Daily Inspiration: Meet Cora Quiroz

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cora Quiroz.

Hi Cora, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I had always painted my entire life, I just never stopped and it evolved into bigger things every year. The first big step into being a working artist was doing my first art show in Michigan about seven years ago, which from then on, I started working on merchandise such as screen printed shirts, stickers, pins, prints, and sewn goods. While I was working on my Associate of Graphic Design while I was in high school in Michigan, I assisted teaching Life Drawing in my community college, and during the summer I worked first as an apprentice for the Young Artist At Work program through the Toledo Arts Commission in Ohio. There I met Ken Dushane or Phybr who mentored me and then employed me as an assistant muralist for numerous large scale murals around the Midwest for three years. While I was in my Associate’s program, I became very proficient in spray paint, painting, drawing, graphic design, and welding. When I graduated, I worked for Ken near full time as an assistant, then during the summer of 2019, I worked as an art and mural Instructor for 15 apprentices between the ages 14 and 18.

During this time, I began doing solo murals on private properties. Soon after going to Kansas City for a mural festival called SpraySeeMo, I moved to Phoenix, Arizona to reconnect with my family, my culture, and I decided to continue my education at Arizona State University where I was nominated to have an Honors Studio as an undergraduate. I am studying a Bachelor’s of Fine Art, Painting and Drawing. I met a resident artist from the Arizona Latino Arts and Cultural Center named Piersten Doctor. We became romantic partners who collaborate on my artistic projects including a mural on Roosevelt Row on the Xico Containers which is part of the Uncontained Mural Project. I was also selected for the last artist of the year, and I will be starting my mural in October. I am now a resident artist at the Arizona Latino Arts and Cultural Center, as well as a member of Cahokia, an Indigenous led Tech and Art Space company. As of today, I am getting ready for an exhibition called Gaytablos, which will be at the ALAC, as well as an exhibition called The Ancestral Show, which is held by the Sagrado Galleria.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The most difficult part of my journey as an artist is often being that I am a woman, and despite the majority of artists being women, many of the working artists, sculptors, and muralists are men. Being in a male-dominated field is stressful as it often feels that something as sacred as art-making is not always treated as such. When I was learning welding in high school so I can apply it to sculptures in the future, never had I felt more out of place, but more ready to show my peers that I deserve to be there and I am as capable as they are. I was the only woman in my class and one of four in the program. I had never dealt with as much sexism all at once in my life as I had there. The other most difficult part of my journey was moving 2,000 miles from my hometown. Learning the area, meeting new people, but also in a way restarting my career here was very hard, especially as I moved here three months before the pandemic. It was very painful at first, but I feel that it has been rewarding as there is more opportunity for artists in Phoenix. The only other difficult thing about being an artist besides never knowing exactly when a check will come in is that I suffer with depression which can make doing simple tasks very difficult. It can be hard to work with others in the gallery if I am having a bad day, or sometimes it strikes right before I go to an event.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I work as a visual artist. I specialize in watercolor and oil paint. I am generally known for my watercolors, mostly for how saturated they are, and also for monochromatic watercolor paintings, as well as portraits of women I see as strong and influential feminists and activists, such as Frida Kahlo, Marsha P Johnson, and Malala Yousafzai, Recently, I am known for self-portraits in watercolor and oil, which illustrates different events in my life, or moments on the verge of self-exploration and understanding my identity being multiracial, as well as my spirituality. I also use still lifes with portraits to communicate these things, especially with the use of objects for symbolism which helps piece together the narrative of the painting. My paintings are generally realistic, sometimes surrealistic, and I use bright and vibrant colors but usually with dark lighting to create a more soft atmosphere. Currently, I am exploring my Latino heritage with these bright colors, calacas, and talavera inspired designs with symbolism hinting to my Hopi heritage. I am most proud of my painting, ‘Reflection of One’s Self and Where We Go’ which is an oil painting on 5×3 ft canvas which features a vanitas style still life and a self-portrait. I had the privilege of exhibiting it in the Mujeres Del Desierto show through the Sagrado, and it is now exhibiting at the Arizona Latino Arts and Cultural Center.

What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was very quiet and shy, as I was raised as a Jehovah Witness. I was in an all white school and was often bullied and called Cora the Explorer because of my background. Being a Jehovah Witness was very difficult as we were not allowed to celebrate holidays or socialize with people who are not Jehovah Witness. This and being Latino made me feel alienated and ashamed of who I was. I opted to do solo activities such as drawing and playing piano since I could not take lessons or being in groups of people who are not Jehovah Witness unless in was mandatory such as basic education. I began to cultivate my talent at a young age, and it never stopped. While I was in the religion, we were not allowed to go to college, and I was able to learn more about other religions in history, then I began to realize I was bisexual, which was prohibited and shamed. I had been accused and lectured being gay by the Elders (what we called priests) at the age of 10, long before I knew I was gay. The only thing I had done wrong in their eyes was that I was a tomboy. Due to all of this, I left the religion because I knew if I wanted to be who I truly was, a bisexual, feminist, educated artist, it would not be as a Jehovah Witness. I was in the religion until I was 16.

Pricing:

• Commissions are a $1.50 per square inch, not including supplies, framing, and shipping

Contact Info:

• Email: coratalkington@gmail.com
• Website: www.onicora.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oni.cora/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oni.cora/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/oni_cora?lang=en

Image Credits:
The headshot I used for my personal photo was taken by KBRofficial