“Mis Raíces,” the senior exhibit by Monica Garcia, will close this Friday, April 11, with a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Sul Ross Art Gallery.

Garcia will graduate with a Bachelor of Fine Art in May.

Garcia was born in La Esmeralda, Chihuahua, Mexico, and moved to Pecos as a child, where she graduated from high school in 1980.

“I began taking classes at Sul Ross when my three children moved out and I became an empty nester,” she said. “My first love was oil painting until I took Art Appreciation, which included a section in clay, and I fell in love with mud all over again.”

Garcia said there was a lot of clay in the soil in La Esmeralda, and without many toys to play with, she and her sisters made their own bowls to “play kitchen.”

“Memories of mis raíces (my roots) and a long-lost love came rushing back,” she said. “The love of creating and the texture of the wet clay takes me back to my childhood.”

For Garcia, creating larger serving bowls symbolizes the warmth of large families coming together for a meal and to celebrate the holidays.  “Many of my pieces celebrate my Mexican culture which reminds me of my humble beginning. It also transports me to my mother’s and grandmother’s kitchens, which were fundamental in building the woman that I am now,” she said.

The exhibit can be viewed at the gallery in the Francois Fine Arts Building, Room 102, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays.

Photo: For Garcia, large serving bowls symbolize the warmth of large family gatherings.