Amy Cordova sees her work and her life as inseparable. She is a visual artist, writer, and educator based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Amy has been creating art for as long as she can remember and finds the combination of art and nature to be transforming. She sees hope in children and her work calls on adults to wake up to the wonder, beauty, and potential that she believes young people embrace intuitively.

“When I write I want to make pictures with my words and when I paint I want to tell a story.”

There’s enough sorrow and sadness in the world. I choose for my own work to be uplifting because that makes people feel some kind of a connection. That’s the goal of what I do because at the base of it all, it’s just love, and respect. That’s what everyone wants. I find that my strength comes from the earth. That’s where I find solace and strength and feelings of belonging.

Personal peace, I believe, is in the moments when we feel connected, protected, and satisfied, and there’s nothing lacking. Personal peace is where we have to start, and maybe it will never get beyond that in the world. I’m sorry to tell you, but I don’t know if peace could ever be attainable in the world, because there are so many different perspectives and there are so many agendas that want to dominate or profit from others. I can try to have a good heart and be open to people. There’s a calmness in being centered within myself and how I walk in the world.

Amy Cordova short audio clip

Amy Cordova full audio

Discussion Questions

• Where have you found your sense of belonging?
• What is the value of art in expressing yourself? What art form is the easiest for you to identify with? Do you consider yourself an artist? What is your definition of an artist?
• Where does your strength come from? What drains your strength?
• What is your biggest dream? Do you think you’ll ever accomplish that dream?
• If you needed to tell a story, how would you tell it? What visuals would you use? What music would you use?
• What is a powerful story that you’ve heard recently? What made it powerful?