Carrying Maya Forward

Thank you to @phototrouveemagazine for including me in the Grandparents book.

My grandmother Maya passed away last June, and not long after, the open call for this project was announced. I like to think it was her way of reminding me to keep showing up for my art, just as she showed up for hers throughout her entire life.

My grandmother was a maker. She believed in the beauty of creating with your hands, in dedicating yourself to something simply because it brought meaning and joy. She understood that creativity is not always about recognition or success, but about devotion. About returning, day after day, to the things that make us feel alive.

Choosing a life in the arts can be challenging in ways that are difficult to explain. There are moments of uncertainty, moments of doubt, and moments when the practical world seems louder than the voice of creativity. Yet despite all of that, the rewards can be felt deep in the center of the soul. There is a quiet fulfillment that comes from making something that did not exist before, from translating an emotion into color, shape, texture, or words. That is something my grandmother embodied every day of her life.

As I grow older, I realize more and more how much of her lives within me. Not only through our shared family, but through the values she passed down: perseverance, curiosity, beauty, and a deep respect for the creative spirit. She taught me that art is not separate from life—it is a way of moving through it.

Being included in this book alongside so many talented artists from around the world feels especially meaningful. It is an opportunity to honor my grandmother's memory while celebrating the universal thread that connects generations through creativity, storytelling, and love.

I am proud to represent Nicaragua, the place that shaped me, and to carry Maya's name into the world through my work. Every painting, every project, every risk I take in pursuing a creative life feels, in some small way, like a continuation of her story.

This feature is dedicated to her—to the woman who taught me that creating is an act of faith, and that a life devoted to art is always a life well lived.

With love,

Verona

You can Purchase the Book on this link