Contact

carmina@carminaeliason.com

About

Carmina Eliason is an interdisciplinary artist who uses everyday objects to relate stories of human experience. 

Kitchen tables, coffee with milk, empty pickle jars, stained tablecloths, and handkerchiefs become the material to reflect on intimate experiences of identity, inner wounds, and personal history. They also provide spark for conversation and participation in her community-inspired and community-sourced artworks.

Carmina’s work reflects on the complex and interweaving stories of and our relationship to immigration, domestic violence, skin color, mental health, and the labor of care-giving. In addition to using reclaimed household objects and textiles, Carmina also uses written and spoken word, performance, as well as contemporary and historical photography practices.

Carmina’s mother immigrated to the US from Mexico when she was pregnant with her. Born in the US and a native English speaker, Carmina finds herself in a complex relationship with her skin color, Spanish as her second language, and Mexican identity. Also, a descendent of Swedish-US migration of the early 1900’s, Carmina is curious about the ways we connect to personal history while simultaneously relating to one another in the present.

Reflection on Methods and Materials

It is important to me that when community members participate in my art projects, they feel connected to something familiar before sharing something personal. This is why I look for materials that are relatable and easy to find. I use objects like mugs, jars, bottle caps, kitchen tables, fabric, and coffee because many of us have intimate relationships with them daily. They are easy to approach and can provide a relatable anchor point while challenging social issues that often involve long-held beliefs and experiences.

Current Career Highlights

Like many artists responding to the Covid-19 pandemic, my career is in a moment of reflection and transition. Most recently I was a resident artist at the Cubberley Artist Studio Program in Palo Alto, CA and local teaching artist for Pablove Shutterbugs, an educational program for children living with cancer. Because of the high cost of living in the Bay Area with a growing family, we decided to explore new options.

I am currently spending a year in Portland, Oregon on a self-directed residency with the Space Bar, an experimental art gallery. I am also a photography instructor for Cabrillo Community College (Aptos, CA) teaching Visual Storytelling, History of Photography, and Digital Photography.

Formation and Education

The divisions between formal education and what is often called “life experience” are beginning to dissolve and blur for me. I find myself reflecting on the importance of the communities, mentors, and peers who have been my teachers, guides, and mentors. This is a brief list of the communities, as well as institutions that have shaped and informed my work.

• My family and community who have been with me as I have become a mother (2018-Present)

• Art and Art History Department, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA (MFA Photography, 2018)

• The people and art communities of Santa Cruz and Watsonville, CA (In particular, the Pajaro Valley Art Gallery of Watsonville, the Art Photography Program at Cabrillo Community College in Aptos, and Mariposa’s Art in Watsonville)

• College of Social Science, California State University Monterey Bay, Seaside, CA (BA in Cultural Anthropology, 2006)

• Cosumnes River College, Sacramento, CA (AA General Education, 2004)

• Photography Lab at Laguna Creek High School, Elk Grove, CA

• My family in Mexico and the US