Biography:

Jesmil M. Maldonado-Rodriguez is a contemporary illustrator, pattern designer, and printmaker. A native of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico, remembering her home and childhood has become a primary inspiration for her artistic development. Art became her communication method as an outlet to express her repressed emotions, thoughts, and memories. 

Through her patterns, illustrations, and prints, a peculiar world is created and helps Maldonado analyze, accept, and embrace her uniqueness. Inspired by elements from her Puerto Rican culture, such as insects, reading aids, food illustrations, the colors of the environment, and the recreation of her repressed childhood have led her to label herself as a Creative Weirdo. She aims to tell her audience, "You shouldn’t be ashamed or hide who you are and what you like.” 

Her work has been exhibited in galleries and museums in New York, Puerto Rico, and Texas. Has been featured in various publications such as the Latino Book Review Magazine 2020 Issue and the Chicana/Latina Studies: the MALCS Spring 2019 Issue journal. She is a professor and Gallery Director at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley - School of Art and Design. Maldonado continues to experiment and research the benefits of creating artwork during her emotional and psychological turmoil while searching for her art's meanings and connections with her childhood, life experiences,  emotions, and thoughts while searching for her identity and a way to fill the void within.