Cristina Garcia Waters and Encouraging Youth to Tell Their Stories Through the Embodied Art Practice of Weaving
Cristina GARCIA WATERS
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Artist and Weaver
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Kreative Growth Program Recipient
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Cristina GARCIA WATERS 〰️ Artist and Weaver 〰️ Kreative Growth Program Recipient 〰️
Cristina Garcia Waters is a multidisciplinary artist based on Ohlone Land in Oakland who uses her upbringing as the eldest daughter to pass on lessons from her life to empower the next generation. As an educator and weaver, Cristina physically connects the threads of stories from who we’ve been to who we are, and who we want to become.
Cristina is one of just six recipients within the Kreative Growth Program, an initiative that includes $3,000 to $6,000, studio and performance spaces, and professional development courses that Balay Kreative gives to Filipinx artists in the Bay Area, in order to launch new works of art and culture in the Filipino Cultural District in San Francisco. Cristina’s project is a youth arts weaving workshop, hosted at the Children’s Creativity Museum.
In an interview with Iggy Mora and Jimmie Gabiola, Cristina talks about her newest community offering, how handweaving as a cultural practice can build power throughout generations, and how she anticipates her journey with the Kreative Growth program will help her make a mark on the SOMA Pilipinas community.
Profile by Tianna Mae Andresen
“I was drawn to the practice of hand weaving because it's a powerful embodiment of the process of bringing together the threads of your own fabric, and seeing and choosing which threads make up your story.”
Introduce yourself and your project
My name is Cristina Garcia Waters. I am a cultural practitioner and I am in the Cultural Practices for Teens and Tweens Track.
I was drawn to hand weaving and different forms of textiles and fabric arts because the practice of working with literal threads is so powerful. Bringing together different materials to create literal fabric is such an embodied practice. The practice of weaving in particular is such a powerful and presencing practice, in that you're literally going thread by thread putting something together. Being able to choose what those threads are is also really powerful.
How would you describe your individual crafts for teaching teens and tweens?
The way that I became an educator and an artist was formed when I was very young and was often not in school, and so I was teaching myself and my siblings things. What emerged for me as an educator was to become a very experiential, practice-based person, both in life and when I'm teaching skills to other people. I bring that to my art, and I bring that when I'm teaching others artistic practices as well.
And what drew you particularly to hand weaving and teaching that to youth?
Bringing the practice of weaving to young folks now is really important. For a lot of different reasons, we're seeing a big resurgence, return, and remembrance of cultural practices and different ways of being, both with our own stories and with our own bodies. It's really, really powerful to be able to offer young folks a way – while they're just beginning their lives, developing, and forming — to tell their story, be with it, and be in it.
“I’m inspired to be in the presence of so much beautiful energy and creativity at Balay Kreative, and for the next year I feel really inspired to be in this environment. I’m so excited for my own nourishment within this community.”
What drew you to the Balay Kreative Kreative Growth Program?
I was drawn to the Balay Kreative Growth program with a lot of admiration. I have witnessed many other artists come through here, and I have such deep respect for all the collective work that's happening here, both in folks' individual projects, and in the space as an accelerator. I was drawn to it from a desire to be with “the cool kids,” and just wanting to sit at this table and soak up the beautiful energy of this space.
How did it feel learning you were selected to be a recipient?
I was so excited when I learned that I was chosen as a recipient. There was part of me that was like, it's kind of unreal. You put together your application and you think through your project and your pitch and all of these different things. And then suddenly, an email just pops into your inbox a long time later, it feels like, Whoa, this is so exciting. And it felt really, really good to receive that recognition and be welcomed into this community.
What do you hope to gain from your experience?
I'm really excited to be part of this cohort of artists, creators, and magic makers. I've already seen the different ways that it's watered different parts of me so that they can blossom. This has been a beautiful space to cultivate my own self and my own spirit.
“WE HAVE ALL KINDS OF WAYS THAT WE NORMALLY LEARN – BY WRITING A STORY DOWN OR TELLING YOUR STORY OUT LOUD, BUT THERE ARE SO MANY OTHER WAYS THAT WE ARE. THERE ARE SO MANY OTHER WAYS TO TELL OUR STORIES. I'M EXCITED TO OFFER THAT TO YOUNG FOLKS.”
How have the Masterclasses helped you so far?
I've really appreciated all of the expertise of the Masterclasses. Every single expert that comes through has so much knowledge and expertise to offer in so many different kinds of ways, and so much wisdom. It’s really offered me not only the content and the expertise and the knowledge of all of the folks who are offering their classes, but also the space to show up every week and to be with my peers and to stay committed to expanding myself in these different ways. It has been really beautiful and has been such a huge bonus for me. Watching those classes has taught me things I didn't know that I wanted to learn, and now I want to deepen in a lot of different ways.
What can we expect from you during your time as a Kreative Growth Resident Artist?
I'm excited to bring this workshop offering to the Children's Creativity Museum. I really appreciate the chance to work with folks who are just beginning their lives as young people, and I think it is really powerful to offer tools to young people to be able to tell their story in different ways.
We will be documenting Cristina Garcia Waters and all the other recipients journeys, follow @Balaykreative to keep updated and be the first to see what each recipient's final project is!