World-renowned Mexican artist Lucia Maya had a busy day on Wednesday.

She spent the day talking with students at Columbia Elementary School, and at night, she met with community members during a private reception at Inntiquity Inn.

Maya has been producing art for 33 years.

As a child, she knew she would become an artist because she had a different way of looking at the world.

“I was the black sheep of my family,” she recalled.

She said her “rich” life inspired her many works.

“I’m very autobiographical,” Maya said.

Maya was born on the island of Santa Catalina in California, but had lived in Mexico since she was 4.

She began studying art in 1971 at the School of Fine Arts of the University of Guadalajara, Jalisco. Over the next few years, she continued her studies in San Francisco, Spain and Molino de Santo Domingo in Mexico.

She has been a prolific artist since her first exhibit in 1975. Her influences include Carringtonian and Jungian dream structuring.

Maya has exhibited her work around the world and many pieces are held in collections of the Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach, Calif.; the Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City; and the Instituto de Cultural Puertorriqueno, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Her work has been displayed in Canada, Santa Domingo, Thailand and India, and she has won recognition in Mexico and Puerto Rico.

Maya said she enjoyed working with students from Columbia Elementary School Wednesday, where she fielded questions and helped the youngsters to create paper boats, a toy she played with as a child.

Two of her projects will be on display tonight at the Logansport Art Association.

“Restoration of a Dream” was a piece that was divided into two parts. The original piece, Maya said, was destroyed by a handler four years ago. It was sent into a restoration lab, but instead of getting it fixed, Maya decided to create an artist book with the images she received from documents regarding the restoration of the piece.

The original piece that was created used dull blues and grays.

“That was my mood back then,” she said.

Maya did another work on top of the original, this time in softer tones of yellows and greens. The piece contains 21 illusions.

Maya said the pain from her past inspired that piece. She said the piece reminded her of the workings of the human soul: It can be transformed, but the scars remain.

Maya completed a series of 32 works when she lost a friend to AIDS. Maya was there, she said, when her friend died.

She said she believes that seeing art can bare a person’s soul.

“It makes you face your deepest feelings,” she said. “Some people don’t want to go inside themselves, though.”

The second project, “Letters of the Sun,” features photographic works of the Mexican desert.

The Cass County Community Foundation is hosting Maya’s visit. Deanna Crispen, the foundation’s executive director, organized the trip after meeting Maya during a visit to Mexico. She called the visit a once-in-a-lifetime experience for community members, especially area students.

“It’s an opportunity for them to interact with a world-renowned artist,” she said.

Crispen said Maya helped the students become aware of both cultures.

“Lucia is a bridge between two cultures,” she said. “Being born in the United States and living in Mexico, she has a real appreciation for the two cultures.”

She called Maya a true artist.

“Part of being a great artist is seeing and feeling things at a different level then most people,” she said.

Maya has donated 25 pieces of work to Logansport. Crispen said they may make smaller prints of the works for fundraising for scholarships for students.

According to Crispen, Maya believes that art is only valuable if people see and experience it.

“If you hide your art under a rock, that’s not going to do any good,” Crispen said.

Melissa Soria may be reached at (574) 732-5143 or via e-mail at melissa.soria@pharostribune.com



Want to go?

What: Lucia Maya reception

When: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. tonight

Where: Logansport Art Association, 424 Front St.

Art exhibit: Prints of Maya’s work will be on display at the Logansport Art Association until May 30. The public may view the show from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Friday.