Cynthia E. Arroyo

Cynthia and her work with a mural by Juan Treviso in Long Beach

Cynthia E. Arroyo is a Southern California native with maternal roots extending to Guanajuato, Mexico. She attended California State University Long Beach and graduated with a major in Comparative World Literature, with an emphasis in cultural studies. As a result of this cross-cultural upbringing, she produces work that is reminiscent of both cultures, shown through distinct patterns and symbols. Currently expanding her design career at Citron Design Group while hoping to earn the Jewelry Entrepreneurship Certificate at Long Beach City College.

My practice includes jewelry, objects, and lace-making. Linking Latin heritage to bold gestures fabricated in brass, silver, or fiber. I use elements of the American Southwest and Mexico to examine the strong ties between the two regions.

Braiding in my heritage growing up in southern California with a mother from Mexico, vacations throughout my life often take place in Leon, Guanajuato Mexico, often visiting neighboring cities and pueblos. These memories of Mexican architecture and history serve my work. Church iron gates are reimagined as the shape of an earring that carries cultural pride and history. Cultural symbols seen in everyday life are transformed into tesoros or treasures working as wearable sculptures.

These designs could be interpreted as something old and new simultaneously. I’m looking for a presence of old-world style that is reminiscent of Indigenous art throughout my pieces. Jewelry which is bold enough to stand out, is proud of its story, and carries its history eloquently. Such as vintage jewelry which is rich with the patina of time, I impart my pieces with a sense of old-world history and charm.

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