About the Artist

I am from New York, where I was born and raised. My parents migrated from Puerto Rico to New York City for a better life. Raised in the South Bronx, I worked in my mother's Beauty Parlor while attending City College. I received a Bachelor of Science in Education and a Ford Foundation Doctoral Fellowship in Education in 1972. I studied at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and received an Ed. M. I loved Psychology and continued studying at New York University, where I received a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology in 1979. Driven to give back to my community, I worked in the South Bronx in Community Mental Health. During this time, I discovered my passion for art, taking an elective live drawing class in college. I painted independently, and when I finished my doctorate, I further honed my skills by studying art at the School of Visual Arts. In 1986, I embarked on a new chapter as an artist in residence with the Puerto Rican Workshop (Taller Boricua) in El Barrio. This role allowed me to witness the profound impact of art on people's lives. Over 15 years, I developed courses in expressive art, empowering individuals to find their voice and communicate better with others. I taught these courses to parents and children in the Public School and later at the New York Foundling Hospital and at El Museo del Barrio, where I saw firsthand the transformative power of art, a power that continues to inspire me. During my time at Taller Boricua, I developed a deep fascination with the Black Madonna, a symbol of immense cultural significance. I embarked on a journey of research and painting, capturing the images of the Black Madonna that I encountered on my travels to Puerto Rico, Mexico, Spain, Italy, and France. My Black Madonnas have been exhibited nationally, including a retrospective exhibition of my work entitled 'Divine Feminine' at Union Theological Seminary in 1999. You can find my paintings on display on my website, elainesoto.com, a testament to my enduring passion for this symbol of my culture. It was around the same time that I started painting the Black Madonna that I began to write about my life. According to Jungian Psychological theory, the awareness of the Black Madonna in our lives propels us to explore our unconscious or dark experiences. This concept deeply resonated with me, and I delved into writing, studying with Natalie Goldberg in her New York and Taos writing workshops. Her meditation and writing techniques helped me to access more unconscious memories and feelings. I published an article, "My Journey to the Black Madonna," in the Association of Hispanic Arts Newsletter 1998. Later, a short story I wrote about my experiences with racism won a publication prize in the Mighty Muse Writing Project in Colorado in 2004. In 2008, my short story won second place in the Southwest Writers' Halloween Memoir Writing Contest. My journey took a significant turn in 2002 when I attended my first National Latino Writers Conference in New Mexico. The enchanting landscapes and vibrant culture of the state captivated me, and I decided to make it my home in 2004, moving to Albuquerque. There, I found a new role at UNM in the Employee Assistance Program, running Expressive Art Workshops and using art and writing to help Staff and Faculty express themselves and deal with stress. I retired from UNM in 2013. Currently, I am in private practice online. I specialize in Eye Movement and Desensitization (EMDR) therapy. I am an EMDR Approved Consultant, and a Humanitarian Assistance Program (HAP) Facilitator.

In 2022 I published my first book My Journey to the Black Madonna: A Memoir.

In 2023 I received Honorable Mention at the New Mexico State Fair for my encaustic painting “French Black Madonna”.