CLAY . EDUCATOR . MURALS . CONSULTING

Laguna Pueblo (enrolled), Santa Clara Pueblo (descendant) & Mexican-American

BIO

Born in Albuquerque, NM, raised in Las Cruces, NM and with family in Laguna Pueblo, Margarita has ties across NM. She is a ceramic artist, educator, organizer, and muralist. She received her BFA with an emphasis in Ceramics in 2003 from the University of Colorado-Boulder, an MA in Art Education in 2008 at the University of New Mexico and an MFA in Studio Arts-Integrated Practice from the Institute of American Indian Arts in 2023. She has been able to travel, participate in Artist Residencies and study under some fierce female artists.  Since 2009, she has worked as a lead artist with the ALMA Summer Institute of ALMA, creating large-scale public art mosaic murals across New Mexico.  She is currently an adjunct professor in Ceramics, where she can reciprocate the knowledge that has been given and shared with her, to others.  She is a partner to a fellow artist and together they have a rowdy 12 year old.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I draw my ideas from how time, place, material, and culture intersect with my Mexican-American, Laguna Pueblo and Santa Clara Pueblo background.  I am a multimedia artist and in all my practices, the process is just as integral as the outcome and often informs each other.  My process begins within a position of gratitude and meaning is made through my exploration of identity, history, function, built structures and relationships. They are parts that make up the whole.