About

 

A Short Biography

I was born in Havana Cuba, in 1972. We immigrated to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada in 2007 where I now live with my family.

I started my art-related career in 1992 while studying for a Bachelor's in Architecture at the University of Havana. 

Once in Canada, I started working in the field of Architecture and Design and I got my bachelor's degree recognized by the Canadian institutions. 

In 2015 I had to make a turn in my career, so I decided to become a freelance artist and designer.

Since 2017 I have been working with Canadian artists and collectives, producing visual material to promote musical shows and other campaigns in Canada’s capital region.

In 2018, 2019 and 2021 I participated with my digital art in collective exhibitions, as part of the Multicultural Artists Coalition and the No Borders Art Festival in Ottawa.

In 2020 I worked as art director in the design and creation of the cover for the album “Continuous“, produced by the Ottawa-based band Miguel de Armas Quartet.

In 2022 I got into a mentor program launched by the Arts Network Ottawa. My mentor is the Glass Artist, Jennifer A. Kelly. In 2022 I created a miniature work of art for the OMG project, lead by Jennifer Kelly for Ottawa Public Arts Program in the city of Ottawa. This project opened to me the possibility to explore and present a work in a different media, other than digital, which is something I had been wishing for a long time.

Currently I work as a freelance artist and designer, digital creation my most frequent medium of expression. I have created my own brand “MariabelonesART“, the name I use to present my artistic work.

 

  

More about my life, education and work: 

I have always felt tied to the artistic world. As a child, I received an education that helped me to develop sensitivity. I grew up in a huge family, where you could find all kinds of professions, but many members appreciated the arts. Later, my studies in architecture gave me a solid foundation in drawing and design. It also introduced me to the history of arts, architecture, and philosophy.

As an immigrant, I went from living on an almost magic Caribbean Island, where time seems to have stopped. Then, at the age of 35, I experienced the real, huge and complex world, full of uncertainties, with good and not so good surprises. My first flight in life was the one I took to come to Canada, in 2007. I must add that, due to Cuban government policies at the time, most people on the island were not able to travel beyond the limits of the country, had no access to the Internet, or any other source of information, other than the government media. Becoming Canadian gave me many freedoms I didn’t have before! We call it the quantum jump. For me and my family, experiencing the greatness of the world on our own, has been a key to the development of our consciousness, spirituality, and other important aspects in life.   

Around 2014 we were somehow established, adapted to the new life, and immersed in the normal routine of most immigrant families in Canada. We were working and studying hard to try to succeed. Suddenly we realized we had started to draw and create different projects in our spare time. I felt the need to put it together and find our way to show it to the world. In 2015 I built my own brand, “MariabelonesART“. It started as a family project in conjunction with my husband and my daughter, to promote and sell our artwork. I believe that the project itself was born as a manifestation of our need for expression. We had too many things to say. 

Now I use MariabelonesART as my artistic name, as almost everyone that knows me linked me to it, and because my family says that “MariabelonesART” is me.

The main medium of expression I use is digital, although I also do hand drawing and mixed media collage, besides cooking and growing my own balcony garden. I consider myself to be very creative and hope to have the time in life to experiment many more ways of creation.

I often think about Art as a way to transform suffering and pain into beauty and healing. There is often a memory, a family history, a teaching or a moral I need to tell. I have realized how my implicit memories come out and take my drawings by assault. Then I try to use them to spread hope and inspire others. 

During 2020-2021 I worked on different art projects by myself, as part of an integration and healing journey during the difficult times we were living. I believe that mental health is a huge challenge that we have as a society. We can’t ignore it anymore, and we must work hard in order to make things better. The Arts and spiritual development are essential to us, and I will always do my best to express them.