MEETÂ ROSA "CAT" CATERINAÂ MANUEL
An Emerging Artist
ARTIST BIO
Rosa "Cat" Caterina Manuel is a student at Emmanuel College in Boston studying art education. She has worked hard to develop her art knowledge and skills over the years. She gathers much of her inspiration from stories, the music world, and cultures from around the world. Her pieces embody some of her own life experiences. She was born in Chennai, India, was adopted at three years old, and grew up with her adopted parents and sister in Maryland and Massachusetts.
SKETCHES & STILL LIFE
My drawing of Mother and Child was selected for the 2019 Christmas Card at my school.
ROSA CAT SELF-PORTRAIT (2015),
FRIDA KAHLO STYLE
I have always loved art. I started to discover my gift in 4th grade. Below is an example of my early work. It is a self-portrait, inspired by a Frida Kahlo painting entitled “Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird.”
Kahlo expresses her feelings and emotions in her paintings through symbolism. She also likes to incorporate animals in her paintings. Likewise, I drew a bear on my right shoulder. The reason I chose a bear is because my favourite stuffed animal growing up was a teddy bear named Beary. The black hummingbird in Ms. Kahlo’s painting represents pain. The bear in my painting symbolizes happiness. Her painting is all black and green; my painting has a variety of colours in it. Her painting looks like a still life; mine is colourful and active. Ms. Kahlo looks very serious and calm, which might mean that she is hiding her feelings. It also looks like the thorns are puncturing her neck, causing pain. In contrast, I look happy in my self-portrait. My hair is in a ponytail, which appears to be carefree, cheery, and bouncy. I painted myself to look like a doll because they often represent happiness. The color black can represent sorrow and death; I instead used pink and yellow to represent happiness. I am most often a bright, bubbly person, and this self-portrait tries to show my creativity and openness.
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The medium I chose for this painting is acrylic. I used broad brush strokes which allow me to convey alacrity, quirkiness and activity.
The art faculty, curriculum and facilities at the Connelly School of the Holy Child in Potomac, Maryland are excellent. Over the past four years, I have been taught drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, clay pottery, and 3D art/design. I love to create art; drawing and painting are my favourite means of expression.
I particularly love Frida Kahlo’s work. She inspires me to study art in college and to pursue art in my future career.
Rosa Cat Self-Portrait (2019): "Emergence"
Self-Portrait of Rosa Cat Manuel, “Emergence”
This self-portrait called “Emergence” contains great meaning and significance to me. It tells the story of my past, my present and my future.
1. My past. This painting communicates that I was adopted from India when I was three years old. This self-portrait tries to capture my adoption. Please note the waves in the back of the painting, that show the separation by water, from India to America. It also communicates happy memories of my summers in Rhode Island. I spent wonderful summer vacations in my family’s beach house in Rhode Island my entire life. The waves represent those days, and my many happy memories. I look at the ocean both as a connection to my past in India, my present in our beach house, and as a future unknown destination.
2. My present. I have selected this self-portrait as a representative sample of my current artwork. The art faculty, curriculum and facilities at the Connelly School of the Holy Child in Potomac, Maryland are excellent. Over the past four years, I have been taught drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, clay pottery, and 3D art/design. I love to create art; drawing and painting are my favorite means of expression. I hope to study art in college and to pursue art in my future career. The medium I chose for this painting is acrylic. I used brushes, and a homemade canvas. I painted broad brush strokes which allow me to convey alacrity, quirkiness and activity.
3. My future. The hands around me are both reminiscent of Hindu spirituality as well as show me signing in American Sign Language (ASL). I have studied ASL in high school. Like my art, ASL is a form of communication without words. I have always been attracted to ASL. Like my paintings, hand gestures are a non-verbal form of communication. American Sign Language was once called ``sculpture in the air,'' in the Christian Science Monitor (2/18/1987). I like that assessment: this self-portrait tries to communicate that idea. I am signing the word "painting" in my self-portrait. I hope that my future career will include a combination of both ASL and my art.
This self-portrait shows me emerging from my past in India, to my present in the United States, and points to my future as an artist. Emergence.
