Natasha Rezmo Martinez

What a beautiful evening! Thank you to everyone who came out and supported Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community Youth Services Youth, Art and Culture Night at Rocket Space 🤩 With over 200 individual works, this was the biggest display of youth culture ever to be hosted at Danelle Plaza! This is community. This is TAMC. We can’t wait to do even more events. 🫶

This past Thursday we had our end-of-the-year Youth Art & Culture Night,a celebration of everything the kids have been creating in Art throughout the year. As well as performing the dances they have been learning and have learned. This year was extra special because it was the first time we held the event outside of the community and collaborated with the TAMC Rocket Space Gallery in Tempe. One of my biggest goals was for the youth to experience what it feels like to see their artwork displayed in a real gallery space and be surrounded by family, friends, and community celebrating them. Huge thank you to @tempeartandmusic TAMC for so excitedly opening your doors to us and helping create such a meaningful night for our youth. The kids were absolutely over the moon. Even the ones who acted like “whatever” in the beginning couldn’t hide how proud they were seeing their work up on those walls. Thank you to @jacquelinebswan for being so welcoming, helpful and excited to collaborate for this event as well as covering media for the night — video coming soon. 😊 And to my bestie @_deeds_ , thank you for always showing up, helping, leading, and sharing your knowledge of culture, dance and excitement with the youth in such a genuine and powerful way. More than anything, I hope these kids know how important they are. I hope they know they are capable of accomplishing whatever they want in life, whether art becomes their path or not. And if it is their path… they already have a seriously impressive resumé under their belts from everything they’ve been part of these last few years like mural work etc.... They are the next storytellers, culture bearers, leaders, and artists who will represent themselves, their families, and community. My heart seriously couldn’t be any fuller. P.S. Im proudly rocking the skirt that @_deeds_ made for me. 💜🖤💜🖤 Cant wait for us to share more 😉

"Infested Elegance" Traditionally piped vanilla buttercream on the outside, a terrifyingly chocolate infested nightmare on the inside. (Centipedes, flys, roaches and scorpions all chocolate of course..... or are they 😄) I entered a cake into the Mothers Slay Day Dessert Competition. There was some really creative, repulsive, over the top cakes, I wish I wouldve taken more pictures. My camera man and IT department, Bugg, caught this footage. Picking up the piping bag again, (even though my hands were toast after painting and helping the kids with their skateboards all week) using baking supplies I had avaliable because I don't bake or decorate real cakes anymore, brought back the good feelings of decorating. I had so much fun blowing up my kitchen again, using every utensil in site and dancing around to make this cake.😊Being part of the competition and seeing the whole tasting and judging unfold was such a treat..... A huge thank you @returnofthegivingdead for the opportunity,@theazspookyboos for mc-ing, @spookys_swirls for your kind words and @tempeartandmusic for being an amazing place to throw these beautiful events. 😊

I’m grateful for every single day I get to wake up and be the person I have grown into. To know how much I have been through and not let it take over my life.I step out each day and choose to be a good person. To stand in my strength. To love, lead and hold up my family and show up for the kids I work with. My life isn’t perfect. Some days are quiet, some are loud, some feel heavy, some feel full of light but through all of it, I trust that I’m exactly where I’m meant to be. And whatever direction I’m guided in, I’m going to walk it with everything I have. I look at the opportunities and support in front of me and it makes my heart flutter.🖤🤍 Tlazocamatli

Today's adventure turned into a really great day.. Thank you @openstreetstempe @tempeartandmusic for putting together such a fun event in Tempe and inviting me out to paint.... Got to see old and new friends. Vibe out and work on a new piece. A piece that represents healing, glowing up and tapping into divine feminine energy.... #indigenousfemaleartist #openstreetstempe #divinefeminine

"Don't Cross the Salt Line" ..... I just finished up this painting. If you havent watched the movie "Weapons", do it, its a great horror movie. Auntu Gladys was definitely a challenge, been painting just to paint lately..☺️ #horrormovieart #auntgladysart #paintingismylife

During the Echoes of the Akimel Mural Festival Celebration we pulled together our very first fashion show. This is the piece I made and I am so thankful that my bestie @_deeds_ helped me out by sewing the ribbons on it for me. Idk if I really ever shared, but I was super into fashion when I was in high school. I used to sew my own clothes and make my own patterns. I actually applied to the Institute of American Indian Arts for Native Fashion and got accepted but when I got there they had to shut the program down because not enough students signed up for it. Fashion for me today is starting to itch again, and we have big plans @_deeds_ 😊

Been zooming all over the country lately, been needing to stop in and see shimasani (my grandma) for a while now. Even though we were on the road longer than we were actually in New Mexico, it still filled my heart to see some of my family. I hope to make it out longer than a couple of hours next time, i was falling asleep trying to get home. Zzzzzzz.....

This past week we got to present on our youth art and culture programs at the National Indian Child Welfare Association Conference in Oklahoma City… and honestly, just being selected to present was a big honor because not every proposal was picked. Going into it felt exciting but I felt the pressure of not wanting to let anyone down… especially myself. I kept thinking about the kids, our community, and everything this work stands for and the road its paving. And when I got up there, it all just came out, I just spoke from the heart. I really wanted to show how our programs have impacted our youth and community and hopefully encourage another tribal community to start their own programs... I had to be brave. I shared parts of my own healing journey… the things that shaped me, the things that hurt, and how art became a way for me to process it all. That wasn’t easy. But in that moment, I realized that’s exactly why this work matters so much to me because I see myself in the kids that I work with. I’m really proud of my co-presenters and everything they shared. For my bestie @_deeds_ , for making this all look too easy because she carries so much knowledge. At the end of the day, I stood up there and spoke on something I truly believe in…art as creative expression, art as a way to heal, to learn, to belong, to feel seen. And that meant everything to me. I’m grateful I got to share, to connect, to listen and to be in a space with others who are dedicated to protect youth in their own communities. I left feeling tired, excited to see my family because I missed them so much, but also truly inspired by so many people and their journeys.... Tlazocamatli, From the very bottom of my heart......

During the Echoes of the Akimel Mural Festival's Community Celebration I put together our first Fashion Show. It was an open call to all community fashion artists of any age, any experience, community and non community members. We had 3 categories traditional, contemporary and upcycle. I worked closely with our 5th and 6th grade girls to come up with upcycle looks for the show, even taking them to Goodwill, and helping them with their designs. They were a hit.! I was thankful to have @deeds on my team to help us out with sewing and ribbons as we got their pieces ready. I was so proud to stand with the 1st, 2nd and 3rd places winners at the end of the night. Their pieces came out phenomenal. #nativefashion #youthartists #nativeyouthdoingbigthings

Day 2 at the NICWA Conference in Oklahoma City and it has been quite an adventure. There has been tears, facing fears, growing and learning. Tomorrow we are presenting, i feel more relaxed, more confident and my smart brain says you got this. Thank you for all the love sent this way, i can feel it. Like always.... flying by the seat of my chair, living on coffee and a prayer. 🖤🩶🤍

We just got to Oklahoma City for the NICWA (National Indian Child Welfare Association)Conference. We are here to present on our Art and Culture Programs that we run through Youth Services.. I heard in a training recently that in order to grow you need to sit in the uncomfortable... I am an extroverted introvert, so I am nervous to share in front of a national conference but also I know why Im doing this and for who. This picture was taken during the Echoes of the Akimel Mural Festival's morning blessing, by a drone operated by @amy2.psd . we naturally formed a heart without knowing. This reminds me of everyone that believes in us back home... I know we can do this ❤️ #EchoesOfTheAkimel #CommunityThroughArt