"Skeletons in the Closet' by Kai Margarida-Ramírez de Arellano

3rd Ward member Kai Margarida-Ramírez de Arellano can trace her artistic roots back four generations. "None of my family members would identify themselves as artists, but they are all intuitively creative people and they have always nurtured my passion for art," she says. "My great-great grandmother was an amateur photographer, she choreographed elaborate scenes with members of her family during the 1920s, and these photos are definitely a source of inspiration for me. Her daughter, my great-grandmother, made collages and was often the model of her mother's photographs. My grandmother (a nuclear physics professor) used to draw and paint, and my mother (a law professor) creates found-object art, collages, and graphic art."

Kai Margarida-Ramírez de Arellano"My family also has a tradition of story telling that has deeply informed my aesthetic and identity," she adds. "These stories tell my family history, but also the family mythology which in turn has informed our family consciousness. This unique relationship to my roots plays a huge role in my work."

Growing up in New Mexico, Margarida-Ramírez de Arellano was exposed to the Mexican folk art of papel picado, or paper cutting. "In 2008 I took a workshop at a local art center with papel picado master Catalina Delgado Trunk," she says. "The medium came easily to me, and I realized I could really use this technique to combine my multi cultural roots with my interest in politics and popular culture." Read more about Margarida-Ramírez de Arellano below and hit the jump to see more of her intricate work (including some fantastic embroidery pieces).

"I use this ancient art form to discuss sex, politics, pop culture, my family history and my own experience of walking the line between cultures, while maintaining a sense of wit and irony," she explains. "I also establish inter-generational collaborations by referencing photographs taken by my great-great grandmother."