Veronica was born in New York but was raised from the age of 2 in Bogota, Colombia. She spent most of her childhood drawing and daydreaming. Eventually she made her way back to New York City where she currently livesand works. She received her BFA from Hunter College in New York, NY in 2002.
Veronica's works for the show are embroidered. She explains in her artist statement, "In my work, I explore a whimsical vegetated world where plant-like creatures sprout an array of human emotions. In this whimsical vegetated world, emotions like fear, anger, sadness, and lust are part of the physical and subconscious make-up of the vegetated inhabitants. As the artist trying to breath life into the work, I have become a researcher, like a biologist, cataloging the inhabitants, their characteristics and habitat of the wondrous vegetated world."
And here are Veronica's responses to some of the questions I asked...enjoy!
Q. What are the main things that inspire you? Are you inspired by things that happen to you, or what you observe from life?
A. I am inspired a lot by nature. I find flowers, trees, fungi any kind of plants very interesting. I also find inspiration in animals but plants are just so interesting to me. I am also inspired a lot by stories. I love children's stories, fairy tales (brothers Grimm, Lewis Carroll are some of my favorite) anything that has to do with fantasy and the surreal. Things that happen to me, and feelings also influence my work.
Q. Sometimes an artists work gives a hint to what the artist may be like, what they believe in, entertainment they fancy. Is there anything about you that would be surprising to know, if someone only knew your art?
A. Only the people that are close to me know that I have a fear of clutter. I like things simple. Too many things around me are visually distracting. In regards to entertainment I love movies. It might not be a surprise that I like fantasy movies. Some of my favorite directors include Tim Burton (can't wait to see his interpretation of Alice in Wonderland), Hayao Miyazaki, Jim Henson, my new favorite director is Guillermo del Toro after I saw Pan's Labyrinth. I love those 80's fantasy movies like Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal and The Never Ending Story to name a few.
Q. Do you have any odd habits while you work?
A. I always like to have a very clean and organized work area free of any clutter before I start working on anything. I have to organized and put everything in its place or else I will not feel comfortable working. A little OCD I guess.
Q. When you were a kid, what did you think you were going to be when you grew up?
A. When I was a kid I liked drawing and doing any kind of arts and craft projects I could think of. I just liked making things. I remember once somebody saw me drawing and asked me if I wanted to be an artist when I grow up. I think I was around 6 years old when I first realized that artists where people that didn't stop drawing or creating when they became older. Since then I started telling people, whenever they asked, that I wanted to be an artist when I grew up.
Q. How do you get inspiration for the pieces you produce?
A. Sometimes I have a feeling or an event that I want to communicate. I just start thinking about it and just try to imagine what it would look like. For some reason ideas always come to me in the form of plant like creatures of sorts. Some times ideas come in the form of stories.
Q. What has been your best creation to date?
A. Wow, I don't know how to answer this. I'm still working on it.
Q. Describe your ideal day?
A. I think I have many ideal days. It depends on what I want to do that day. Rainy days are good for when I just want to stay home and do some work or for watching a dvd. A sunny day (not too hot) is perfect for ridding my bike with my sister around the park.
Q. Last book you read?
A. At the moment I'm reading a book called The Templar Legacy that I found laying around in the office. I'm a bit of a religious conspiracy buff.
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