Claudia Cano grew up in a suburb of Chicago, Northbrook, in the 1950s and 60s. As a child, she loved art and dreamed of being an artist one day. In high school, Claudia took as many art courses as the school would allow. After graduation, Claudia worked for a year in a fine art gallery a little closer to the city. Paula, the rather eccentric gallery owner, knew that she wished to go to art school, and told her about an art school in Mexico that she knew about from her travels with her pilot husband. Paula sent away for the information and when the school brochure arrived, it was only months later that Claudia found herself at The Instituto Allende, in San Miguel de Allende. Claudia was already nearly fluent in Spanish. The experience would alter her life’s trajectory considerably. 

Claudia continued to express her creativity throughout her life, in various ways. She created batik clothing and wall hangings, pottery, life and still life drawings, while continuing to take art classes over the years. In the early 2000s, she began to create mixed medium works, collage, montage, photage on stretched canvas or various types of paper or board. Often, found objects were included in the pieces.  

Claudia Cano enjoys hiking and since 2020 has mainly focused her art creations using nature as her subject, although other subjects continue to inspire her, as well. The nature photos she takes are usually printed onto linen paper, then worked over with different pencils, pastels, pens and paint to accent the images. Found objects from the forest floor are often added to the frames. The Earth wands are inspired by the magic of the forest. Each piece is unique and one of a kind.  

Claudia Cano has also been a licensed massage therapist for over 30 years. She has taught massage, yoga, movement, and meditation and lead and co-lead workshops for personal growth and healing. In recent years she became certified to practice a water therapy called Watsu and to teach Ai Chi, a form of water exercise.   

Experiencing foreign places has been a love of hers even before her days in Mexico. Claudia has traveled throughout the US, including the Hawaiian Islands, Europe, the Caribbean, and even to an ashram in India. She has lived in Northbrook, Mexico, Atlanta, Charleston, SC, Los Angeles and currently resides in Asheville, NC. Claudia has two grown sons, Michael and Julian Cano.