At the age of sixteen, Ines Alvidres found herself transplanted from her home state of Chihuahua, Mexico to Beaumont, Texas when her father moved the whole family here. She was sad and very homesick at first, but when she opened herself to the community and the City of Beaumont, she realized that opportunities abounded here. Her family is very close and supportive and they play an important part in her life and her art. Her brother brought her a gift of a box of crayons from Mexico, and that moment was a great point in her life and an acknowledgment that she was an artist.

Her father had wanted one of his children to be an artist and one a musician. Ines has become that artist and her work can be seen around the city on electric boxes, murals and at Cattail Marsh. Her style of friendly abstract art from the heart came from her love of the art done by the Tarahuamara Indians in Chihuahua. The colors are lively and vibrant and they are her expression of her love of art.

In high school, she was challenged by an instructor to create a two-panel mural. The project terrified her, but she was finally able to meet the challenge. This was her first opportunity to open herself to art and the community she lives in.

In Beaumont there is a great artist community for support and challenge to be creative. One Beaumonter, Homer Pillsbury, helped her to expand her vision to beyond herself and see things she had not seen previously. He convinced her that her work could be sold, and the first painting that was sold was unbelievable to her. But the encouragement was there to continue to create and help others to see that opportunity.

Ines has been an instructor at the Art Museum’s summer camp and others as well. She wants the campers to have fun with painting and a chance to make a big canvas. These sessions are very rewarding to her as she sees the kids get excited about doing a project. A papier-mâché class was exciting, challenging and terribly messy but in the end, creations were really fun.

Recording our art is a thing of importance to any community in order to show who we are and to create more feeling in the community for the projects. Ines has some works for sale at the gift shop of the Art Museum.

Ines feels that every day she is terrified, not to mention how terrified she was to speak to our club. But her genuine pleasure in creating art and helping people see opportunities ahead has helped her along the way. Ines wishes that we all remember how time flies and we need to make good use of our time. It was easy to see her passion for art and people in her speech. The name of her studio, AMARTE, means in Spanish “To love yourself, love others and love art.”