Statement

As an artist with disabilities caused from Ataxia, a rare neurological disease that is progressive, affecting my ability to walk, talk, balance myself and use fine motor skills, my artwork not only considers the essential structure of skeletal or embryonic animal references but has become a vehicle to interpret transformative changes occurring in my body caused from the progression of the disease. Also, my work researches and brings awareness people living with disabilities while pushing the boundaries of contemporary art. My work discusses these concepts by focusing on movement's copious flow, a manner of passage of the living body to one’s gait and gesture. This work drives examination and permits curiosity uncovering aspects of human nature and wonder of origin. These juxtaposed ideas reveal blurred distinctions between connections and dysfunction exhibited in multi-media multivalent invocations of the body.

Biography

Merida-Paytes is a female, Hispanic artist based in Cincinnati, OH. Her sculptural installation work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally, and she has contributed extensively to several ceramic publications including Ceramics Monthly. Most recently, Merida-Paytes served as a Co-Liaison for the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) Conference held in Cincinnati in March of 2021.  She received her B.F.A. from the Art Academy of Cincinnati in 1991 and her M.F.A. from the University of Cincinnati in 1997.

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