Estefania Ramirez/THE RIDER PHOTOS
Clarissa Martinez, a part-time lecturer in the College of Art and Design at UTRGV and local artist and freelance illustrator from Brownsville, is featured in the Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages Community Canvas webpage.
Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages is one of the largest Coca-Cola bottlers in the United States and is based in Dallas, serving Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Arkansas, according to its official website.
Community Canvas is a project of the company in which artists from different cultures and backgrounds create art pieces that represent their community.
Martinez said the invitation from the company was a surprise.
“I got the email, really, out of the blue and never have been in contact with them before until August of 2022, when they reached out to me first,” she said.
The lecturer said they specifically contacted her to create something for Hispanic Heritage Month, which begins Sept. 15.
Martinez used elements about the Rio Grande Valley’s nature, such as cacti, succulents, native birds and flowers from photographs she took. She completed the illustration last March in Adobe Photoshop.
The Rider asked what inspired her illustration.
“I really just thought of home and what we find here at home in the Valley, considering we are a very unique town,” Martinez replied.
Other items in the illustration are from her imagination.
“Like the, you know, the zarape on the bottom,” Martinez said. “Like, I kind of just thought of the one that my grandma has at home.”
She also was asked what message she hopes her involvement in the project sends to students and other young artists in the RGV.
“I think it’s important because it resonates with people and it resonates with Mexican American,” Martinez said. “I also think it can resonate with just the general public to see that representation.
“It’s important for artists [in general] and artists in the Valley to see something like that, whether or not they are a part of that culture.”
She also said that it is important to do something like the Community Canvas project for students in high school who are about to graduate and are thinking of what they want to do.
“It really just takes finding those examples or hearing about those artist stories to keep that encouragement and keep that motivation,” Martinez said.
Martinez earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in art from UTRGV and a Master of Fine Art in illustration practice from the Maryland Institute College of Art. She started teaching at UTRGV in Fall 2022. Martinez is a former editorial cartoonist for The Rider and legacy student newspaper The Collegian.
Graphic design senior Jazmin Aguilar, a former student of Martinez, describes her as a “very encouraging and patient” lecturer.
Aguilar was asked what message she gets from the work of other Hispanic artists and her professors.
“I feel represented,” she replied. “I think it’s amazing. I’m really proud of [the artists], of us in general.”
The senior, who took the lecturer’s digital drawing, image illustration and portfolio for studio courses, said Martinez’s classes are her favorite and the most memorable.
“We learned how to be a professional artist, the logistics behind that,” Aguilar said. “And I think that course definitely will help me a lot in the future.”
Martinez encourages everyone to do something they are interested in and to support local artists.
“Keep an eye out for the art shows happening, when they open,” she said. “There are a lot of artists here in the Valley that have done amazing things.”
Martinez also said the Brownsville Museum of Fine Art has shows throughout the year. “Mark any events in the calendar,” she said. “There’s always something in the arts going on and there’s always something to do.”
