Duane Trujillo

Duane Trujillo - Since he began taking classes at VSA in 2000, Duane has pushed himself in different directions and is always challenging his creative side. Everything Duane attempts he puts his heart and soul into. If someone tells him he can’t do a certain project because of his disability, he will prove them wrong and he will succeed. As a young man, Duane was involved in an accident that left him with a traumatic brain injury, which, in a sense, has given Duane the determination to live life to the fullest.                                                          

Duane’s work reflects what he has gone through in his life and the constant struggles he faces as an individual with disabilities.  He enjoys painting, drawing, printmaking, clay, drama, and has performed as part of Equilibrium Theatre Company. Duane is also a poet, an artistic form in which the pain of living with his condition is expressed strongly. His work is a struggle and everything takes time for Duane to do, but the outcome far exceeds even his own expectations.  Duane says,  “Don’t count me out.  People tend to judge me for all the wrong reasons.  I can create and I do have a voice in this world.”