i process, i develop

I’m working now, paintings, for a solo exhibition in October.  I have made some obvious changes in both design and process.  
I am also writing about the work…drafting the artist statement that will go along with the exhibit. And I just can’t get into it.  It could be that it’s early. But I am wondering, when does one stop saying so much about their work?  Does the work ever fully speak for itself?  Does it serve a purpose to direct an audience?
In this case, because it’s a solo, I have the opportunity to develop an idea. Also, to develop myself as an artist. I don’t take opportunities lightly.  

When I was in college my teacher Rachelle Thiewes, explained to me that solo exhibitions could be few and far between.  The solo exhibit is such a valuable experience for the artist, she noted.
I am fortunate to have had at least one every few years, in the last decade. They require high levels of commitment and through that commitment a clarity is developed….about the work, the process, and my purpose.  

Will people respond? Yes, they will. How? This remains to be seen, some people will connect and others will not. Though I recognize my development,  I will only know the success of the series when I see it in the gallery space. And when it has an audience, I will learn more.
I have only really started to enjoy exhibition openings as of lately, both group and solo. This too, learning to enjoy the events, can only come with experience. I need the experience to fully realize.

I will put a brief statement together this time.  After all, the exhibit will be at the college where I teach.  I educate and inform…I become educated and I am formed. I hope to be allowed to fully form, to fully develop…and to fully appreciate the process.

whew….

…that was fun.

phantom sightings and locals only

Phantom Sightings, Art after the Chicano Movement will open next weekend at the The Phoenix Art Museum. This exhibit consists of 120 works of art by 32 artists including painting, sculpture, installation, video, performance and mixed media works. The title alludes to artist and cultural commentator Harry Gamboa Jr. describing Chicanos as constituting a “phantom culture” within American society – largely unperceived, unrecognized and uncredited by the mainstream.

The LA Times calls the exhibit provocative, fanciful, [and] stunning. 

 

This is the largest exhibition of Chicano art ever presented at the museum and will be complemented by an installation of Arizona artists working locally who deal with similar themes and issues.
Locals Only showcases 12 valley artists whose work in different media (paint, print, and sculpture) deal with issues of identity, the tension between high and low culture, and the shifts between representational and conceptual art practices.  
Artist included are Claudio Dicochea, Fausto Fernandez (also in AZ Biennial 09), Luis Gutierrez, Annie Lopez, Melissa Martinez, Martin Moreno, Hector Ruiz, Roy Wasson Valle and Dose, Lalo Cota and Mykil ZEPata, and myself.

Below are of a few of the works that can be seen in the Locals Only exhibition.  Click on highlighted names to go to individual website/blog.

 

 

I will show 5 small mixed media and collage works, one of which is…

Freedom
Mixed Media work on BFK Rag Paper 
(Drawing/Painting image onto an Intaglio Print)
10″ x  8”
2008-09

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Annie Lopez
 ”The First White Woman” from the series,
 ”The Almost Real History of Art in Phoenix”
 Cyanotype Print 
 18″x21″
 2007

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

Fausto Fernandez
 Demographic Fabric of America 
 Collage, Spray paint, Asphalt  and Acrylic on canvas
 6′x9′
 2009

 

 

 

 

Luis Gutierrez
Captain America is off balance
Acrylic on Canvas
5′ x 4 1/2′ 
2007 

 

 

 

 

 

Roy Wasson Valle
Laborin Colorado
(2008).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Phantom Sightings opens to the public Sunday, July 12 and runs thru Sunday, September 20.
Locals Only opens same day July 12th, and runs thru Wednesday, October 21st.
Click on Phoenix Art Museum for all scheduled events and lectures to run with these exhibits.

arizona biennial 09

Arizona Biennial ‘09 will be held at the  Tucson Museum of Art in Tucson, AZ., July 11 – September 26, 2009.
Guest juror: Tim Rodgers, the Chief Curator at the New Mexico Museum of Art.
Brief Description: ‘Not only does this exhibition highlight some of the most innovative art created in this state, but it showcases the subtle shifts in imagery, stylistic impulses, and conceptual foundations to reveal how Arizona’s artistic community participates in the broad dialogue of contemporary art.’

411 artists entered, 44 were selected.  The exhibit consists of 50 works, including video. 
Here are only a few examples, including my own…of those subtle shifts in imagery, stylistic impulses and conceptual foundations…
Catch it in person if you get the chance. 

Click on highlighted artists name to visit web sites.

 

 

From my current body of work,
A Constant Vital Commotion.

 

Vital Commotion #2
Mixed Media on Canvas
35″ x 45″
2009

 

 

 

 

Phoenix artist James Angel.

Urban Explosion
AOP
48″x 52″
2007

 

 

 

 

 

 

And Tucson’s Melinda Esparza

Hill on a Snowy Day
Oil on Canvas
 9″ x 12″
2009

 

 

 

 

Tempe’s Grant Wiggins

Open System
Acrylic on Canvas
60″x60″
2009

 

 

 

 

 

Fausto Fernandez
Machine for perpetual motion
47″ x 96″
2009 

 

 

 

To read more about AZ Biennial 09 click on links below.
Tucson New release
Tucson Citizen.com

i am, yo soy

 
I Am, Yo Soy

Outsiders Within’ art exhibit helps dispose of labels
by Georgann Yara – Jun. 19, 2009 04:16 PM
A Special for the Republic

Click here to read the article.

There will be a closing reception.
6 – 8 p.m., Thurs., July 2
It is Free to the public.
Two performances by local band Radio Healer lead by artist and musician Randy Kemp.

About this article: I didn’t really specify what people’s expectations are of my work. I didn’t mention Diego nor colorful flowers. This is the reporters take on the conversation. I am not really sure what people expect of me.  That’s a good thing. 
I do like the article, it discusses the exhibition, and it’s purpose.

An interesting read…that my friend Michele pointed me towards… 

Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity, by Hugh MacLeod.

There was a free pdf on the web site.  I was able to download it a few weeks ago. The book has been released since then, not sure if the pdf is still available. 

How To Be Creative

On another note…I am going to paint a Labyrinth in my front yard….working out design details.

602/480/623: locals only

so…I plan to stay focused on making and exhibiting work this summer. No lectures, no workshops. Choosing…to wear my studio artist mask…that’s all-right for now.

La Persona, mm media intaglio print, 2009

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I mentioned the traveling exhibition Phantom Sightings: Art After the Chicano Movement will be on view at the Phoenix Art Museum. The opening party is scheduled for Saturday, July 11.  And opens to the public on July 12th. From soft sculpture full-size cars made from colorful vinyl to photographs of a break dancing performance on a flat floor sculpture by Minimalist artist Carl Andre, Phantom Sightings explores the experimental tendencies of a younger generation of contemporary American artists with cultural ties to Mexico and Latin America. The works included in the exhibition are orientated less toward traditional media such as painting and sculpture, and more toward conceptual art, performance, photography, media-based art and “stealthy” artistic interventions in urban spaces.

Sara Cochran plans a local component to run in conjunction with this main exhibition, titled  602/480/623: Locals Only. She has visited studios and has chosen 10 area artists and their works. Five of my mixed media prints will be presented. As well as the works of 9 other artists including Annie Lopez, Melissa Martinez, Hector Ruiz,  and Martin Moreno. For those of you that might not know, the numbers 602/480/623 are area phone prefixes. This local component is not meant to be in response to the main exhibit. It is meant to run concurrently so as to provide an interesting context in which the work can be experienced. 

My series of intaglio prints that will be on view are all new works. They are hand painted, include text, and in some cases are altered with collage. Materials include ink, casein, egg tempera, graphite and crayon. They are small, intimate self-portraits that concern themselves with the complexities of being human, being female, being American of Mexican ancestry, being a physical body and having a busy mind (that prefers to be quiet). Most especially, the prints deal with being a creative spirit who questions experiences, perceptions and beliefs…my own and others. I do so with some philosophical ease and visual humor. I want to incite others to do the same. As usual the work is inspired by the basic questions I move thru life asking …Who am I?  What am I? What is this world? And what is my relationship to it?

the being of an artist

I find myself in the midst of some exciting opportunities. I’m only a bit overwhelmed by some of it.

self-sustaining confusion, mixed media print

I’ve shared that my work is currently showing in a group exhibition at the Tempe Center for the Arts (Outsider Within), closing date is July 3rd. I have press commitments for the exhibit tomorrow. And then maybe some more press to follow at another point in time, about upcoming personal projects.

I was selected to the juried exhibition,the Arizona Biennial 09, at the Tucson Museum of Art. The opening is July 10th, 2009. They’ve invited me, along with 4 other artists, to give a short lecture the day after the opening on July 11th at 1:00. The same evening the Phoenix Art Museum will open Phantom Sightings: Art after the Chicano Movement. This is a cutting edge traveling exhibition that will make a stop here in the valley. It will run thru September 20th. The content is sure to be provocative. 

Sara Cochran, the contemporary curator at the Phoenix Art Museum, and her intern, Kate Hyde paid a visit to my studio recently.  Out of it came an invitation to participate in the local component of the Phoenix exhibit. The local component will open the same evening and it will run thru Oct 21st.  Kathryn Blake the education director, has asked if I might be interested in facilitating a couple of printing workshops during the run of the exhibit.

And…yes, I am preparing for a solo at Phoenix College, opening October of 2009. I planned to spend my summer simply focused on completing a few more paintings and finding some sound for it…

I naturally wonder how much should I participate.  I want to do all of it, of course, these are all worthwhile experiences. I also want to keep the quality of my work and working process in tact. Wish there was more beings of me…one being to deal with the framing and practicalities of things, one being to paint, lecture and teach, and one being to observe and enjoy.

Maybe there is a being to participate in all of this activity fully.  One never knows until one really knows. Let’s see what I decide to actually do…time will inform me. And then I will inform you.

progressing

I am spending the summer completing a few more paintings and drawings for a solo exhibition this coming Fall. The gallery has a quality sound system. I want to use it.

vital commotion

The title of the exhibit is A Constant Vital Commotion. The series of paintings, drawings and prints is near completion…well maybe for this particular exhibit it’s near completion. I am looking for sound. I have never considered sound, it’s a new element for me. How will it support the work? How will the audience respond? 

One time I asked contemporary dancers to perform for an opening reception of a solo exhibition. They filled the space with loud music. They interpreted the content of the work, the vices and the virtues, and moved themselves as the various characters, into the gallery space.  I wanted them to interact with the audience as opposed to perform for them.  Though I concluded it was a performance.  It was a learning experience for all of us.  I enjoyed working with the group, they were receptive, we clearly collaborated. They rehearsed and knew only as much as pre opening rehearsal can allow. The space was too small or the audience was too many, it was a First Friday event in downtown Phoenix…you can imagine. The audience stayed on one side of the gallery while the dancers moved in front of the work.  Eventually a few brave visitors walked into the space to see the work. Because of the rhythmic inflow of visitors they would finish, break and begin again. I know that if I ever do that again, and I would like too, it will have to be the right space, with right flow.

Now I have this opportunity…to use sound. I am thinking about the experience a bit more this time.  What do I want exactly? I want sound, maybe noise, to run not only for the duration of the opening reception but thru the entire run of the exhibit. Constant.  I want the sounds, the noises to lightly impress upon the audience’s thoughts.  
I want it to be ambient sound, subtle, electrical and visceral noise, suggestive of the inside of the body and mind. Or at least what I imagine the inside of the body and mind might sound like. I want air travelling, digestion taking place, rhythm of heart, of blood moving thru arteries and veins…synaptic pulses?…is that correct?  Anyway, it’s what I’m looking for.

I found something on YouTube and contacted the group, who is out of San Diego. Robert, the musician who responded, is receptive to what I want to do. So I am listening to some of his work and thinking…thinking and listening. What he has could be exactly what I want. I don’t know just yet. I am also going to search locally. There could be some musicians right here in Phoenix.

Exciting…a new element coming into the picture.  I need to stay focused on the present but some part of me is already considering…maybe next time…sound and video. I would’ve considered video this time, if most of the work was not complete.  One thing leads to another, that’s how all of this works. Right now…the focus is to finish the work and find the sound. I like what I do…there are nerve wrecking moments, it’s true, never are they dull.

Sounds of Cultura

 

This afternoon I received an email from Michelle Dock, gallery coordinator at the Tempe Center for the Arts. She sent along a link from a local PBS station talking about the current running exhibition Outsiders Within. The exhibit showcases work from over 17 artists with diverse cultural backgrounds, including my own work that she sits in front of as she speaks.  Click here to see the video.

 

The exhibit runs to July 3rd. Click here to go to Exhibitions at the TCA web site, for more info.

This week I am finishing up the last of a number of commissions that I’ve been working on for the last 6 months plus. When I get done with this one painting, I will return to working on my own more personal work. I am preparing for a solo this coming October at the new Phoenix College fine arts gallery. I have much to yet complete. Here’s a sneak peek…

 

Vital Commotion

another ex-voto

 

Margarita left a message on my answering machine last summer. My siblings and I  would like to commission you to create an ex- voto for Dolores. Call me.
This is the beginning of a lively creative process with the Marquez family. Before the work is complete, about 9 months later, I hear memories, events, and stories about my friend Dolores. I learn about the strong Marquez family connection.
The siblings had already commissioned an ex-voto from me, in celebration of the 50th wedding anniversary  of their parents. This new one will be in thanks and celebration of Dolores’s 50th birthday.  I want input from all of them. The process begins one way, and ends in another. Busy energetic picture becomes clear intimate portrait. 

Margarita begins: I have been praying and thinking about the gift for Dolores. Thoughts that come to mind…Her children, Elisa and Jose, are very special to her. As are Family, the Arts, wines, good book, gathering with women, simple, elegant, classy, colorful art. 

Leo’s organized and detailed addition follows:
The “royalty” photo  of Dolores and her sisters as the center of the piece, with the four sisters  pointing to her <<ELISA,  please attempt to steal photograph, photocopy, then return to your  Mom’s desk…cue Pink Panther music>>.  
Elisa is Dolores’s oldest daughter.  We are instigating thievery, but I am certain Dolores supports the Pink Panther twist.

my processing all the info

Mom and  Dad’s wedding picture or otherwise symbolized.  Elisa and Jose on the  Brophy (family) chair.  The crown with jewels, of course,  since the artist dreamed about it.  
I’d dreamt about Dolores being handed a jeweled crown. The crown symbolizes honor, position, and also transition. It’s appropriate. 
Leo continues, Our Lady of Sorrows (for Dolores) or  Our Lady of Guadalupe (for Latin America).  
I knew ‘Our Lady of Sorrows’ would be in the image, the connecting element to the first ex vote.
Other images:  musical notes and treble clef, books (authors Allende and Alvarez for sure, which others?), Latin American folk art (papel  picado, ceramic cross, paper flowers, Frida, etc.), passport or bus or  airplane for travel (overloaded Mexican bus might be fun), wine, coffee,  Scrabble (since she is a woman of letters). 
A woman of  letters? Wonder what this means?
Leo goes on, Other  themes:
Independence (orange Volkswagen??  Keys (could be car, could be apartment)
Indignity (starting  at age 11 months with birth of twins, beginning her  ”reign”)
Beauty (she taught  the rest of us about makeup and high heels)
About the shoes…I learn, on a visit to Dolores’s home, she has many of them. I say to her, Wow…you sure do own lots of shoes! She replies, with a smile, I love shoes! Intrigues me. I have mixed feelings about shoes. A free foot is a happy foot, but a cool shoe, is after-all, a cool shoe.
Leo continues:
Culture (museums,  docent stuff)
Music (recorded,  live)
Girlfriends (very  important to her, starting with the 5 in her immediate  family)
Leo is organized, I’m impressed. Margarita indicates many of these same symbols in our conversations.

Aurthur chimes in:
If there was a way to include the picture of Dolores as a toddler digging into the can of Nestlé’s chocolate mix…. Ok, maybe not for an ex voto…
…and about the “smelly boys”?  I’ll have you know that I took no less than 5 baths last month, at least two of them willingly…  a new record!
One of the sisters had made reference to the “2 smelly boys,” the 2 brothers. Should I get permission to include the comment here? Nah! Anyone with a brother gets it.

content forming

Mom and Dad contribute prayer, an important element in an ex-voto,
Thank you Dear Lord for the gift of our beautiful  Dolores.  Everthing she is reflects Your Goodness.
or
Thank you Dear Lord for the gift of Dolores.  Her life reflects Your Goodness.
A combination of the two goes into the art.

Mom notes: For Michael we can use the Volkswagen with a Marathon Run’s sign and traveling labels since he’s traveled to Mexico, South America and Europe. For Arthur, we can use Scrabble and a computer. The computer is his really passion and love.

Lots of ideas and images. The composition is active. I gather all information and make a decision. Simplify. Rather than include everyone as figures and stories into the ex voto, I will represent each one as a symbol. The figure of Dolores will be the focal point. It will become a puzzle for her to piece together. I inform the Marquez clan about the change and ask each to send me a symbol representing themselves. I don’t want them to discuss their choice with anyone. All of them will be surprised.

Gathering up this second round of information is as interesting and amusing as prior communication. The set up is clear and specific. 
Mrs. Marquez’s sends out the word. It’s her blessing for my new idea…. 

Hi Monica and my children and grands,
You have been very patient with us trying to get our ideas.  I think that the artist should be given the freedom to create and not be hindered by ‘opinons’ or whatever from us.  Giving you ideas is ok but  us trying to guide you may not be in our or your best interest.  I say let us give you the symbols of each and you run with it, we have “helped” you enough.  The Good Lord has blessed you with lots of creative juices…go to it girl!!
It’s signed, THE MATRIARCH HAS SPOKEN!

Ahhhh….the power.

Margarita: My mom is soooo funny and truthful!!!!  My image is one of two things…  a sewing machine or a piece of fabric with needle & thread.

Arthur

Arthur: Dolores and I love to play Scrabble.  A Scrabble tile or two would be a perfect symbol for me. BTW, I love the idea of symbols for each of us…

 

Leo:

Leo

In the past 10 years or so, I’ve become somewhat famous, in Marquez circles, for my stick people.  For the 40th birthday parties or for other celebrations in my family, I’ve retold stories using my stick people.   

 

 

 

Martha:  I am a Registered Nurse.  The symbols I thought about were an oil lamp, candle, or healing hands.  I educate patients and promote natural remedies like good nutrition, exercise, massage, and change in thought to uplifting positive thinking.  The glowing hands might symbolize me the best. 

Patty

 Patty:  I wanted to use boots like shown here in black but make them pink like in the other picture.  I LOVE pink.  The “boots” are when we went on a trip together and I was SO excited that I got some boots.  (long story but Dolores knows) .

Dad:  For my symbol, use a lightning strike, for electrical engineering.

Mom: My symbol can be 5 little somethings and 2 little somethings representing the 7 kids, since that is all I did for the first 20 plus years of our marriage OR a  cane to represent my work in the field of aging.  Use whatever fits for your creation.
I chose the 7 little somethings (stars, inspired from Sandy Brophy’s needlepoint). 

Michael is last but not least. A man of few words.  A VW is fine for me. Said and done.

This is exactly how this ex-voto came to be.

I include things from my own memory of Dolores. The dress, a reminder of the first time we connect here in Phoenix.  She arrives to one of my art openings dressed very elegantly, in black. The luminarios, I admire a string of them across her back door. The photo collage of her mom and dad, in the upper left corner, is from the anniversary invitation. Her kids, Elisa and Jose,  painted in as she is, are central to her life. Her home, the final design of the ex voto, represents sacred space. Family in book representation, clearly the book ends on either side of her, support from beginning to end. 

The original image of Dolores presented her in long hair. Having already completed her in the work, one Saturday afternoon in February she came to dinner. She arrived with a new hairdo!  I’d hid the ex-voto, as well as all the photos and notes before she arrived to our home so she would know nothing. A secret. The day after the dinner I redid her hair in the artwork. It was a slight retouch, indicating the ex-voto was on its way to its current completion.
She’s cut her hair again since then.  Transition…it’s what life is all about.

Happy Birthday Dolores.

last drawing critique of the semester

I usually have to slow students down. This semester I didn’t struggle with this at all. This class worked slowly and carefully. And…they even appeared to appreciate the classical music I fill the classroom with.  
In yoga, one begins to understand though postures may appear effortless, they require a certain level of mental and physical skill. A steady practitioner makes every pose look graceful. I often drew this analogy with many of the students in this particular group. They made things appear very effortless. I wondered if I was challenging them enough. I did ask. Everyone let me know it was not easy. All I can assume is that they must have enjoyed both the challenges and the successes. 

We held the final critique of the semester this week. Drawing 1 learned about local value. And it was also their first full charcoal study. The subject matter…cloth with lots of color (value) and pattern.  
Drawing 2 and 3’s  assignment was to copy a Master’s drawing. 

Sandra's Da Vinci

 

Raquel's Van Gogh

 

Sharoyd's Degas

The work was impressive…all of it…really. 

Have a great summer…hope you keep drawing.

self-sustaining confusion

Confusion is the prelude to adventure…to our Colombian daughter from Dave and Dominique.

A/P, Self Sustaining Confusion, MAM

Can you include this inscription in the print? Dominique asks. Sure, I can. 

I’d met Maria Adelaida a couple of times before the art opening. She has an eagerness to her. Exuberant. Honest and open. A bit of shyness. Colombian. Big brown eyes. I notice them as she looks closely at my work. She is curious. She connects to a small print, the more intimate of the five works she’d been observing. Her body language tells me she is stirred. I walk over to where she stands.

The work is a mixed media, collage print titled Self-Sustaining Confusion. The title comes from physicist David Bohm’s book On Creativity.  The phrase is his. The text within the composition derives from an NPR interview I happened to be listening to the afternoon I painted the first pull of the edition. The interview was with a scientist who discusses the chemistry of the brain at various states of awareness (or lack of).

The print resonates with her. She reacts emotionally then intellectually. It seems the composition allows her to clarify and put into words a general emotional state that had recently consumed her. I listen and I watch her hands as they point out detail. She tells of how weeks before, she had been confused and uncertain…she felt…like this! she says as she points to the image. I explain the intricacy is deliberate, none of it random. 

Confusion is natural, now and again, especially when one is presented with new opportunities and/or new challenges.  It can, in fact, be a part of the creative process. It will last as long as one allows it too.  She gets it. And she shows relief. I quietly wonder if she realizes how valuable this moment is to me.

dry pointed copper plate

 

Later that evening, after watching Maria Adelaida respond to the work, Dominique asks if I have another print. Yes. I believe I do.  And if I don’t, I know I can pull one. The copper plate is still in good condition. She wants to purchase a print for Maria Adelaida. She explains her friend is leaving the country on May 14. Very soon she will travel to Colombia to visit with family, then to Berlin to begin a post graduate degree. Ahhh! I understand more clearly the confusion and stress in the weeks before.

pull a few prints

 

 

 

I get on the print fairly quickly as the next day I realize I have to pull a new one. I pick the best run of the afternoon, and within a few days I am applying collage and painting in design. Though I am working from a photograph of the original, each work is a one of a kind print. They resemble each other, but never exactly.

 

collage and paint

Maria Adelaida Duque Correa will be moving on.  She came to the Mayo clinic in Scottsdale for a research intern position, in the immunology lab.  By the time she receives this gift of art, she will be closer to the end of this chapter in her story. The next will find her at the Max Plank Institute in Berlin where she begins work on a PhD in Immunology.  
Here! Here! To a very temporary state of confusion that clearly leads Maria Adelaida closer to her next adventure.

Esto será muy bueno para ti Maria Adelaida. ¡Mis mejores deseos! Ich möchte Dir alles Beste wünschen!

6/15, Self-Sustaining Confusion, MAM

maker of light

Light. Warmth. Power. 

I look up Aztec sun god, there are numerous ones. Briefly, the mythology identifies 5 suns each one representing one of the 5 ages.
Tezcatlipoca (smoking mirror) was the first god to be a sun.
His replacement is Quetzalcoatl (feathered serpent), who becomes the next sun.
Tlaloc,  god of rain,  follows.
Then comes the Aztec sun goddess – Tlaloc’s sister, Chalchiuhtlicue. She is chosen next ruler of the sky.
Nanauatl the humble god, is the final Aztec sun god.  He is given the name Tonatuih.  It is Tonatuih’s face that many believe to be on the Aztec calendar stone.
And depending on which version of the story you read, the god Ehecatl (the god of wind) is also one of the sun gods.

Continue into Mayan mythology where Kinich Ahau is the sun god. He is the patron god of the city Itzamal and is said to visit the city at noon everday. Kinich Ahau  wears the symbol of Kin, a Mayan day. Kinich Ahau is also know by the name Ah Xoc Kin, associated with poetry and music.

In Greek mythology the sun is personified as Helios.  Helios is depicted as a handsome god crowned with the shining aureole of the sun, who drives the chariot of the sun across the sky each day, circling the earth. In time Helios is identified with the god of light, Apollo.
The equivalent of Helios in Roman mythology is Sol, specifically Sol Invictus, also known as the unconquered sun.  
Egyptian mythology introduces us to Ra (or Re),the sun god. He is the supreme power in the universe. The giver of life.
In Hinduism, Surya is the chief solar deity. Surya refers to the Sun, in general. Surya has hair and arms of gold. Surya drives through the heaven in his triumphal chariot harnessed by seven horses or one horse with seven heads  He presides over “Surya-waar” or Sunday. Surya Namaskara is a yogic sun salutation.

My research finds numerous mythologies, numerous sun gods.

Then I come across Awonawilona of Pueblo Indian mythology.  The One Who Contains Everything. Before the creation there was only Awonawilona; all else was darkness and emptiness.  Awonawilona created everything from himself and taking form became the maker of light, the Sun. 

I find what I am looking for…Maker of the Light becomes him.

on a vision quest

Lawrence at 10 years old

I’ve known of Lawrence since he was a child because he is my nephew Manuel’s buddy. Lawrence is blind. He lives in El Paso, Texas, my home town. And attends El Paso high school, my old stomping grounds. I had a chance to better acquaint myself with him and his family in July of 2003, when they were in Phoenix, and dropped in to visit my studio.

His grandmother saw some newly completed masks on my walls. At the time I was working on creating a workshop, so I could apply to the Artist Roster at the Arizona Commission on the Arts. She asked if I could come to her school and work with her teachers. She was the principal of Vilas elementary at the time. She thought it would be great if I could teach her faculty the process and they could in turn work with their kids in the upcoming school year. The whole faculty would be involved. I jumped at the opportunity.

By August I was headed to El Paso, to my old neighborhood in fact, to teach a mask making In Service for teachers. The 2 day workshop was successful. I enjoyed all the staff and spent some time with family and friends, and then returned to Phoenix with a very full experience from which to complete the design of my current mask making workshop, The Who Am I Project.

In the process I worked with Lawrence. I made a mask of him at the request of his grandparents. I painted it. He informed me of his color choices, black and white he said. and he specifically asked if I could add African designs. He is of mixed descent, Hispanic and African American. I wondered how he understood color and how would he know an African design say… from Native American design? He answered my questions by simple description. I was impressed. I knew I would make the mask tactile so he could experience it with his hands.

interior of mask, representing a rich internal life

He got excited about the completed work, which I delivered. Why am I telling you about Lawrence?

Lawrence was born with Optic Nerve Hypoplasia. His optic nerve never developed and he has been blind since birth. Recently his family learned of the Shenzhen Beike Biotechnology Company, Ltd. located in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. This company has partnered with leading scientists, prestigious hospitals across China, and over 250 doctors specializing in delivering stem cell therapy to treat neurological and other ailments.

After researching the company and speaking with two patients who have had very positive results with the treatment, his mother submitted the necessary application requesting treatment for Lawrence. She received a letter of acceptance in March. The doctors in the medical department at Shenzhen Beike Biotechnology Company, Ltd. feel confident that Lawrence’s Optic Nerve Hypoplasia can be treated successfully.

His mom, an El Paso elementary school teacher, has taken action to raise the funds.

My husband really wanted to help out. We decided to donate an artwork to the cause. Hank, over at the Art Center on Yandell street (and my one time employer) agreed to donate the framing.

Musical Colors

If you are inclined to contribute, you can donate $10.00. By doing so your name will be entered into a drawing to win this 36″ x 24″, mixed media, framed and matted, painting on paper work I have designed. A name will be drawn at the end of May.

You can send a check payable to Lawrence Brown, for the $10.00. Include your name, address and contact info and mail to: 

Georgina A. Brown       
4349 N. Stanton Street
El Paso, Texas 79902
Questions? email Goergina

Or you can donate directly to a fund set up for Lawrence Brown III, at any Wells Fargo Bank, Account Number 7579914230.  As of this posting, they have acquired over half the funds. 

To read more about Lawrence and this procedure, click here.

Update: click here.

*On a side note, I have since continued to teach the Who Am I ? Project across the valley, to adults and kids alike.

UPDATE: Posted on June 11, 2009: Winner of the painting is Mr. Jon Bardouché. He is a world geography teacher at El Paso High. Congrats Mr. Jon Bardouché!

Thanks everyone.  

opening night

at front entrance of gallery

The plan was to take photos of  art works. But it never happened.

The opening began with a private reception for Tempe Center for the Arts members and the exhibiting artists to acquaint themselves. This was followed by the public reception. I never even made it beyond a certain area in the gallery.  I saw lots of friends. And some of my students, past and present.  And I also met people who wanted to share their thoughts about my work, or hear my thoughts concerning their questions.  

I never got to thank Michelle Dock, the gallery coordinator,and her staff, for the evening. But I will. It was a full house, and it was fun.  I plan to return soon, and see the exhibit in its entirety. Openings are very external events for me. When I go back, I will spend time with the work and allow it to sink in. For now, I can just say the evening is a memorable one.