[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 85 (Wednesday, May 18, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E522]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  TRIBUTE TO PATRICIA PEREZ--28TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT WOMAN OF THE 
                                  YEAR

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ADAM B. SCHIFF

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 18, 2022

  Mr. SCHIFF. Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of Women's History 
Month. Each year, we pay special tribute to the contributions and 
sacrifices made by our Nation's women. It is an honor to pay homage to 
outstanding women who are making a difference in my Congressional 
District. I would like to recognize a remarkable woman, Patricia Perez 
of Elysian Valley, a unique neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.
  Born and raised in Los Angeles, with longtime family roots in the 
city, Patricia Perez's passion and life has been about art. In her 
youth, she learned about pottery on the Laguna Pueblo reservation in 
New Mexico, and while in high school, she had the opportunity to 
participate in art classes at a renowned Frank Lloyd Wright home in Los 
Angeles.
  In the early 1970's, Patricia taught children at Self Help Graphics & 
Art, an art studio at the intersection of arts practice and social 
justice dedicated to fostering the creation and advancement of art 
works by Chicana/o and Latinx artists, and a catalyst for cultural 
traditions, preservation, and restoration through the arts. Ms. Perez 
attended Los Angeles City College, the Pacific Institute of Commercial 
Art, and the Otis Art Institute of Los Angeles County, now known as the 
Otis College of Art and Design, from which she graduated in 1976 with a 
Bachelor of Arts in Painting and a minor in sculpture, Patricia's art 
training also included studying art history abroad in France and Spain. 
In addition to creating her own art, she also worked with Milton 
Williams Catering and high-end interior designers.
  Patricia is a multi-medium artist, working in acrylics, ink washes, 
pencils, crayons, fabrics, recycled materials, and earth. She has been 
a long-time volunteer judge for the 28th Congressional District Art 
Competition and is an active contributor in her distinctive Los Angeles 
community known as Elysian Valley or ``Frogtown.'' Ms. Perez is Vice 
President of the Elysian Valley Arts Collective and opens up her home 
as a gallery during the annual Frogtown Artwalk. Teaching art classes 
in her community brings her great joy, as, in her words, she has lived 
her life through the arts and enjoys sharing it with others.
  I ask all Members to join me in honoring this exceptional, well-
respected woman of California's 28th Congressional District, Patricia 
Perez.

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