Our Local Artists (American Made)

Cat Quintanilla, (Stone Carver Cat). First Generation Mexican-American. BFA UT at Austin. A life of passion & energy. Served in public office in Texas including council woman and in the position of city mayor. Advocate for environmental issues and for art communities mostly because both advocate essential elements for future generations. Great believer in lifetime learning and allowing each human spirit to multiple paths and passions every day while on earth.

On a personal path to “reverse engineer” with a return to the cultural threads of her own Mexican and Meso-American roots through Art, learning Spanish and spending time creating sculptures within the “Genetic Memory” series. And, with a hope to be an example of celebrating cultural diversity, encouraging others to explore their own roots and diversity through art history and more. This is a rejection of the homogenization of the American culture and a celebration of the uniqueness of each individual human being, each special and deserving of acceptance.

Carla Diaz Frances is an international sculptor, and owner of Magma Studio, a professional stone carving atelier located in the heart of San Antonio Texas. Before owning her business Carla spent 8 years in Anchorage, Alaska where she worked as an adjunct professor at University of Alaska Anchorage, UAA. She participated with the municipality of Anchorage to create Public Art for the VA Health System. She also did community work in the summer for the “Arts in the Parks” program.

Earlier, she spent 4 years in Monterrey, Mexico where she participated in two FEMSA Contemporary Art biennales; being selected for both contests and being nationally awarded with an Honorary Mention. Ms. Diaz Frances also has a stone sculpture in the permanent collection of The Federico Silva Museum of Contemporary Sculpture in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Her two main areas of creative research include the urban dialogs between emotion and construction materials, and the study of fertile concepts in nature such as reproduction, conception and origin.

Nick Brumder, master Artist Blacksmith, co founded Our Lady of the Rosary Cemetery and Prayer Gardens to revive the art of memorialization, lost in American corporate cemeteries. His beautiful ironwork crosses grace new graves, and are a highlight of Our Lady, as is his central feature of the Resurrection Cross, and many of the bronze elements on his monument designs. Nick with wife Ellen designed all the various gardens, and from their new home in New Zealand, continue to do so and be involved in continuing the vision they started.