Meet Veronica Cisneros | Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Veronica Cisneros and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Veronica, is there a quote or affirmation that’s meaningful to you?
Right now, some lyrics I’ve been meditating on come from a song by Rising Appalachia featuring Aja Black of the Reminders called, “Hungry World.” The lyrics go, “Get it right now, get it good. Everybody’s walking around these days a little misunderstood. Hear the crying of the voice of the earth within yourself; stand in solidarity, discernment, and wealth. Give it up to the great turning, the tapestry not yet woven in your life in your heart, now’s the time now’s the moment. Walk along the bridge between urgency and patience. There’s a moral nerve to be found with the ancestors, the ancients. It’s a hungry hungry world, don’t let them devour you whole. Come work on a building, it’s laughing and full.” The world has changed so much, and technology seems to be taking over the world. Yet, if we get quiet enough, we can hear the whispers of our true nature calling us to connect with the Earth and the wisdom of our ancestors. We are in the midst of a collective shift, and it’s up to us to use the time we have to build an even brighter future. These great changes all start within ourselves on a personal level, and we have to be urgent about it, yet patient with results. We can’t sow a seed and expect it to bear fruit by morning. And, as dark as the circumstances in our world may be, there is hope as long as we intentionally nurture it.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
So, creating succulent arrangements has kind of been my thing for a while, and although I’m still kind of open to making them for sale, I’ve been taking a little time off from that. I grow my own succulents for all of the arrangements I make, so eventually I sold out of all the extra succulents I had. At one point I had to start dipping in to my personal collection for the arrangements I made for sale, and I was not very happy about that. So if anyone wants a succulent arrangement from me, I’ll have to outsource my succulents. I am in the process of growing more succulents by propagating, though, and I will always be in my garden growing and getting creative with what I have. Last year I had a really rad opportunity to collaborate with The HC Companies, the leader in horticulture containers, and my daughter and I created a cute little fairy garden using one of their containers. It was such a fun project that allowed us to, in a sense, go on a little adventure. It was at the beginning of the pandemic, so that escape in to our imaginations was much appreciated. I made a few other really neat pieces last year, too; I have such a love for making gardening artsy. Hopefully I’ll start slanging succulent arrangements again soon, but for now, I’ve opened up to expressing myself in other creative ways. In March of 2019 I decided to start taking piano lessons at the age of 33. I’ve dreamt of taking piano lessons since I was like 7, and after enrolling my daughter in voice lessons and being inspired by all of the other older people taking piano lessons, I decided to just go for it. It’s been really fun and a huge learning experience. I’ve been learning how to have grace with myself and to slow down, be patient, and accept where I am in this time of my life. It’s beautiful, and there’s nothing wrong with where I’m at. It’s all serving a divine purpose. I’m very proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort zone and allowing myself to be a beginner. Anyway, I’ve also had a passion for singing pretty much all my life and the same goes for creative writing. So at the beginning of this year, I challenged myself to start writing my own songs. I’ve written songs in the past on guitar and ukulele, but never really had the confidence to speak about it fully. I’m still building confidence, but I feel a little better about allowing my authentic self to shine through, which is ultimately what I’ve committed myself to doing. So far, I’ve written one new, homemade song, and I’m currently working on a couple of others. I’m not sure exactly where this will lead me, but I’m really excited about pursuing my heart’s truest desires. Even if I don’t ever officially release my music out in to the world, I’m happy to just make it for myself. Making music fulfills my soul, and playing for myself, my children, or my husband in my bedroom or my home studio makes me feel like I’m living my purpose. There’s a line by one of my favorite English romantic poets named John Keats, and he says, “I feel assured I should write from the mere yearning and fondness I have for the beautiful, even if my night’s labours should be burnt every morning and no eye ever shine upon them.” I’ve lived this quote pretty much all my life in terms of my poetry, writing, and music. These passions of mine are so deeply ingrained in my being that I don’t care if anyone ever reads my words or hears my songs. It’s all a part of who I am and what I do for me.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I think what I love the most about Houston is that there is always a new place to see and visit. The first place we’d go to is Smither Park. Smither Park is a beautiful little green space that’s filled with mosaic artwork created by many different folk artists. There’s a super cool memorial wall, a meditation garden, pavilion, and a stage. Everything there is a piece of art built with random objects, and it’s such a magical, inspiring place. I can get lost in the details of all the mosaics for hours. We could picnic there and catch up, maybe do some yoga, writing, reading… maybe even draw or play a little music. It’d be fun. If The Orange Show (Center for Visionary Art) is open, we could visit there, too. It’s right next to Smither Park. I’ve actually never been yet, because it was closed for a while I guess. I hear it’s open now, though. I love spending time in nature, so we’d probably do a bunch of outdoorsy things, like a trip to Buffalo Bayou Park. We could walk or bike the bayou and pick up some food at one of the food trucks out there afterwards. Another magical place we would absolutely have to visit is Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens. We could take a tour of Ima Hogg’s beautiful historic home, then explore the dreamy, elegant gardens. I love parks, so we’d have to visit Discovery Green; we could grab some coffee and take a walk around, maybe kayak the pond, or go skating depending on the time of year, or take a yoga class. If we get hungry we can eat at one of the restaurants on site; The Grove or The Lake House. We have to go for a hike at the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center. It’s hard to believe that this place in the middle of Houston. We could walk all the trails and have a picnic. Can you tell that I love nature and picnicking? I’m not much of a restaurant person, but we would totally have to go to The Down House. I love the fact that everything they serve there is locally sourced and so delicious. A trip to the Houston Botanic Gardens would definitely be on the agenda. I don’t think that one needs an explanation. Houston Muesum of Fine Arts; once again, another place I could happily get lost in for hours. There’s a restaurant in there we could grab some food at when we get hungry. Another thing I love to do is thrift. I wish I could remember all the cool little places I’ve gone thrifting at that’s not a Goodwill. There is one place, though, that essentially would be considered a thrift shop, and it’s called Texas Art Asylum. I love that place. It’s an arts and crafts store and art gallery, but pretty much everything there has been pre-loved and donated. So it’s like a thrifty arts and crafts store with lots of vintage and eccentric items. And finally, we have to visit my friend Amanda over at Republic Aerial Yoga. Aerial yoga may seem intimidating, but it can actually be very relaxing; your body feels so free after. Amanda makes it a healing experience with breath work and essential oils if you choose. We can shop from local artists and makers there, too, in the boutique. When we’re done “hanging out” at Republic, we can go visit Buchanan’s Native Plants, one of my favorite plant nurseries/garden centers, to check out all the beautiful plants and most likely purchase a few… or a bunch. After that we’ll head over to Sig’s Lagoon. It’s a cozy little record shop that feels a lot like home. And, when we’re done nerding out at Sig’s, we’ll grab some tacos from Velvet Taco. They have a wide variety of delicious tacos, but my favorite are the falafel tacos. Wow, I kind of want to take myself out on a date now.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to dedicate my shout out first of all, to God because with Him all things are possible. I’d also like to dedicate this to my mom because I can always depend on her for anything; my husband, Chris, for always helping to make my dreams come true; and shoutout to Denise at Crosby Music Academy for providing a safe space for budding musicians to build confidence. I’d also like to dedicate this to my mom because she’s always there for me; I can always depend on her for anything; my husband, Chris, for working hard for our family and always providing to make my dreams come true.

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