Plastic Artist
Nhora Ortiz
Artist Bio
I was born in Buga, Valle del Cauca, Colombia, on July 25, 1968, the fourth of six siblings. My childhood carried me across borders, as my family later moved to Venezuela, where I grew up and completed my studies. Those early years instilled in me a love for culture, language, and the power of community.
After earning my degree from Jose Maria Vargas University and specializing at the Estudios Sancho Institute, I began exploring how art could speak beyond words. This exploration led to the creation of The Ornament Project, inspired by the languages and traditions of indigenous communities along the Puerto Ayacucho axis in Amazonas, Venezuela.
“The Ornament Project was born from the voices of indigenous language — transforming culture into color and form.”
My pictorial work, painted entirely with my fingers without the use of tools, reflects this ongoing search for human connection. Each canvas is an extension of sensation and thought, shaped into color and form by touch alone. Over the years, my work has been recognized internationally for its altruistic values and has traveled far beyond my own hands.
Exhibitions of my paintings have been hosted in galleries and embassies in Venezuela, the United States, Bolivia, Colombia, Italy, South Korea, and India. Each show is a dialogue between cultures — proof that art is a universal language of freedom, resilience, and beauty.
Today, I continue my journey from Gatlinburg, Tennessee, carrying with me the colors of Colombia, the roots of Venezuela, and the many stories my art has encountered around the world. My work remains a testament to community, memory, and the boundless possibilities of color.
Artist Statement
I combine my sensations with color, allowing emotions to flow freely into form and action. Using only my fingers — never tools — I connect directly with thought and feeling, shaping them into dreams and giving them life on the canvas. Each piece is born from touch, intuition, and a desire to express what words cannot.
When I stand before a blank canvas, I close my eyes, breathe deeply, and ask for guidance to offer the best of myself. From that silence, the magic begins. I do not plan or sketch. Instead, I let my imagination lead me — painting, molding, and inventing my own techniques as freedom takes over every movement.
“When you leave the doors open, life leads you to your most cherished dreams.”
As a child, I felt this artistic calling, but fear and insecurity often held me back. For years I told myself, “Tomorrow I’ll begin.” One day, I stopped waiting and gave myself permission to create. That moment of courage taught me that when we step beyond hesitation, life reveals unexpected possibilities.
My journey has been shaped by the courage of artists who broke boundaries: Vasili Kandinsky, with his fascination for nature, form, and feeling; Jackson Pollock, with his fearless abstraction; and Frida Kahlo, who transformed pain into vivid portraits of resilience and joy. Like them, I create despite challenges. Though I live with constant physical pain, I allow my work to radiate joy, perseverance, and the freedom found in color.
Raised in a home where perseverance and faith were guiding values, I carry these lessons into every canvas. They remind me that art is not only an act of creation — it is a way of honoring life, healing, and sharing vision with the world.
“Each canvas becomes a world of beauty and freedom, where emotions transform into living color.”
For me, painting is an act of liberation — a practice of turning vulnerability into strength and imagination into reality. Through every finger stroke, I seek to transform silence into voice, pain into resilience, and color into freedom.
— To my beloved Father, my Friend, my Inspiration.
Certifications
