I was born in the Dominican Republic and lived there till age 14. During my early childhood I had some very harsh experiences. For one thing, I was abandoned by my mother at age 7, along with three other siblings. My father, who was the one that was to take care of us, had to work all day and part of the night. For years, it seems, there was not a single person who could really take care of me and my siblings, feed us, bathe us and send us to school. As time went by I learned to cook, and then my father found a woman friend who took us under her wing, and at that point I was sent to school. My life got better, I learned to read within a few months! I was so happy. But although life was a bit better, now my father, who was the only person working in that household, had to feed ten people! Well, there was not enough money, and therefore there was very little food, especially eggs, milk, and meat. We ended up eating poorly.

As a child I was deprived of good nutrition and a good education, but at least I feel that I was not deprived of the natural beauty of my surroundings, which I learned to appreciate from a very young age. Ever since I can remember, I was always drawing on any little piece of paper, making all kinds of stuff with old pieces of cardboard. One of the things that bothered me the most was that when I did drawings of the wild flowers the kids would never believe that I was the one who did the drawings! As a child I was very observant of nature and all its wonderful colors, the yellows and oranges of mangos and the beautiful iridescent colors of the cashew fruit, with all its seeds sticking out at the end instead of inside. And of course the he deep blue color of the sea, which fascinated me. Nowadays, every time I see one of Gregory Kondos’ paintings it reminds me of the deep blue Caribbean sea. I was always paying particular attention to the color, texture, shapes, and forms of whatever was around me.

When I came to New York City my mother, who never believed in education, asked me to go to work. There was no school for me, not according to her. I had to work full time, and I decided that I had to learn English, so I went to a nearby store, called a bodega, and there I found my little English book, which was my way of learning the language. After learning a bit of English, I got into adult school at age 15.

There I learned about different topics, and this helped me further my English proficiency. From there I got into a program to get me ready to take the GED. By that time I was already married to my Dominican husband who had gone to Minnesota to study for a Ph.D. in linguistics. He, however, did not encourage me to study either. It was a young woman I met in Minnesota who decided to bring me an application to apply to the General College at the University of Minnesota, which I did. From General College I went on to study in the University of Minnesota’s Art Education department. I chose art education rather than studio arts as my major because I had to make sure that I would get a job and that I would get a good salary! My college education was very rewarding. I had accomplished something that no one in my immediate family had accomplished, not even my siblings that were born here in this country. Because when I graduated from college I had so many studio arts credits, when I moved to Boston and began teaching art in the public schools I was able to get another degree, my B.F.A. With my B.S. in Art education and my B.F.A. I was better able to introduce art to children in the inner city, giving them the best education that I could give them with my training. I was an art teacher for over 14 years working with minority students from all walks of life, students just like me.

Since my relocation to Davis, California, I have been lucky enough to dedicate a few years to making art full-time and to develop as a full-fledged artist. Thanks to this, my work, especially in ceramic sculpture and printmaking, has made real strides. I have had shows in museums as well as in important art galleries, which for me marks the making of an artist. I feel that now is a time to go back to the classroom and, with my MFA, continue with my art teaching at a higher level. Whatever I do, however, my experiences of growing up poor in the Caribbean and of immigration to this country as a teenager will always shape my work as an artist and, I think, remind me, from the inside, what the word “diversity” really means.

My resume can be read at my web site: http://www.emmaluna.net/