Chandler Wigton, our Associate Director of Events & Studios visited Marisol in her studio to learn more about her and her practice!
Marisol was born and raised in Las Vegas, NM. She has been a studio artist at Harwood since 2023. Art and education have always been important aspects of her life, and she comes from a family of artists and teachers. She studied Architecture and Design at UNM, is about to finish a Community and Regional planning master’s at UNM, and has just entered a PhD program in Geography and Environmental Studies.
What new art are you working on currently?
What is your process?
Currently Marisol has a number of projects in the works but is focusing on block printing in her studio practice. She uses small, rubber-like material called speedy-carve to create linocuts. They are all handheld size and carved by hand. She then inks them and has a stamping process where she creates larger images, combining and rearranging the different blocks into designs on textiles and fabrics. Her process begins with journaling and sketching, mapping out ideas, then collaging them together. The blocks are small enough that she can work on them out in the world. She hopes to eventually print on upcycled fabrics and textiles found at thrift stores around town. In addition to block printing, she also does stream of consciousness drawing and likes to paint small watercolors from observation while traveling.
Marisol is also a co-founder and organizer for a group called Shared.Futures, which is a ArtScience collaborative bringing together local artists and scientists to co-create pieces that open up larger conversations about the intersections of art, science, and future possibilities. As a researcher, she has presented outcomes from this work at the American Geophysical Union, which is an international annual conference. This work is funded by a National Science Foundation grant called The Intermountain West Transformation Network. Find out more about this interesting work and the artists and scientists who have participated in past cohorts here: https://www.sharedfutures.gallery/home
Do you have any exhibits or exciting projects coming up that you want to share, or past exhibits you want to highlight?
Marisol is currently working on a children’s book called Marisol’s Monsters with her Dad, who she considers to be her creative collaborator. She has also recently contributed an artwork titled “The Three Sisters”, to a Latinx Comics Anthology expected to come out in the fall of 2025, called “From Cocina’s to Lucha Libre Ringsides” edited by Frederick Luis Aldama. As an organizer for the Shared.Futures program, she is excited to lead the curation of her first gallery at Harwood in the fall of 2025, showcasing the collection of collaborative work that has been created through the four years of the annual program. Alongside this, she is looking forward to celebrating and promoting the upcoming Shared.Futures events this spring as part of the 2025 workshop program. There is a new cohort this year who will be presenting their progress at the Meet an Artist and Scientist family event at Explora (Saturday, April 5, 10-1pm) and showcasing their final installations during Explora’s Adult Night for the main event (Friday, April 18, 6-9pm).
What do you get your inspiration from?
Marisol is a nature enthusiast and derives a lot of inspiration from the natural world and the New Mexico landscape. Another inspiration is working as an organizer for Shared.Futures and witnessing the process of co-creating artwork from artist and scientist participants of the program. She is inspired by numerous local artists from the region and is passionate about pursuing paths forward that uplift and celebrate local creatives. She draws a lot of inspiration from her family as well, who continue to support and encourage her creative spirit. Her dad and uncle have published a graphic novel called “Under the Cottonwood Tree: El Susto de la Curandera” and are working on another new Mexican inspired fairy tale, titles “Into the Paraje”. Marisol loves to travel with her partner and is motivated by the different ways in which communities build a sense of place and belonging through different forms of architecture and public artwork. Through the winter months you’ll find Marisol around Albuquerque at thrift stores, local coffee shops (especially Cutbow coffee) and around UNM campus.
What music have you been listening to lately?
Some music that came to mind for Marisol in this moment is a song called Storm by the Russian Siberian indigenous band Otyken. Another specific song is called Let’s Go Back by Jungle. Marisol enjoys listening to full albums, some that come to mind are De Todas Las Flores by Natalia Lafourcade, Red Future by Snotty Nose Rez Kids, and Ready to Live by Wake Self. However, according to Spotify Wrapped, Marisol’s top listens for 2024 have been from Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter Album, Chappell Roan, and Billie Eilish.
