College of Liberal Arts
Pocket-Sized Heirloom: From 四虎影院 studios to Spanish galleries, Nota carries home, memory, and craft across borders.
Kat Reichert, CLA Public Information OfficeDecember 15, 2025cla-pio@alaska.edu
Marina Gonzalez Mazo (BFA 鈥24) arrived in La Rioja carrying a metalsmith鈥檚 toolkit, an art education from the 四虎影院, and a small silver object shaped like memory. Now a master鈥檚 student at the Escuela Superior de Dise帽o de La Rioja (ESDIR), Gonzalez Mazo recently received second prize at the Muestra de Arte Joven en La Rioja, an international juried exhibition for artists ages 15鈥35.
Organized by the regional Institute of Youth, the annual exhibition drew 347 submissions from across Spain and beyond, with artists participating from all over the globe. From that pool, just 25 works were selected as finalists for a traveling exhibition that will move from town to town throughout La Rioja, concluding with a printed catalog documenting the works and their journeys. Gonzalez Mazo鈥檚 piece, Nota, not only earned a place among the finalists, it also rose to second place overall.
Nota is a contemporary jewel made from silver clay, measuring approximately 2.5 by 2.5 inches. Gonzalez Mazo sculpted the surface to resemble a worn sheet of notebook paper, complete with torn holes, crumpled folds, paper grain, and even a grease stain. The text, written in Spanish, reads: 鈥淏uy Coca-Cola and bread, there鈥檚 food in the microwave, mom.鈥
She created the piece while completing her BFA in metalsmithing and computer art at UAF, during a period of intense homesickness. 鈥淚 missed little love gestures from my family like this a lot, and our little routines,鈥 she explains. The work reflects both comfort and care, the everyday acts that sustained her growing up, even as her parents worked long hours. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also a statement on how much my parents worked, but they still took care of me,鈥 she says.
Rather than functioning as traditional jewelry, Nota resists fixed placement. 鈥淚t is not a ring or a pendant or a brooch,鈥 Gonzalez Mazo says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a family heirloom turned into silver.鈥 The piece can be carried in a pocket or hidden between couch cushions, allowing it to move quietly through daily life. 鈥淎 family鈥檚 memory preserved as an heirloom,鈥 she adds.
The work was made possible through an Alaska Metal Arts Guild scholarship that Gonzalez Mazo received in fall 2021, which funded her silver clay materials and tools. While at UAF, she also received a 2024 URSA award to support her thesis research and earned second-best poster honors at URSA Day. Outside the studio, she balanced her artistic practice with competition on the UAF rifle team from 2020 to 2024 on an athletic scholarship, helping the Nanooks win the NCAA national championship in 2023.
Looking back, Gonzalez Mazo points to the patience and guidance she received in the UAF Department of Art as formative. 鈥淭he most crucial thing was the patience that Patty [Carlson] and all my professors had with me,鈥 she says. Courses focused on professional practices, visiting artists, and participation in the Students鈥 Art Alliance of the North helped her better understand how artists navigate creative careers. The URSA process, she notes, offered valuable experience in organizing and sustaining a long-term project.
Her time at UAF asked her to move between disciplines, balance commitments, and stay attentive to process as much as outcome. That mindset continues to guide her work. 鈥淏y studying the liberal arts, we get to connect with past and present humans,鈥 Gonzalez Mazo says. 鈥淲e build critical skills and foster curiosity, so we can keep exploring the world with kind eyes.鈥
As Nota continues its journey across La Rioja, it carries with it a quiet message about home, care, and the enduring value of craft shaped through close mentorship and lived experience.
About Art at UAF
The UAF Department of Art offers students rich pathways in visual expression through BA, BFA, and MFA degrees, art minors, and advanced study opportunities grounded in studio practice and art history. Students work closely with faculty mentors in well-equipped studios, exploring media from metalsmithing and ceramics to digital art and printmaking while building professional skills through exhibitions, research grants, visiting artists, and community-engaged projects. Graduates leave prepared to shape creative careers, teach, or pursue further study around the world.
Help future Nanook artists follow in Marina鈥檚 footsteps. Your gift to the UAF Department of Art provides students with access to professional tools, visiting artists, research opportunities, and hands-on mentorship that shape thriving creative careers. Together, we can ensure that more student work finds its way from the studio to galleries around the world.
