Entrance to Finca Veracruz Mexico Baby Onesie

Lake Catemaco is the second biggest lake in Mexico. On the eastern shore are private fincas, (ranches) owned by wealthy elites and members of the Mexican government. This is the entrance to one of them. And while I was shooting a few photos, my sandaled feet suddenly erupted in burning pain. I looked down and my feet were being swarmed by large red ants. This area of Veracruz was certainly lesson that we are interlopers in a tropical world that fiercely asserts its existence with messengers, like velvet ants, tarantulas, scorpions, and wolf spiders. Keeps you on your toes.

I am a multi-media artist and craftswoman. My training includes coursework in sculpture at the Corcoran School in Washington, DC and at the Rufino Tamayo Taller in Oaxaca, Mexico, where I lived for 14 years until 2021. I've worked extensively in many genres including paper and digital collage, acrylic and oil painting, needle felting, paper mache, colored pencil, watercolor and line drawing. My experience in the active artistic community of Oaxaca was richly rewarding. You can follow me here: https://www.twitter.com/LorenaCassady https://facebook.com/lorena.cassady.3/ https://www.instagram.com/lorena.cassady/