Creating for the Rebellious Heart: A Journey Back to Myself

Have you ever felt like you were on a constant search? Not for a place, but for a feeling. Maybe its the feeling of being truly, completely at home within your own skin.

My own search began the moment my life did. As an adoptee from Guatemala, I spent years navigating a quiet wilderness of identity, trying to find my footing and my worthiness in a world that felt foreign. I felt as is I was trying to figure out who Cristina was, after she had to leave Blanca (the name I was given at birth) behind.

This path was beautiful, but also lonely. As an empathic soul, I felt everything deeply. I STILL feel everything deeply. The soaring highs of connection and the crushing lows of heartbreak and the slow drift of lost friendships felt like a tunnel I could never climb out of. Each loss felt like a piece of my own map being torn away.

For a long time, I searched for my strength outside of myself. But in the quiet moments after the storms, I found my true language: art. And within that art, I found my guides.

Animals, vibrant and resilient, began to speak to me through my brushstrokes. The wise owl, the intuitive wolf, and the courageous lion. They weren’t just subjects; they were symbols of the light and strength I was rediscovering within myself. They became my companions in the journey back home, to the wild and sacred landscape of my own heart.

So, what do I mean by a “rebellious heart”? How am I creating for other rebellious hearts and how am I one myself?

It’s not about loud, aggressive defiance. It’s a quieter, more profound kind of rebellion. It’s the courage to listen to your own soul in a world that’s constantly screaming at you about who you should be.

A rebellious heart dares to feel everything in an age of numbness. It’s the rebellion of:

Choosing deep, authentic connection when superficiality is the norm.

Its about…honoring your sensitivity as a superpower, not a weakness.

Its about…walking away from relationships and situations that ask you to shrink. For me, it is truly Finding beauty in the wilderness of your past and the scars that tell your story.

This is the energy I pour into my art. The vibrant, expressive colors are a rebellion against a world that can feel gray and muted. The animal guides that emerge on the canvas are the ultimate symbols of this spirit. They trust their instincts, they are unapologetically themselves, and they embody the wild resilience it takes to walk your own path.

It’s the courage to look at your own journey, the heartbreak, the grief, the moments of rediscovery, and call it beautiful. If you’ve ever chosen the path of healing over the path of hiding, then you know exactly what this rebellion feels like. It’s the bravest journey there is.

This is why I paint. Each piece is a map of that journey. It is for the introspective soul who has known the wilderness and is choosing, every day, to find the beauty in their own resilience. The vibrant, expressive colors are the joy found in healing. The animal guides are a testament to the wild, untamed strength we all carry within us.

I wrote the following words for my website, and they feel like the truest summary of my soul’s work:

“For the Rebellious Heart, For the Seeker. My art is for the person who has navigated the wilderness of heartbreak and grief and is now on a deliberate journey back to themselves. It is for the yogis, the healers, and the rebellious introspective soul who values authentic connection over superficial ties. My work is for you, a fellow explorer who understands that the most important destination is a feeling of being truly at home within your own heart.”

If you’ve ever felt like a seeker, an adventurer, or a sensitive soul charting your own path, please know you are not alone.

This art is my story, but it is also for you.

It’s a reminder that even after the deepest heartbreaks, there is a vibrant, resilient magic waiting to be found.