Denise Silva // Indigenous Futurism opening at The Cheech Museum 2023 // Photo: Oro Studios

meet Denise

Born in East Los Angeles and raised in Riverside, California, Denise Silva (Xicana / Hopi / Mescalero Apache) is an indigenous femme, a mother of 6 beautiful seeds and a total Pisces sun + Cancer moon who loves to explore plant medicine + mysticism and weaving those experiences into her world of art.  In her earlier years, she attended Riverside Community College and went on to graduate from California State University, Los Angeles in the late 90’s where she studied art + illustration.

In front of the ”Grandmothers” mural on the main library, downtown Riverside // Photo: Cisco Streetlenz

Motherhood brought Denise back to the Inland Empire to put down roots + raise a family while homeschooling and starting a home business. It was during those beautifully chaotic years that she began to slowly immerse herself in community art spaces in downtown Riverside. As a multidimensional creative, Denise was also nurturing an online space for women + mothers on Pearmama dot com, which started off as a humble mom blog in 2006.

The artist in her studio // 2021

Denise shares spiritual medicine in the form of art, divine messages to find our way home, uplifting the Divine Feminine to shift the culture at large + collectively heal the Earth and one another. At the center of Denise’s art practice is her spirituality:

Elevating the ancestors, telling the story of Mother Earth, big rematriation energy
a humble bow toward the plants⁣
the water⁣
the animals⁣
the land⁣⁣
Divine Mother in Blue Altar // Innerspace Art Show Opening 2022 // photo: Rachel Carrillo

her art

Drawing + creating stories was a refuge as a latch-key child in the 80’s. Denise created little fantasy worlds for herself when the one she was living in couldn’t be understood. The artist is still creating those fantasy worlds for herself, vast and expansive, often exploring the stages of wombmanhood: childhood, inner child, maiden, mother, crone.

The Selves, 2021 // Artist: Denise Silva
Artist Denise Silva with her giclée print titled: “Soul Retrieval” // Photo: Oro Studios

A multi-disciplinary artist best known for her conceptual work with collage, paint, paper, ink and installation, Denise began exploring digital art in 2018 and it expanded her work in many life-changing ways. Her art is intentionally woman-centered + Earth-centered, rich with sacred Mesoamerican symbols, ancestral veneration and Divine Feminine mysticism. The work fuses together storytelling with bold figurative shapes, universal symbols of feminine creation + dream-like color stories that bring to remembrance innerspaces we have visited in other realms. Organic shapes often overlap and create unique abstract dimensions within dimensions in what the artist describes as: conversations with her spirits.

The Journey, 2023 // Artist: Denise Silva

Denise has worked from her home studio in Riverside California since day one, a survival tactic that most creatives who are also parents can understand. A delicate balance but a very necessary one: it allowed her to be home with her children, normalizing the practice of being creative + doing what you love to do.  

Denise Silva // Innerspace Art Show at Pain Sugar Gallery 2022 // Photo: Rachel Carrillo

Denise creates art to uplift the feminine energy’s protective influence on Mother Earth + to remind us of our cosmic roots.

Ancestors, 2020 // Artist: Denise Silva

The artist has been very active in the Inland Empire art community, exhibiting her work in shows in local places such as Back to the Grind, Inland Mujeres Art Studio, White Park, The Garcia Center for the Arts, Division 9 Gallery, The Center for Social Justice & Civil Liberties, Pain Sugar Gallery, A Blve Rose Gallery, The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture, The Little Gallery of San Bernardino, Barrio Fuerza and All Eyes Gallery.

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Leading a curator walkthrough of the Indigenous Futurism Exhibit at The Cheech // Photo: Carlos Puma 

 

Innerspace by Pearmama is all about our inner worlds, our visions, dreams + deeply held truths we uncover all on our own by Pearmama.
Denise Silva // Innerspace Art Show Opening 2022 // photo: Rachel Carrillo

 

Curator of the Indigenous Futurism Exhibit //The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art + Culture // photo: Delisa Alejandre
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Speaking at The Art of Healing: Holistic Expressions Exhibit // photo: Ontario Museum of History and Art

 

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Banner featuring Denise’s art in front of the Ontario Museum of History & Art
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Interview at The Cheech during the Origins/Origenes Exhibit in 2023 // photo: Oro Studios

the blog

Pearmama evolved from a mother’s journal about life with 6 children to a lifestyle blog with DIY projects, sponsored posts and stories about family and motherhood to its current iteration — sharing her art + writing from the ancient heartspace on Corn Sister

Email Denise at pearmama@gmail.com

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Energy exchanges, good vibes + art offerings.