Read About Our Artist

THE COMPELLING EXPRESSION OF TERESA TOLENTINO –WHERE PASSION MEETS SENSITIVITY

Brief Bio of the Artist- Teresa Tolentino

As a young girl Teresa was inordinately observant of her visual surroundings taking in colors and shapes and imagining make believe paintings.

In the 6th grade, Teresa was given the task of designing and creating what hung in the halls of her school. At home her parents allowed her to collage the family’s entire basement. Thus began her propensity to add layers to her future works which reflect her appreciation of the complexity and simplicity of her layered life.

Upon entering high school Teresa’s desire to continue art was abruptly put ON HOLD. She explains it like this:

“My desire to continue art in high school was dashed by counselors and administrators who did not believe that art classes were for students headed to college.

Teresa’s college options were never discussed because Xavier University of Cincinnati handpicked a few junior girls from her school to be accepted early and receive a scholarship. However, there was no art major at Xavier. Once again, her dream was put ON HOLD. Instead, she majored in Foreign Languages, which introduced her to the people, the sights, the sounds, the history, and the cultures of others.

As the years ensued Teresa finished graduate school, worked, married, raised a family, and took it upon herself to learn our own US history from a multicultural perspective. As a young working mother, she chose to live in neighborhoods that reflected the myriad peoples and cultures that make up our nation. Her choices have taken her far in to the experiences of others, to the point where she feels a part of the whole and not a narrow piece of the pie.

After working in publishing and international business for six years, and teaching Spanish for over thirty years at the Seven Hills Upper School, the University of Cincinnati, Miami University, and Xavier University, Teresa was able to begin her art career. She uses her entire life’s journey and that of her siblings suffering from an incurable disease as her inspiration. (See sidebar.)

All of the schools/universities where Teresa taught Spanish hold long lasting and meaningful memories for her. Xavier holds perhaps the most powerful of all because she both attended Xavier and taught there thirty years later. In one of her final years teaching there she met and taught Jedidah Morrell, whom you see with Teresa below. In August of 2019 Teresa visited Jedidah and her family where they live in St. Thomas,US Virgin Islands.

The woman you see hanging out with Teresa and Bob Marley is Jackie Morrell, Jedidah's mother. Teresa remarks laughingly, "Bob Marley is one of my favorite artists of all time. We have much in common. Yet I am not a lover of his good friend, Mary Jane."

Teresa created these paintings for the Morrell family as a gift for their love and inclusion.

Most poignantly, Teresa’s continuing drive to create is in part a reaction a terrible family tragedy which is her family’s struggle with Huntington’s disease. Many of her family members are suffering from Huntington Disease, a movement and brain disorder for which there is no cure. As a survivor, she is compelled to create in order to express both her feeling of gratitude for the blessing of her health and the sorrow of witnessing the devastating deterioration of her beloved family members. Their courage in facing down their disease inspires her to reach deep inside herself and manifest all her myriad emotions and sensitivities through her art which reflects the Passion and Sensitivity of her heart, mind, and soul.

Description of Teresa Tolentino’s Art

Teresa’s compelling artistic expression invites the beholder to touch its vibrant, passionate, rich, diverse, and colorful layers which depict both intricate details and spontaneity. Teresa has lassoed these seemingly opposite themes by breaking down barriers in her own life and in the lives of others.

Teresa's art is a collage of subjects, colors, shapes, images, and materials presented in acrylic paintings, mixed media, and mosaics. She attributes the diversity of her art to the influence of people like and unlike herself, to the sights and sounds of foreign lands, and to the joy and pain of all humankind. To see and touch her work is to feel the heartbeat of a world reconciled.

MISSION STATEMENT:

1. To use my art and my voice as vehicles to educate others about the devastating and incurable disease that debilitates my family, i.e., Huntington Disease.

2. To leave a legacy and a history for my beloved children, Andres and Susana. Thankfully both of my children and I are not carriers of the disease.

3. To spend the rest of my life doing exactly what I want to do, i.e., to be the artist I am today.

INVITATION

I invite everyone who knows me and everyone everywhere to enjoy my art, learn about my cause, and perhaps purchase a piece of my art. I donate a portion of every sale to the Huntington Disease Society of America.

Al mismo tiempo quiero informarles a los que hablan castellano que yo lo hablo perfectamente bien. Pueden comunicarse conmigo en su hermosa lengua sin ninguna dificultad.

Read About Our Artist

THE COMPELLING EXPRESSION OF TERESA TOLENTINO –WHERE PASSION MEETS SENSITIVITY

Description of Teresa Tolentino’s Art

YOU CAN BE A PART OF THE JOURNEY

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