About Me

I am an artist originally from Bolivia and currently reside in the United States. I am fascinated by how our diverse backgrounds allow us to express ourselves creatively in unique ways, communicate a message visually, and interpret art.

I create art to explore my creative expression and share what I enjoy with others. I value detail and expression. My work comes together slowly and in stages, much like the course of life itself, acknowledging what comes across the road and running with it. Everything I do is connected to something in my daily life, or something I have seen or experienced. As each of us are connected to different aspects of the environment we live in, I believe artwork is connected to an artist's life experiences. I find value in the connections we make in life and that is reflected in my artwork. Every mark connects with another to create the final piece, encoding a message that I know every viewer will interpret their own way. As I continue my path in this life, my artwork changes and develops based on my experiences and what captures my curiosity at that time.

- Noelia Martínez-Voigt

My Story

I have enjoyed creating for as long as I can remember. Whether it was drawing because I wanted to, making my own birthday party invitations, or part of a homework assignment, it was always fun!

I shared this passion and appreciation for visual arts with my father. He continuously encouraged me to pursue this interest and signed up for an adult watercolor workshop, convincing the instructor to let me sit in because there were none offered for kids. I really wanted to learn watercolor, but it was very frustrating and hard to pursue during high school. I hoped maybe one day to take another go at it.

When I moved to the U.S. for college, I took as many and varied art classes as I could. This is where I truly started to explore what all I could do! The choices were in my hands, and as long as I had access to supplies I was most definitely trying it! The summer of 2019 I had the opportunity to dive into watercolor again. I took a watercolor workshop in Greece led by artist Jun-Pierre Shiozawa (he is amazing!). This experience played a big part in helping me become the artist that I am today.

After graduating college, I worked for Etchr Studio as a host and moderator. This job allowed me to meet artists across the world and help them decide the content they would teach on the online Etchr platform. This experience had me considering the possibility of teaching one day.

Now, a couple years later I am in my third year as the district art teacher for a small community in rural Illinois. I teach K-12 (yep, you read that right, it’s a fun load!) The funny thing is, if you asked my younger self if I wanted to be an art teacher I would laugh and say “oh no!” But I’m loving it! I enjoy sharing my knowledge and skills with my students and LOVE seeing what all they create. They can come up with some truly awesome artwork!

Although work takes up a lot of my time, I still try my best to make some time to create my own artwork. I use my sketchbook mostly to capture different moments in time. I have found that when I draw or paint a place I visit, or a person I interact with, I remember so much more about them! Creating helps me stay sane and experience life in an awesome way.