Nuria Ortiz (Ms. Yellow)
Nuria Ortiz (artist name Ms. Yellow) is a Long Beach native but spent much of her time growing up in both Mexico and the Los Angeles area. The street art culture of these urban areas inspired her as a young child. In addition to the cities around her, Ortiz found other, non-verbal methods of communication. Ortiz grew up with dyslexia, and wordless comic books and cartoons showed her art could provide a form of expression. She started a journey of “speaking” through her artwork.
By her early 20s, Ortiz had explored a variety of art tools and media, and she settled upon creating murals with spray paint. She pushed herself to surpass what she thought was possible. Ortiz is self-taught and although she never went to art school, she continues to grow as an artist and works to give back to the community.
Ortiz had been following POW! WOW! events for some years before she was invited to participate as a muralist. She unknowingly met one of the organizers for the 2018 Long Beach POW! WOW! festival and was asked to contribute. Ortiz says of the experience that “I was very honored and humbled to do it, especially being a Long Beach born Mexican American.”
Ortiz believes in the emotional power of art, specifically that art has the ability to change someone’s mood in an instant. Because of this, she has invested time mentoring youth and facilitating art workshops. Of her own work, Ortiz relates that it is her “diary that only [she] can read, for everyone to see and to interpret in their own truths.”
Written by Amelia Nixon
Sources: http://artnois.com/she-goes-by-ms-yellow/, http://artslb.org/meet-the-pow-wow-long-beach-2018-mural-artists/, http://voyagela.com/interview/meet-nuria-ortiz-ms-yellow-southbay/
Image Source (Top): - Arts Council for Long Beach -