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I am a painter and printmaker. In my experience, both mediums have informed, influenced and blended into one another. What I love most about printmaking is the element of surprise. Though I may have a rough design in mind, I’m never certain of what I’ll pull from the press! I also love the ability to layer imagery. I often begin a print by running chine collé (a sort of collage before printing) through the press, then run a loose monoprint (often referred to as “the painterly print”) over the chine collé, and then overlay a more rendered monochromatic etching as the focal point on top of the previous two processes. I might even continue building into the piece by adding more collage or gently refining the piece with other mixed mediums. Each final print is a layered individual piece. I do not work in exact multiple editions. Relatedly, I paint in layers and sometimes collage one of my prints into one of my paintings and then paint on top of that. Layers are histories that reveal stories. Mexican and Mexican American families grow up playing la lotería. It’s a way of teaching children their numbers and how to form letters to make words. It’s like a bingo game with cards, each of which depicts a simple image, with the name identifying the image and an associated number. As a Mexican American, I am influenced by Mexican artists, such as José Guadalupe Posada who designed his own set of lotería cards. Posada was an engraver and illustrator for Mexican newspapers and best known for his Calaverdas — satirical and political characterizations of skeletons living normal lives. Many artists have continued the tradition of using la lotería as a jumping off point for self-expression. The focal points for my lotería series have been animals and Mexican icons. I begin each piece with a black and white drawing, which will eventually be converted into an etching. I’ve found solace in drawing, most especially animals, since I was in a highchair crayoning my favorite cartoon character, “Felix the Cat.” I encounter the same childlike pleasure in drawing animals and icons to feature within the card-shaped template of la lotería. The painterly aspects of monoprinting, is more spontaneous and experimental and the outcome far less predictable. These two contrasting printing approaches are layered into one another to create one balanced piece. With the addition of chine collé, collage and other refinements such as pencil or paint, each finished piece often has multiple working layers.