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Just a quick little update on a new little piece…seems particularly small next to the life-size cholla. I had forgotten what it was like to work on a piece that the finish is so close to the start – far more liberating than working on a piece that takes months and untold hours of planning just to make the design materialize.

So here is the newest piece: Spurred Gentian

You can view more photos of the entire piece as well as other detail shots on my site

In case you’re interested, here’s a photo of the little wildflowers found in Mexico that inspired this piece.

We just returned from our trip to the WTA Biennial inauguration in Oaxaca where El Árbol de las Lamentaciones was on display. Since I never travel with my computer (I don’t believe in needing to be that connected to the virtual world), I am now getting around to posting about our trip. Overall it was very enjoyable and the show was only one highlight.

We took first-class buses for this trip and decided to break up the travel time with a stop in Puebla on our way down to Oaxaca. We arrived early afternoon and had the whole next day and the following morning before we had to catch our bus to Oaxaca. Not a lot of time, but enough time for us to see the amazing Museo Amparo, poke our head into the Catedral de Puebla, wander through the antique stores on Callejón del Sapo and sample the local Tacos de Arabe (my review of the food is in my next post). The Museo was my favorite site of interest.  (Sorry, photos were not allowed.) The collection of pre-hispanic pottery, jewelry, stone carvings and more is definitely a site not worth missing if you’re planning a trip to Puebla. Although not a lot of time on our trip was devoted to this large colonial city, I’m already planning a return “girl’s weekend” to visit the Sunday antiques market on Callejón del Sapo. I suppose the one thing that really endears Puebla to tourists is its “colonial charm,” but we live in a small colonial Mexican town. So, for us the colonial charm is a way of life. However, if you really love colonial architecture but also want city-like energy, Puebla may be a good option for your next trip:)

I love food – good food – and I truly appreciate creative cooking. So, I was really looking forward to tasting all that Puebla and Oaxaca had to offer. Sorry, I don’t have photos for this post, basically because I forget all about photos where food is involved;)

Our first stop: Puebla
Food we most looked forward to trying: Tacos Árabe
(google photos, there are many out there)

First, a caveat: I’m a vegetarian and have been since I was about 8-years old. However, that has never stopped me from being able to find things I can eat even at the most carnivorous of places. Although I’m careful about taco joints and the like (I have been ill from too much animal fats after eating at some places that don’t care about keeping a clean grill or fry surface), I have never run into any place that at least didn’t try to accommodate with whatever ingredients they have to work with – even if that is just cheese, tortillas and salsas. At least I never ran into that situation until Puebla. Specifically at Las Ranas renowned for its tacos árabe…and oh how I wanted to love them.

The árabe bread (a thick pita like you would use for a gyro) was out-of-this-world delicious. It was as good as the gyro bread I use to get in the Greek section of Astoria, Queens NY. However, the tacos are done with a carne pastor; so I asked for a quesadilla made from the pan árabe and if possible with tomatoes, onions and avocado. I could see they had all the ingredients already sliced and behind the fry area, but only a cheese quesadilla was going to be possible because those other ingredients were for tortas. So I figured fine, just charge me for a quesadilla and an avocado, tomato and cheese torta. Take the torta cheese and put it in the quesadilla and give me the avocado and tomato without the torta bun. That wasn’t possible either. LOL, but it was just another “sí, pero no” moment in Mexico. So a cheese quesadilla is what is was:) And BTW the quesadilla was really good, although a little on the bland side, because the bread was amazing. I highly recommend the tacos árabe for all the carnivores, and the love of my life truly enjoyed all of his tacos. If you’re a vegetarian, my advice is go if only to taste the bread, but get your partner to agree to a good dinner, perhaps at La Purificada, as I did;)

Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca – Housed in the beautiful monastery buildings adjoining the Iglesia de Santo Domingo, this is a “not-to-be-missed” museum. A gorgeous green-stone (a local cantera) cloister serves as antechamber to the museum proper, and the surrounding grounds are the meticulously kept Etnobotánico gardens. The museum features Oaxacan artifacts and artwork beginning from pre-Hispanic to colonial and through the independence era. This is also where the treasures discovered in 1932 in Tumba 7 at Monte Albán are on display.

The display of antiquities is amazing but even more impressive is the buildings that house them. Construction of this complex (church, substantial sanctuary and an extensive system of courtyards, cloisters and rooms that formerly constituted the monastery) began in the late 1500’s and was completed over the next 200 years. A full restoration of the complex was completed in 1999 and is a great example of the Baroque style. Almost equally impressive are the surrounding grounds that comprise the Etnobotánico gardens. Below are photos from our time spent wondering the magnificent halls of the monastery and the surrounding grounds as seen from the windows. Unfortunately, our schedule didn’t accommodate to take the tour of the gardens nor did we happen by the church when it was open to see the extensive interior restoration which includes 60,000 sheets of 23.5-k gold leaf, but that leaves us something to look forward to on our next visit to Oaxaca:)

OK, chocolate may not have been originated in Oaxaca specifically, but it was the Aztecs who introduced chocolate to the Spaniards and they who took it to Europe. It is in Oaxaca though that you can find chocolate houses specializing in “table chocolate” and will grind the beans to your specifications of sweetness with or without almonds or cinnamon. I was looking forward to getting my own grind and was told by one of the señoras we met on our bus ride that she thought Mayordomo was the best. The day after arriving in Oaxaca we sought out Mayordomo. The señora warned me to not be taken in by the prepackaged chocolate they try to sell to the tourist – which they did try to sell to me. But after a little persistence the gentleman behind the counter (the chocolate grinder?) was very helpful and ground for me 2 kilos of chocolate, no sugar, with just a hint of almonds. The raw cocoa beans and almonds are placed in the top of the grinder, which runs at such a high pressure and produces such heat that hot chocolate oozes out at the bottom. The richness of taste and smell is truly a Willy Wonka experience. One kilo I’ve been breaking up among friends to try….the other is all mine:)

…well, I am delighted that I was able to be a part of something that was promoted in my “foster” country. I understand that the salons held in Mexico City were larger and more well received, but as for my impression based on the recyclability salon held in Oaxaca, the WTA nor its biennial are as large as perhaps they would have you believe from their web site/online promotion. I could list many things that I would have done differently had I been promoting such a show, but this is not the forum. I have a few images below of a pieces which I admired, but honestly all were difficult to view or photograph properly as the once factory space was lit only by daylight from the windows and florescent ceiling lights – the same used in many large box stores – not exactly great for lighting artwork. As a result all pieces seemed to be silhouetted rather than a featured presence.  The museum in which housed this salon was a great space (Centro de las Artes de San Agustin – CaSA). Originally a textile factory, the buildings and grounds have been beautifully preserved. Unfortunately, it is located 45 minutes outside Oaxaca (not the 15 minutes that was promoted). Other than those who showed up for the inauguration, I can’t imagine many making that trip to see the show during the next two months – I hope I’m wrong. The show will be running through July 28th. If you’re in Oaxaca, you may want to go view the show and other exhibits at CaSA.

I just received confirmation last week that my entry into the WTA 11th Biennial of Contemporary Textile Art has been accepted into the Recyclability Salon hosted in Etla, Oaxaca. The exhibit will run at the CaSA museum from May 28th through July 28th. The life-size cholla cactus, made entirely from recycled clothing, was submitted as “El Árbol de las Lamentaciones / The Wailing Tree” and is representative of a deeper social and political message. The Tree is adorned with the very raw images of soiled and torn panties and bra. These items symbolize an increasingly familiar scene on the borders of Mexico, the US and Central American trafficking routes – the “trophy or rape tree.” This piece is dedicated to the thousands of women, preadolescents to adults who, when crossing borders illegally in search of a better life, are physically brutalized and sexually abused by “coyotes” – as part of their “fee for services” as human transporters.

Each WTA Biennial challenges artists to reflect upon a theme and develop an artwork specifically for the event. This year’s Biennial explores the element AIR which is shared by every living being and unites us all. AIR is nonetheless fragile, easily damaged by the environmental effects of humanity’s “progress” and is perhaps the last remaining “free” resource in our limitless race of production and consumption.

As the worldwide imbalance of wealth and resources grows, large populations of people are marginalized and excluded. This is what I and hundreds of other artists explore in our textile representations of AIR for the WTA Biennial. If you would like to know more about the WTA and the Biennial event please visit their web site: http://www.wta-online.org/

El Árbol de las Lamentaciones / The Wailing Tree

By the time we are women, fear is as familiar to us as air; it is our element. We live in it, we inhale it, we exhale it, and most of the time we do not even notice it.”     — Andrea Dworkin

Every year thousands of women, preadolescents to adults, cross borders illegally for the promise of a better life. Hundreds are brutalized and raped by “coyotes” – a part of their fee for services as human transporters. Often the women and girls are kidnapped and sold into human trafficking. This is not solely a Mexican border problem. Crimes against women are a human problem. What does it say about a society that turns a blind eye to the climate which forces these women to leave behind the life they knew and resigns them to such a fate?

“El Árbol de las Lamentaciones / The Wailing Tree” seeks to draw attention to these abuses of women through the use of an increasingly familiar scene on the borders of Mexico, the US and Central American trafficking routes — the “trophy or rape tree”. With hope, air will flow through these torn remnants carrying the silent prayers from all those, resigned to their fate as women, who seek a better life.

After many months of work, the hanging Cholla cactus is finally complete and professional photos taken for submission to the WTA biennial. To give some scope to the photos the piece is about 7ft tall and 5ft wide and constructed/sculpted completely in the round from discarded fashions found in the markets of Mexico. The spines are whittled from burnt toothpicks  and there are 2,565 spines (give or take a few).

I decided to submit this piece to the WTA in dedication to the many woman who cross borders illegally and the sexual brutality for which they resign themselves when making the journey. The complete dedication and photos for “El Árbol de las Lamentaciones / The Wailing Tree” is in the post “Exhibit in Oaxaca”.

Although I hope this piece finds a home with a buyer willing to maintain the original intent and message of the work, I do understand that some buyers may not appreciate such a depressing political message displayed in their homes. So this set of photos shows how the Cholla may be “dressed” to achieve a more beautiful aesthetic.

The photos were taken by my good friend and awesome photographer Michael Amici…and he was so patient while I dressed this Cholla two ways:) Definitely take a moment to compare this version of the Cholla with “El Árbol de las Lamentaciones.” The change from rebozo to torn panties and bra really changed the atmosphere of the studio when we were shooting. I hope it has the same affect when exhibited.

I’m expecting to have this piece finished by the end of this week. The only thing now to finish is all the spines. Here are just a few photos to show the bloom and spine details. I still have not done a final count of all the pieces sewn to create each joint on the cactus, but each node on each joint receives three spines each. I’m sure the final count will be quite daunting; so I’ll count when it’s finished. Until then I just know I have many more spines to go:) Each spine is made from a burnt toothpick whittled down to a more appropriate width (toothpicks are just a bit too thick to appear menacing). Then small holes are cut into the fabric and each spine is positioned and glued into place. I hope to have the final “professional” shots up within a week or ten days from now. Hasta pronto!

I feel as though I’m always apologizing for not posting more regularly. I sequester myself into the studio and find that time just slips by. Anyway, here are a few photos I took at the beginning of assembly of the large Cholla I’ve been working on for the WTA (World Textile Art) Biennial. I’m much further along now than when these photos were taken and I will try to post an update in the next couple days. This piece has grown…literally. It is now a little over 7 feet tall and just under the maximum width of 78 inches (about 2 meters). Admittedly my studio is relatively small for a piece this size (about 9 ft x 10 ft with 10ft ceilings and the actual working floor space is probably only 7×9 feet). The only way I can take the photos is by standing outside the studio and shooting through the door. However, that means that the only background is my mounds of fabric…a little distracting. Fortunately I have a friend with a large spacious studio with much higher ceilings who is allowing me to use his space for the final shots needed to submit for the show – thank you John:) But I have a little ways yet to go.