Creator Record
Images
Metadata
Name (Artist/Photographer/Author) |
Lomas Garza, Carmen |
Role |
Artist |
Dates of birth and death |
Artist's Nationality Dates: American, b. 1948 Carmen Lomas Garza was born in Kingsville, Texas, in 1948. Inspired by her parent’s activism with the American G.I. Forum, Lomas Garza joined the Chicano Movement of the 1960s and 1970s. |
Nationality |
Mexican American |
Places of residence |
The Carmen Lomas Garza Primary Center 2750 Hostetter Street Los Angeles, CA 90023-4332 In March 2007 the Los Angeles Unified School District Board approved the community’s nomination of the name for their new primary school as the Carmen Lomas Garza Primary Center. "This great honor comes as a result of teachers using my children’s bilingual picture books for curriculum development since the first book was published in 1990." The Carmen Lomas Garza Primary Center is a ten-classroom school that serves approximately 200 pre-kindergarten through second grade students. The majority of the student population is of first, second, and third generation Mexican Americans. |
Education |
She is a graduate of the Texas Arts & Industry University, Juarez-Lincoln/Antioch Graduate School, and San Francisco State University where she earned her M.A. in 1981. |
Titles & Honors |
Lomas Garza is equally well known for her illustrated children’s books, which have received many awards and honors including a Library of Congress "Best Books of the Year" selection. |
Publications |
https://carmenlomasgarza.com/ |
Notes |
Artist's Statement It’s a hot summer evening. The whole family’s on the front porch. My grandfather had brought us some watermelons that afternoon. We put them in the refrigerator and let them chill down. After supper we went out on the front porch. My father cut the watermelon and gave each one of us a slice. It was fun to sit out there. The light was so bright on the porch that you couldn’t see beyond the edges of the lit area. It was like being in our own little world. |
Relationships |
"At the age of thirteen I decided to become a visual artist and pursue every opportunity to advance my knowledge of art in institutions of higher education. The Chicano Movement of the late 1960s inspired the dedication of my creativity to the depiction of special and everyday events in the lives of Mexican Americans based on my memories and experiences in South Texas. I saw the need to create images that would elicit recognition and appreciation among Mexican Americans, both adults and children, while at the same time serve as a source of education for others not familiar with our culture." |
