ARTFULLY yours
BY DAN CRAIG
A
Treasure
to Share
L
ina Velasquez of San Martin has been painting for
over thirty years, studying various types of artforms
from oils to sculptures. She trained at art throughout her
schooling in Medellin, Columbia and around the world in
private studios of accomplished artists. She characterizes her
art as “a treasure that I have” and fortunately for the South
County community it is a treasure she “likes to share.”
“I like getting kids involved in art,” Velasquez explains.
“I feel happy sharing my art, not to teach art as a vocation,
but to teach them to use their brain. I’m most focused on my
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GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
students being creative, opening their minds, developing
the imagination and the space concept, to make them
happy and improve their self-esteem.”
Since emigrating from Columbia to the United States in
2006 with her daughter Camila and husband Guillermo,
she has been active in sharing her art locally. She voluntarily
teaches three different art classes in Morgan Hill: at
Booksmart a free monthly art skills class titled “Lina’s Art”;
an after-school program in low-income areas with a small
stipend for supplies from the city; and at Voices College
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2018
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