Intern Program

Working at The Muzzio has helped me discover skills that I didn’t know I was capable of. This internship emphasizes the importance of community, as well as the impact we can have on it. Through our community outreach events, I constantly find myself stepping out of my comfort zone by talking to people who are unfamiliar with what we do. I love seeing when community members get excited about the art we are introducing in Watsonville. Recognizing mosaics that I have worked on, and installed on the library walls is such a rewarding experience, I get to see the results of my work. The best part about the mosaics is that they’re there for all of Watsonville to see, everyone gets to appreciate their beauty.

I’m Eleodoro or mostly known as Lolo. I’m 17 years old, and since I started working I have learned many things at the Mosaic Art Center. I learned to use the nipper a little better now and get better straights and curves on the tiles. Also, the scorer is used to score the tile for a straight line. The tile breaker and other stuff like helping clean up at the end by putting everything away and sweeping all the broken tile and dust. I have enjoyed just being here even though I only come to work for 2 hours. It’s still a really good time. The pride was that everything was going to be shown somewhere so you know that your work is being shown to everyone.

While working at the Muzzio I have developed some important skills such as communication, patience, and assisting new volunteers. This internship has taught me these skills and further strengthened others. I’ve enjoyed my time at the muzzio, as a new day passed working at the Muzzio a new person would walk through the doors willing to spend time building art for the community. Art is a great passion of mine, ever since I was young, I would spend hours drawing; therefore, I was excited about the idea of this internship when I first started. Before applying to the Muzzio I remember walking down the street and seeing “Hermanita” for the first time. At the time, I was in a huge Art block with my own art. I wanted to quit doing art but seeing “Hermanita” made me want to try again. Learning new art forms with the Muzzio has been a great pleasure. Whenever I was complimented about the piece I was working on, I felt very proud of myself. Also, walking from school to the Muzzio would also make me proud of myself, seeing all the panels that were up on the Civic Plaza Parking Garage, and just seeing the ones I helped with was quite inspiring to me. Despite still being shy around the other interns, they were all kind and helpful. I hope to continue to work here as much as I can in the future.

Working at the Muzzio with Watsonville Brillante has opened new doors for me. My experience here has helped me develop in my creative pursuit as an artist and it has helped me grow as a young adult contributing to society. I first started working at Watsonville Brillante because I thought it would be a super fun job for me personally since I already love making things, and it would be a chance to work in a new art medium that I hadn’t tried before. I soon learned that being an intern at the Muzzio offered so much more for me and allowed me to flourish in areas where I had and practice skills along the way. Teaching new volunteers how to use the tools and cut and place tiles and informing visitors about our project allowed me to practice essential life skills like communication, patience, and advising others which help prepare me for my future career in teaching.

Throughout my time at the Muzzio, I have felt nothing but welcomed and loved each time I walked into the building. Since becoming an intern, the importance of community has been drilled into my brain; I realized how vital it is for us to take the time to understand and love each other as much as possible. I used to pass by the mosaics around the city and see them as cool paintings until I met Kathleen at the 2022 Strawberry Festival (my first time attending)! I could see the excitement in her eyes when sharing the project and how I was capable of being a part of it. I am forever grateful to Kathleen for allowing me to partake in this amazingly beautiful work. When working on a board, I always made sure to find out who it was representing to stop and think about the details within the artwork. I took pride in knowing that by working on these mosaics,

I’m Mara Reilly, a premed student at UC Santa Cruz studying Global and Community Health! Working at Muzzio allowed me to express my creativity in a way I often cannot do nowadays, as I am so busy studying and working in labs, while also being able to make a difference in a community close to my home! I met Mrs. Crocetti when I was taking her art classes in middle school, and working with her at Muzzio allowed me to rekindle that love for art that she helped me form when I was young. My time at Muzzio taught me that there are still ways for me to express myself creatively, even as such a busy student.

When I first got started working on tile, I never thought of getting this far. I went from being a volunteer to an intern and, finally, a staff. While being here, I learned such skills as how to be a leader, a teacher, a public speaking figure, an assistant, and a hard worker. I have enjoyed working and communicating with lots of different people and positions in life. I love how I learn about different lifestyles and opinions about everything around us. It helped me build my knowledge and ideas. Something I am very proud of is having the ability to handle stressful moments and also the way I learned to be a good employee. Thank you Watsonville Brillante for everything.

Working at the Muzzio Mosaic Arts Center brings me joy. I love how mosaics are being put up in town, we needed more art in this town. It’s satisfying to me to watch the process of making the mosaics and later seeing them go up. It’s truly an honor working here!

Something I learned while working here is to be a bit more patient, I say I learned this because when I first started I would try to get the exact cut on a tile too fast and would end up breaking it whereas now I take my time and do it with patience so as to get a good piece done. Something I enjoyed about working there was the work environment it was always a fun and nice working mood and it felt homey at times. Something that gave me pride about my work there was seeing how much time and hard work other people were putting into it and that made me want to give it my best and I feel like that is what makes me feel really proud about the work we do.

Hello, my name is Jessica Gonzalez. I’m a senior at Watsonville High School. I learned about the Watsonville Brillante project during my freshman year from my art teacher. I heard that they were having a competition for each state of Mexico which sounded interesting. I made my own design for Oaxaca which was selected and later installed on the public library’s garage. Before becoming an intern, I was doing my community hours during my sophomore year. I was welcomed and met wonderful people. Coming to the Muzzio Center has helped me a lot through my high school days. The environment this place has created is such a wonderful feeling. Learning and seeing all these beautiful designs has also helped me as an artist. I started to get more creative with my own personal art. I developed my patience, creativity, problem-solving, and social skills. I became an intern last year, I got to meet more people who also have an interest in art and the community. Knowing your work is being displayed, admired, and making an impact on your community makes me proud and grateful for this opportunity. Seeing all the designs from different cultures coming together makes me very happy since all of them have their own stories and now having them displayed to the public will make others wonder about them.

Hello, my name is Franchesca Hilario, and I am a junior in high school currently doing independent studies. The first time I heard about the Watsonville Brillante project was earlier in the year from my mom. For the past few years, she’s been working with students and people affiliated with UC Santa Cruz on the “Watsonville is in the Heart” project that works to bring representation to the Filipinos in Watsonville, as well as displaying their history, hardships, and contributions that make our community what it is today. The project drew my attention, as I growing up felt highly unrepresented as a Filipino due to the fact that I was often one of the few, if not only Filipinos in my environment whenever I wasn’t with family. I asked my mom how I could help, which is when she told me about the Mosaics at the Muzzio Center and its involvement with “Watsonville is in the Heart”. In the short time I have been an intern, the Muzzio Center has definitely developed my perception of art and the impact that art has on a community.

Something I have learned while working in the Muzzio Mosaic Art Center is that patience is very important when cutting and placing pieces, especially the smaller pieces. I found joy in witnessing the transformation of broken pieces into mesmerizing masterpieces that brought immense satisfaction. I enjoyed many things while working here, the peaceful atmosphere, the kind people and the finished products of the amazing art pieces. I got to learn new techniques, explore my artistic abilities and develop a connection with the craft. Knowing that my work goes to places around the city is what gives me pride in my work.

While working here something I learned was not to be worried about messing up. When I first started working here I was worried at first because I didn’t want to mess up on a board since it was going to go up for everyone to see. However, I realized that messing up wasn’t bad because I could just redo the section I messed up until it was good. I also learned that being patient is important because it takes time to finish a board, especially when it has more detail. If you are not patient it can become stressful working on a board for a long time because it feels like you aren’t making a lot of progress. What I enjoyed about working here was being able to see the boards I was working on completed and installed. I felt pride in the work I did because it’s something that my family and friends can go and see..

My name is Jessica Norris and I am a senior at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. I was an intern for Watsonville Brillante the summer of 2022. This experience brought me closer to the Watsonville community. I was excited to be able to explore new art forms, like creating mosaics and sketching rough designs for potential new mosaics.

Hola, my name is Eli Romero Ortigosa. I’m a current senior at Watsonville High School, and this upcoming fall, I will be attending Stanford University. I started my journey with Watsonville Brillante in the summer of 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. I volunteered in the Summer Camp alongside 3 of my cousins and other volunteers. During that time, I was working in the “Apple Picker.” This design is meaningful for me as it was a learning experience that required my patience, critical thinking, and creativity. Along the way, I learned about Watsonville and its rich cultural aspects. As a new immigrant to this country, learning about Watsonville’s history was essential to familiarize myself with the town. After the summer program, I continued my involvement during community Sundays. My involvement here developed fundamental skills such as problem-solving, collaboration, and commitment. Recently, in the summer of 2023, I started as a paid intern. It is exciting to work here because I enjoy learning about the different cultures that are living and have lived here in Watsonville, all while doing art! It’s heartwarming every time I see my work being displayed for my community. Today, this project has a place in my heart as it fosters a welcoming environment for everyone and me.

Hello, my name is Bella Umeki-Martinez! I am a class of 2024 Watsonville High graduate and will be attending the University of California, Los Angeles this fall majoring in Art! I was introduced to Watsonville Brillante during my sophomore year of high school through their outreach to the art academy at WHS, coincidentally named MOSAIC. After learning about the amazing project going up on the parking garage in downtown Watsonville, I had been volunteering at the center ever since. As a multiracial person myself, who has learned to appreciate every culture in my lineage, I deeply admire the work that has gone into identifying and persevering all the cultures and people that make Watsonville the amazing community that it is. During this summer of 2024, I have had the privilege to be a paid intern doing what I love most: creating art. Not only have I learned more about my community, but I have been able to contribute to the beautification as well as develop fundamental skills such as collaboration, communication, and problem-solving. The Watsonville Brillante Muzzio Mosaic Center will always have a special place in my heart and in this community.