together.

These images were taken in Joshua Tree. The peoples who occupied and used portions of the area now set aside as Joshua Tree National Park before the arrival of Europeans in 1769 were the Serrano, the Cahuilla, the Mojave, and the Chemehuevi. While visiting in these beautiful landscapes, we are reminded of the humans belonging in these spaces, so in-tuned with Mother Nature, not taking more than they need to sustain and live. For a moment in time, we get to have this sense of belonging, reconnecting with nature. We are reminded to respect these sacred spaces and that we are connected and belong to something bigger than ourselves.

When I bartend I'm invisible, but appear to validate a person's sense of importance. I shill products to patrons who depend on them as a form of self-medication. Sometimes men loom over me. Sometimes they fail to accept that women are legitimate bartenders. This work pays homage to The Bar at the Folies-Bergere by Edouard Manet.

All my work revolves around my identity. The past couple of years have been dedicated to building my own identity. As a third culture kid the best way I could see what my identity would look like was to paint the feeling of it. All my paintings are a mix of Japanese and American influence and touches on the soul.

I am a self taught artist who uses acrylic paint and unstretched canvas to create colorful and unique work. My journey with painting started with a broken identity. I have moved around my whole youth and I consider myself Japanese and kind of American also now. The move from Japan to here made me really think on identity and where I belong. I really feel (still do) the struggle of feeling like I don't belong anywhere even in Japan now. I started painting to make my own identity and see which depictions made me feel the most comfortable. In some paintings Japanese or American influences may over power the other and make me uncomfortable. My ongoing goal as an artist is to depict a perfect balance and an identity I can hold pride in. My paintings are also inspired by other self taught artists mainly in Europe and also tattoo artists as well.

My interest in creating art is rooted in my relentless search for answers within myself. My paintings are based on automatic drawings and personal narratives. In my paintings, I use acrylic as a quick-drying medium that allows me to create many thin-colored layers quickly and spontaneously on the background. For this piece I used wooden panels, with glued paper with abstract drawing catted in four pieces. Lines of foreground motive are red strings that connect all four panels together.

This piece tells story of my transformative journey from my roots in the Czech Republic to San Diego. This extraordinary adventure exposed me to the rich tapestry of diversity and deeply influenced me with a kaleidoscope of cultures and perspectives. This painting is my visual testament to the understanding that despite our differences, there exists a profound and universal connection resonating at the depths of our souls. The lines in my artwork, delicately formed by a string, connected across the four panels symbolize these connections of individuals from varied backgrounds. Through genuine communication and interaction, I've come to realize that we can collectively unearth a deeper comprehension of the world, bringing these hidden connections to the surface and fostering a sense of unity that transcends borders and backgrounds.

These works come from a visual ethnography project I am working on entitled Learning to Love Through You. Inspired by bell hook's understanding of the love ethic, I designed a creative research project exploring how we learn love and belonging within and outside our communities. In this project, I conducted semi-structured interviews with strangers I met in parks, cafes, and bus stops about how they experience love and loss in their lives. Paired with these interviews are anti-portraits, portraits where the subject received complete agency over their image; these were not binary to their physical body and often included objects related to their spirit and memories. All these images I am submitting are the anti-portraits taken on 35mm film and are silver gelatin prints.

These 35mm photographs come from a visual ethnography project I am working on entitled Learning to Love Through You. Inspired by bell hook's understanding of the love ethic, I designed a creative research project exploring how we learn love and belonging within and outside our communities. In this project, I conducted semi-structured interviews with strangers I met in parks, cafes, and bus stops about how they experience love and loss in their lives. Paired with these interviews are anti-portraits, portraits where the subject received complete agency over their image; these were not binary to their physical body and often included objects related to their spirit and memories.

When I asked myself what "belonging" means to me, my imposter syndrome quietly whispered, "you don't even belong to yourself dude." I immediately remembered this digital collage that I made in 2018, so I decided to recreate it. The background is a blend of three different scenes done in photoshop. I wanted it to look like the background scenes from the Looney Tunes shows. After printing it on a white shirt, I mapped out the other elements of the work, then embroidered the balloon. I chose a rainbow thread to add some surrealism to it. The shadows were added using watercolor, then acrylic paint for that dude. In the original digital collage, he was naked, but this time I had him wear shorts as per his request, he is shy.

I've always believed that artists make the most beautiful things, and by that definition, I suck as one. But I still do it, as it helps me articulate my thoughts, plus I look forward to being provoked by it. I see my art as an avenue for me to see what others see in me, in hopes that one day, I’ll sincerely believe in me as others do.

My art is centered around the ironies of life, balancing the joyful surprises and trigger warnings. I ask questions in riddles to get as many different answers as possible, because I believe there is truth in all of them. And that is what I seek, truth in all its forms.

With everything I do, my process can be best summarized in one word, layers. The medium doesn’t matter much to me, it’s how all elements interact with each other that’s important. I’m always curious how we can make things belong together..

With this piece, I ask you, do you belong to yourself?

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Migración de Aves / Bird Migration represents the duality of the flow of nature and people, migration is a natural instinct to move in search for safety and nurture. Barriers are kept to prevent the flow of people and animals, we forget how they are affect by human structures that prevent the healthy balance of the ecosystem. We depend on a higher power for security with the hope for sanctuary.

I seek a broad look at human migration through movement and the rise of displacement of people within the U.S and abroad. I use the printmaking process to find the language and expression through colors to find a sense of urgency through repetitive patterns and textures that are distinct from one another other. I try capturing the feeling of emotional distress with thought provoking markings expressing moments of unpredictability, loss, and hope. My marks provide a story that humanizes people by establishing an identity from their journey to start new roots at a foreign country.

Throughout my process of understanding and confronting the dynamics that are root cause of migration that are linked by climate change, poverty, corruption, and lack of opportunities in response takes, to heart the physicality in describing and presenting objects at the moment that are happening and brings them closer to each other by allowing the work to speak through color and embody the triumph of overcoming the obstacles migrants face. They survive by challenging us to understand what it means to be human and become more empathetic.

By using screen-printing as a fast-paced approach to creating multiple possibilities that differ from one another but retain an identity and presence that embodies the people who are seeking a new life. Through textiles and other multi-mediums. I depend on the local and international communities for collaboration to extend participation and involvement to bring the public together to share stories and build a bridge for people to create new relations for one another.

All the pieces address the theme of belonging in different ways. In " La Piñata/Sacrifice" the general concept is that of forcing my personal history into a relationship with a broader cultural history. Often, because of being raised primarily in the U.S. it is easy to feel displaced or disconnected from the history of my culture. in "Woof" and "La Pera" I am more interested in the role language, plays in contributing to an individuals sense of belonging. With "Los Tres Caballeros" I was interested in the idea of seeing your culture being reflected back to you in popular media. It is a concept I have explored in other works. Often the feeling is bittersweet depending on the media, and the execution of the representation. "Toreo de Tijuana" was a part of larger body of work in which I explored the regional Identity, and shared experiences Tijuana/San Diego, the place I belong to.

With my work I position the culture I come from (Mexico), in relation to the culture I grew up in (United States), in relation to the culture I’ve chosen (Video games and Cartoons). My paintings are the byproducts of my examinations and research into Mexican and American history, the cultures I operate within, and my day to day life. The imagery I work with comes from photos I've taken on my phone, old family pictures, archived historical photographs as well as content found online. I examine, look for, and sometimes force relationships between the images. It is of interest to me how altering the relationships between the images and their contexts alters their perceived meaning or reinforces what is already there.

My journey on this earth hasn’t been linear, as most aren’t. I still struggle with what my culture tells me I should value versus what I actually value. As a person who has walked in many worlds, I don’t think of home or belonging as a single location. My sense of belonging is in my body. When I feel like I belong in my body, when I can feel my body breathe fully, that is a location I want to be in. When I can connect to the very top of my head, the tips of my fingers, the soles of my feet, my jaw can relax, and my rib cage can expand, that is a place I want to be in. A common theme in a lot of my work is reconnection. How can I reconnect with myself? Reconnect with my body? Reconnect with source? Reconnect with others? We have a lot of unlearning to do as a culture that neglects the knowledge and layers of the body. I lost my singing voice for about 4 years while I was going through some stuff, which was devastating for me as a singer/songwriter. New events were happening and repressed memories were resurfacing. It was a lot. My emotional body shut down and demanded rest. During this time, I learned how interconnected everything in your body is. I learned that emotions are not in your head. They are in your body. There is a reason why you cry when you are sad or you tense up when you are angry. Emotions live in the body. Not in the mind. I realized I had to learn how to honor my body. I turned to jewelry making. Using my hands and eyes to give my voice and inner organs a break. I started making body chains and body jewelry as a reminder to focus on adorning and adoring my body. Our heads are so adorned with earrings and necklaces and crowns and piercings. Our hands are adorned with rings. But what about adorning our bodies? I want to contribute to building a new culture in the US. One that acknowledges the wisdom of the body. A culture is often built on its values. What do we value as a culture? Please take a piece of paper and write down your top 5 values. Don’t look at anyone else’s list until you are done. Pin it to the board and feel free to take pictures. Post them to social media and tag @snipping.thorns. Culture starts with people. With conversations. Let’s talk about what values we want the new culture to have. Let’s keep this conversation going.

“Persephone in Winter” is an interpretation of the myth of Hades, God of the Underworld, kidnapping Persephone, the Goddess of Spring. This piece illustrates what accepting the feeling of not belonging looks like, in Rasquachismo style. “Persephone in Winter” is dedicated to all the spooky sad girls with mommy issues.

Born and raised in San Diego, Sasha Sañudo grew up inspired by Chicanx culture and diverse social class structures. She studied Fine Arts and Art History at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, as well as Studio Arts and Chicano Studies at San Diego City College. Sasha’s pieces are often created using a variety of cheap, found, or trashed materials. Her work focuses on the dualities of personal struggle and empowerment as a Latina with mental illness and mysticism. Sasha's ultimate goal is to encourage her audience to find the beauty in ugliness.

Working on a large scale and often in public, Baily rescues the stories that political systems and popular media outlets leave out. Her work celebrates cultural nuances, intending to preserve diversity and resist the homogeneity that globalization proposes. She believes her illustrated wonderlands and participatory art events can inspire empathy and bridge communities.

"La Dualidad" explores the challenge of preserving ancestral practices, spirituality, and culture in a post-colonial era. A precolonial figure is placed on a post-industrial surface and asks the viewer if these two worlds can coexist and how we can empower our origin story without shame.

I paint and I draw from a place that is emotional at its core, colored by symbolism, and intrigued by the subconscious. Usually in my work there is a face that reminds me of my temporary humanity and fingers that point to other realities which have deeply impacted my art; parallel realities and several moments existing together side by side, simultaneously.

I’m fascinated by Time, Space, and Line

As an artist navigating through life, the external journey has always been a reflection of the internal journey, with me being the one who translates the in-between, the artist who is the conduit, the interpreter.

My name is T. Jay Santa Ana and I’m an abstract surrealist.

I’m noticing more and more everyday that my art is the culmination of who I used to be, who I am now, and where I’ve been, punctuated by these very moments shared with both strangers and familiar faces.

I’m intoxicated by the conversations born from my art, how my work hanging on a wall will speak to someone before I even have a chance to. And when I finally do, I’m fascinated by their own interpretation of what I’ve created. It’s like our paths, our lines, were meant to cross at this point to breathe this conversation into life, admiring this intersection in time and space.

All the people I’ve met, and all the different tools I use, are just a few points of inspiration when I’m creating. There are also important places to my practice which are instrumental to my art-making. I think it’s important to travel to and to create in places outside of your own comfort zone, outside of your own home, even. Because in the end I’m just traveling side by side with you, creating points of impact upon others along the way. Inevitably we pick up remnants of this journey to keep as souvenirs. So far these are mine.

This piece is inspired by traditional Otomi embroidery on paper. In this piece I use embroidery to represent my dueling nationalities. The vibrant colors in the center represent the beauty and rich culture in Mexican communities. The colors bleeding into the dull shades of beige represent the inevitable loss of our traditions and our language through assimilation. This piece represents my upbringing, a Mexican household in a primarily white community. These are the colors of my culture.

Celina is a queer Mexican American artist living in San Diego. She is inspired by whimsical, childlike designs and femininity. She primarily uses charcoal, gouache and embroidery on paper.