Miguel Angel Godoy
Public murals, painting, drawing, and digital design
Instagram: @Miguel_Angel_Godoy
Miguel Angel Godoy’s recent work includes ongoing collaborations with the Phoenix Suns, from the 2023/24 El Valle City Edition uniforms and Ring of Honor portraits to a custom basketball for this season’s 30 Rocks on 30 Rock event. He is a residential art faculty at Estrella Mountain Community College. Influences like lowrider culture, Marvel comics, and hip-hop shaped his focus on identity, culture, and collective storytelling.
You knew you wanted to be an artist when: I realized drawing was how I made sense of the world before I had the language for it. Creating is something I have relied on since I was a child, long before it felt like a career. I started to focus on realism in high school, and when I found success in it is when I decided I could make a career out of it.
Is there a particular piece that feels like a turning point in your career? Leading my first large-scale community mural changed how I understood my role as an artist and teacher. It showed me that the process and the people involved mattered just as much or even more than the final image.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received as an artist?I have received so many gems of wisdom over the years. The one that has stuck with me the most is something my high school art teacher, Mr. William Joe Crawford, instilled in me as a student: “To be good is not enough, when you dream of being great.”
Finish this sentence: “Art should always ______.” Art should always carry the spirit of the object, the process, and the artist to the viewer.
Hyewon Yoon
Mixed media on canvas or panel
Hyewon Yoon has been an artist for over 30 years, beginning her practice in South Korea, where she was born. She earned her MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2005.
You knew you wanted to be an artist when: I knew I wanted to be an artist from a very young age, even as early as preschool. I loved drawing.
You’re inspired by: I am inspired by everything that I see and feel. I am especially caught by things in nature.
Is there a particular piece that feels like a turning point in your career? My turning point piece was my first pen drawing. I had worked primarily as an oil painter, but during my pregnancy, I became sensitive to oil paints, which led me to transition to pen. After that, I moved into mixed media.
Favorite piece that you’ve created? My favorite piece is my first large-scale pen drawing on paper, Abandoned Structures.
Finish this sentence: “Art should always ______.” Art should always come from the heart.
Shachi Kale
Water media on paper, mixed-media, fiber art, and print-making
Instagram: @shachidreams
Shachi Kale is a visual artist who has worked in the field of art and design for over three decades. Originally from India, she has lived in the Valley for 25 years, actively working in public art. She has also had several solo and group shows, in addition to being a graphic designer and children’s book illustrator.
You knew you wanted to be an artist when: I was 4! I have always made art and knew very early that this was what I’d do my whole life!
You’re inspired by: Folk art; the colors and textiles of India; nature, and its endless variety of patterns, shapes, and colors!
Is there a particular piece that feels like a turning point in your career? Learning to Breathe Underwater, a large watercolor self-portrait with surreal elements, feels like an important moment in my artmaking. Both in terms of technique and the fact that it was the central piece from my first solo show! It was a reflection of a moment in time when I had young children and drowning in overwhelm was not an option. It was meditative, a message of hope for myself, and an exploration of portraiture with the kind of details that light me up!
Kathleen Marie McDermott Escobedo
Pencil, watercolor, acrylic, and clay, primarily porcelain pieces that incorporate some of her drawings on them
Kathesco@hotmail.com
Kathleen Marie McDermott Escobedois the oldest of six children and graduated from Arizona State University with a bachelor’s degree in education, minoring in art. She was born in Phoenix.
You’re inspired by: I don’t have one specific point of inspiration as far as subject matter goes. I find that what hits me is more of the play of light and dark on an object. I am also drawn to what I consider the perfect composition. I see something that’s just begging to be remembered, I guess.
Is there a particular piece that feels like a turning point in your career?I’ve been asked about my career. I’ve never considered what I do as actually that. It’s what is the most fulfilling way I find to spend my time. I’m happiest with a brush, a pencil, or a chunk of clay in my hands. And the time just flies. If I sell something, that’s great—it means I can buy more supplies.
Finish this sentence: “Art should always ______.”“Art is what can’t fit inside a person. It’s the things that bubble over.”—Frederick Bachman