Angelica Sta. Teresa is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Seattle, WA. She holds a BA in Interdisciplinary Visual Art from the University of Washington with a focus in Surface Design, and is also a 200-Hour Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT-200).
Angel comes from a very particular intersectional background as a second generation Filipino-American. Contrary to a lot of quintessential Fil-Am cultural norms, she has often been encouraged to explore her creative pursuits uninhibited, which led her to a multitudinal path of exploration. From a young age, she was interested in multiple mediums of art, and explored drawing and music independently until she was able to expand on these interests in school. After unlearning a lot of limiting views that art institutions instilled in her, she eventually discovered that her creative endeavors aligned with a deep ancestral connection to textiles, craft, and the natural world.
She is inspired by the storytelling that textiles offer, and the interplay between tangibility and abstraction in textile patterns. Dyeing processes offer her a challenge that is both creative and meditative, and the connection between process and product is immensely magical and deep. Her work mimics the seemingly solid, shifting, and ineffable nature of the conscious mind, which she began to study more in-depth with her yoga practice.
Through diligent yoga practice, she was able to unearth a connection to her body, mind, and the world around her that aided in her healing of anxiety and depression (which is still and always will be a work in progress). She began to see that her various practices in her life were intimately connected, and filled the gaps where she was previously unable to as far as the seemingly disconnected areas of her creative work. Yoga gave her the opportunity to put words to thought processes she expressed through visual art, and teaching yoga was an opportunity to invite more people to make their own transformative and healing discoveries.
Her study of surface design techniques both at UW and independently led her to visit dyers and weavers in Japan and the Philippines in 2017 and 2019 respectively, during a time of growth in her yoga practice and hand-dyed clothing business. She recently exhibited her series Note to Self in local boutiques as well as sold dyed clothing at seasonal craft fairs. She also sings at occasional gig both at public and private events with her band Purple in the Sky.
Currently, she is focused on bringing yoga to individuals virtually and finding new ways to reach people through her art. Whatever work she does, the intention is always to forge a connection that roots people within themselves and the natural world so they can move through life the best they can.