The misspellings pull people away from her work --
and I don't think that's what she wants her work to do

Certainly not, Wordwind.

But before we judge Maria Aquilar, perhaps we should first consider her values [as posted on her website for all patrons of her art to consult before they engage her]:

Installations

Maria believes that the most important elements that should exist in a Public Art Work are the following:

The work must have universal appeal for the users of the site on all levels, intellectual, emotional and spiritual.

The users of the site should be considered at the planning stage.

The visitors to the site must be able to interact with the art at one or more of the aforementioned levels.

http://www.maria-alquilar.com/2level/2installation.html

And, perhaps, we should also consider her background and the inspiration for her work [also published on her website]:

Looking inward to an imaginative world of fantasy inspired by her Latin-American and Russian background, Maria Alquilar creates a personal mythology with universal appeal. ... Maria's richly detailed paintings and sumptuously stained and patinated metal sculpture draw inspiration from Russian Icons and Mexican Retablos They bring together mythic elements from many cultures, transformed by her vivid imagination into strong works that remind one of Rousseau and Frida Kahlo, but are unremittingly her own. Catholic symbolism, animism of tribal cultures and elements of Maria's own history come together in her paintings.

http://www.maria-alquilar.com/

Who is the victim here, friends?

Maria? Or those who commissioned her work without a sympathetic understanding [and anticipation] of her limitations?

What a terrible injustice to a visionary artist!

What a helpless scapegoat of those who have failed her!

I withdraw my recommendation for the "Librarian of the Year Award".

It is the library adminstration which should be scolded and humiliated, not Maria.