Cruz is a fine art woodworker, living one and a half hours north of Philadelphia. As a leading wood stain artist, she creates artisanal works on two and three dimensional wood substrates.

In this work there is a reverence for the Tree and a conscious-awareness, often creating pieces that give a tree a third iteration of life. Cruz coined this quality as "Wàsayū” (wah-sah-yoo), inspired by Japanese perspectives that contrast to the western view of beauty. This view celebrates the beauty of natural age and passing of time. 'Wàsayū' means: profound grace in obscured transient beauty.

Born in 1972 in the South Bronx, Cruz moved around the United States before settling in New Jersey 
in 1996. At the age of six began drawing in a realist style. Innately drawn to tools and wood finishes, she began working with them at age ten.

Exhibiting her work as early as 1988, she then put herself through school, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Her works are in national and international private collections.

Established in 2014, GrainStain Arts^®, Cruz pioneered and developed her original methods with wood stain as a Fine Art painting medium.