Yatziri Rojas, 7, points out a print by artist Ashley Hernandez, left, to her mom Yuritzkiri Sixtos at the Arts Market sponsored by Barrio Alegria on Saturday at the WCR Center for the Arts, 140 N. Fifth St. (BILL UHRICH – READING EAGLE)
Ashley Hernandez was an artistic kid, one who spent hours upon hours sketching and drawing.
But as she grew into an adult, that piece of her was left behind. There were too many other things to focus on, to worry about.
“You get busy with life as an adult,” the Reading woman said.
Then, the COVID pandemic hit. Hernandez, like many people facing lockdowns and business shutdowns, suddenly had a lot more time on her hands. She filled it by returning to her childhood love.
“The pandemic gave me time, and I used it to reconnect with my passion,” she said.
Hernandez began painting, crafting images with water colors and acrylics. She painted the images she saw in her head, mixing realism with abstract aspects.
“I like things looking like real life, but also showing their energy,” she explained.
Her return to the art world has been refreshing for Hernandez. She said painting has once again became an obsession, a creative outlet that she can dive deeply into.
“When I’m painting I’m not really aware of anything else, I’m in my head,” she said. “I don’t know what else is going on, I don’t even know if I’m hungry. It’s like you’re sleeping but awake.”
Hernandez creates her art for herself. But, like many artists, she also has a desire to share it with others.
On Saturday, she got that chance. Hernandez was one of a dozen artists who were able to sell their work as part of Barrio Alegria’s My Mother’s Refrigerator arts market, and event held at the WCR Center for the Arts in Reading.
Anthony Orozco, director of operations for Barrio Alegria, said the idea behind the annual event is to give up-and-coming artists an opportunity to sell their work, perhaps for the first time.
“There are tons of artists who have works but don’t know where to sell it or how to price it,” Orozco said.
The name of the event, Orozco added, refers to little kids having their drawings displayed on their family’s refrigerators, something Orozco said can serve as memorable markers of poignant periods of time. And an artist transitioning to selling their work — even if it’s only for a few dollars — is certainly poignant period, he said.
“It’s not even about how much they sell something for,” Orozco said. ” It’s about establishing themselves.”
Jeremy Reed is well on his way to establishing himself.
The self-taught artist has run his own tattoo studio in Reading for the past two years. And he has also been busy creating other artwork, mainly paintings on canvass or wood.
On Saturday, many of his works were on sale. He was also offering small, simple tattoos to patrons of the arts market.
Reed said that art has been a life-saver for him. He started delving into that world about a decade ago, during a time when he was a teenager finding himself running with a bad crowd and getting into more and more trouble.
“I needed an outlet,” he said. “So I just started painting. It’s become my passion, I’m super fortunate to find something I’m so passionate about.”
Reed said that creating art provides him with a sense of Zen, but also frustration.
“It’s like therapy for me,” he said. “But I’m also a perfectionist, so it can also stress me out. Sometimes I’m staying up late to all hours trying to perfect something.”
Reed said he felt blessed to have an opportunity to sell some of his works Saturday.
“It’s in credible,” he said. “Just having the experience of people seeing it is amazing. And if I sell something, even if it’s just $5 it’s like ‘Woah.’”
