Celeste Contreras

Celeste Contreras is my artist name. My full legal name is Jessicanne Celeste Skierski.

Mexican-Mexica,Polish-Blackfeet Cherokee. Artist. Activist. Born in Dallas raised in Milwaukee. Founder of Milwaukee’s Dia de los Muertos Parade. Currently working towards a B.A. in Art Education at Alverno College.

My work of art reflects myself through self-portraits and shrines. My reflections come from past experiences that were life altering and sometimes difficult. A big theme is death, rebirth, and family. Some of my biggest influences have been living abroad in other countries, my family history, and folk art from different cultures. While I was living in Thailand I experienced a death of my ‘Host’ Sister from the family I was living with. Her eight-day funeral taught me a lot about death, culture, and tradition. After this experience I moved to México to find my roots. Running on mountains, touching the land of my ancestors and experiencing El Día de los Muertos, has formed and shaped the artist I am and hope to become. My work is a reflection of myself through three-dimensional shrines and self-portraits drawings and paintings. In my shrines I use found objects, hand made wood pieces, and mixed media. In my self-portraits I tend to use ink, paint, charcoal, paper, board, and canvas. Using a mixture of materials and mixed media truly reflects the way my hands and heart let me create art in this world.