Mayra Viviana Zamora was born in Austin and raised in the small town of Tivoli, Texas.  She graduated top of her class, receiving numerous scholarships which helped fuel her dream of being an Educator and an Artist.  Zamora attented the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas in her freshmen year of college, then transferred to Corpus Christi, Texas to focus on her artwork and education.  She has a Master's Degree in Science: Secondary Education, Art Certified (EC-12), and a Bachelor's Degree in Art from Texas A&M Corpus Christi.  Zamora completed her teaching internship at E. Smith Middle School in Sinton, Texas and currently works as an OutReach and Arts After School Art Coordinator for the Art Museum of South Texas.  The artist has participated in numerous shows in North and South Texas, online, and Corpus Christi's Annual Day of the Dead Celebration.  In 2012, Zamora won Best in Show in Infinity Art Gallery's Day of the Dead: Voices of Our Ancestor Online Exhibition.  In 2013, the artist participated in Third Coast National Show at Kspace Contemporary.  Zamora was selected to participate in both phases of Kspace Contemporary Art Gallery's Loteria Mural Installation in downtown Corpus Christi.  The Mural will be installed in October 2014 an 2015.  She is a member of Kspace Contemporay Art Gallery and V.I.P Aritst Group, founded by International Chicana Artist, Grace Barreza-Vega.  The group will begin a World Art Tour in November 2014 in New York City.  The artist currently works for the Art Museum of South Texas as the OutReach & Arts After School Art Coordinator.  She is an avid volunteer at the Antonio E. Garcia Arts & Education Center.  Zamora incorporates her love of the Dia De Los Muertos by depicting family members, friends, and iconic images in traditional format flourished with color.  To build a connection with the viewer, Zamora includes a unique vocabulary by creating words camouflaged within colorfol patterns, lines, and borders.

Artist Statement:  My work is all encompassng - of reason, happiness, life, and expression.  Beyond general aesthetic lies a meaningful and embraced memory.  A moment of my own captured and recreated by the use of Calaveras as variations of family, friendship, and love. I am able to express these affections using symbolic values from my Mexican heritage and culture.  Although, Calaveras are associated with the Dia de los Muertos, I enliven the concept by placing familiar characters in real situations.  They are amongst a kaliedoscope of color which pays homage to a tradition which celebrates life.  The borders are a blend between language and atmosphere.  Gathering insipiration from hieroglyhpics, the geometric shapes are coded with a "stylized alphabet," shyly awaiting discovery.  The polychromatic borders and backgrounds help describe the atmosphere of the artwork; unveiling to the viewer encrypted words and messages.

                                                                                                         -Mayra Viviana Zamora