Maria Del Mar Pereda

I was born in Mexico City but spent my teenage years in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I went to a Montessori school, and I learned about Georgia O’Keefe. When I was in elementary school, we did master copies in oil paint and I especially loved Monet and Van Gogh. Van Gogh is my favorite and my inspiration. He was diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy, which I was also diagnosed with. I was also diagnosed with a very rare condition called Alice in Wonderland Syndrome. This changes my depth perception. I see things differently. Things seem bigger or smaller than they really are.

I definitely see things from a different perspective. When I was younger, I was very withdrawn and quiet and felt comfortable like that, but I felt that it made other people uncomfortable. I learned how to socialize with other people how they wanted me to, but I found this exhausting. I was odd and different, and by myself I would observe, instead of interact. I was more comfortable in my own mind. I can make worlds out of nothing in my mind. Even on a blank piece of paper I can use a pencil to create the visions I see. When I started doing art, I started doing what I call “little monsters.” This is very similar to automatic drawing. I let my mind go, and my hand just goes. I let stories come from it. This feels good to me and it feels like my subconscious is my home.

I really love oil painting, ceramics, and classical art. I love anything blue. Carl Jung used the psychological model where colors connect to who we are. Blue equals the analytical side of things. I would see blue in my mind because I didn’t speak much. I didn’t use words, I used visualizations. I would picture the color blue to create a safe space, and the color blue also connects me to my grandfather because he engineered barges, so he was surrounded by the blue of the ocean.

I love being an artist, and I would like to do really big paintings and drawings to experiment with depth, and definitely more ceramics. It is difficult, but not giving up is important. We have to push through darkness to find the light, but there is always light.