Anna Jaquez (born 1953) is an American artist, art professor and

metalsmith A metalsmith or simply smith is a craftsperson fashioning useful items (for example, tools, kitchenware, tableware, jewelry, armor and weapons) out of various metals. Smithing is one of the oldest list of metalworking occupations, metalworking o ...

. She lives and works in

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...

. Jaquez is an art professor at the

University of Texas at El Paso The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stud ...

(UTEP). She has work in the permanent collection of the

El Paso Museum of Art Founded in 1959, The El Paso Museum of Art (EPMA) is located in downtown El Paso, Texas. First accredited in 1972, it is the only accredited art museum within a 250-mile radius and serves approximately 100,000 visitors per year. A new building ...

Early life

Jaquez' father was a builder who added onto their house frequently. Jaquez later attended the

. Jaquez still draws inspiration from the use of odd materials that her father incorporated into his building.

Work

Jaquez' work explores the interplay of small, detailed items within larger scale structures. Gaspar Enriquez, who Jaquez met as a graduate student at the

(UTEP) in the late 1980s, was an influence on her as a teacher. She also interprets the poetry of

Pat Mora Pat Mora (born January 19, 1942 in El Paso, Texas) is an American poet and author of books for adults, teens and children. Her grandparents came to El Paso from northern Mexico. A graduate of the University of Texas at El Paso, she received Honor ...

in her metal work. Other influences include using her own life and childhood as inspiration, including her

Mexican-American Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...

culture in her art. Jaquez feels that her work in art helped her to become "proud of her Mexican heritage." Jaquez made art jewelry for many years before becoming a large-scale sculptor. She "started out working at her kitchen table where she could carve out a place for her creative expression in the context of her domestic responsibilities."

References

Citations

External links

Profile page

Original UTEP Pickaxe Art: Anna Jaquez

Creativity Salon: An Interview With Metal Artist Anna Jaquez
1953 births Living people American artists of Mexican descent American women artists Artists from El Paso, Texas University of Texas at El Paso faculty 20th-century American sculptors American women academics 21st-century American women 21st-century American sculptors {{US-artist-stub