“We are a group of over 60 Native American and Latina women artists and poets who are to be featured in the forthcoming anthology, Turtle Island to Abya Yala. Our goal is to raise funds to print this book in full color and in a way that is environmentally safe.
For this project, indigenous women artists were asked to submit visual art and poetry that addresses the theme of love. Many issues were addressed through the selected pieces: healing from intergenerational wounds of genocide, racism, Christianity and Catholicism, domestic violence, incest, alcoholism and drug addiction, violence and death of women along the U.S. border, to the celebration of Two-Spirit relationships, sensuality, cultural resiliency and affirmation, Mother Earth and our responsibility to take care of her, remembering the stories of our elders and practicing traditional ways.
Poets and artists featured in the forthcoming book include: Margaret “Quica” Alarcon, Adelina Anthony, Cathy Arellano, Natasha Beeds, Natalie Bell, LeAndra Bitsie, Maylei Blackwell, Nanette Bradley Deetz, Robin Carneen, Melanie Cervantes, Alethea Chamberlain, Melanie Chan, Pamela “EYA” Chavez, Maya Chinchilla, Cihuatl-Ce, Susana “Sonji” Figueroa, Alapay Baa-Hozho Flores, Margarita Alex Flores, Jennifer Elise Foerster, Raven Fonseca, Happy Frejo, Gabriela Garcia Medina, Karina González Amaya, Reva Mariah Gover, Sonia Gutiérrez, Celeste Guzman Mendoza, Nayeli Guzmán, Melanie Printup Hope, Lillian Jackson, Marjorie Jensen, Rosa M. Hernández, ire’ne lara silva, Jaynie Lara (Weye Hlapsi), Kristina 
Lovato-Hermann, Celeste De Luna, Luna Maia, Nancy Magdaleno, Celia Monge Mana, Griselda Liz Muñoz, Sharah Nieto, Amparo Ochoa, Sara Marie Ortiz, Alejandra Oseguera, Pennie Opal Plant, Brianna Lea Pruett, Naomi Quiñonez, Maria Gisella Ramirez, Cassandra P. Rendon, Gabriela Spears Rico, annie ross, Kanyon Sayers-Roods, Kim Shuck, SistaHailstorm, Cinnamon Spear, Nazbah Tom, Theresa Turmel, Mica Valdez, Linda Vallejo, Vickie Vértiz, Martha Villa, Lela Northcross Wakely, Amy JB Wagner, and Sherry Wilson. Cover artwork by Nayeli Guzman.”
I feel so honored and happy to have been part of this amazing project. I remember getting an email about 3 years ago and I got all excited and quickly replied with an email of three of my images, “Celeste Quetzalli” “Floreciendo” and something else that I can’t remember. I followed through the progress of this project coming a reality. It felt so great to hold the book and find my artwork in it as well as my short bio. Thank you so much ladies for your great efforts and for including my humble work as part of this awesome book. Here’s a photo of me holding the anthology and another one of me showing my published painting of “Celeste Quetzalli” who in fact is a portrait of my daughter Celeste Quetzalli when she was 2 years old. Mil Gracias!!!
I took a painting class with well known artist/muralist Juana Alicia this semester. I tried different approaches and worked outside of my comfort zone which gave me some interesting results. I started of with the black and white flower which I later decided to add some color glazes in magenta and green aqua to. I then later created the landscape painting inspired in the Berkeley Botanical Garden, I did some watercolor thumpnails and also took photographs and this is what I came up with. I then had to do a portrait of someone and ended up doing two painting, one of my two kids riding a fictitious turtle and another one of my son Leonardo. I also did a lot more watercolor than I usually do, which I really enjoyed. I did a small watercolor of Frida in a modified way, with her loose hair and nursing a baby. I also had to create a surrealist painting and I chose my hubby as my subject, but that’s still in progress so that’s why I’m not showing it here. Finally, I created the stencil project of a self portrait and a power animal, for which I chose Xochiquetzal, (flower feather) goddess of love and so many other things.
What I enjoyed the most about this experience was working larger than I usually do. Most of my canvases where bigger than 24″ in any dimension. I really loved working on plywood also and I’m actually thinking of painting on wood for the next few months, I love the smooth texture. I’m also very glad I’ve taken the digital photography class twice now, because thanks to that I was able to do some work on Photoshop before I started my paintings and after, so it’s really helping me keep track of my work and have some good quality digital images of it.
I feel that whenever I go back to teaching art, I’m going to have so much more to offer to my students. I’m currently doing a project in my daughter’s classroom and I’m loving interacting with the kids. I guess I do have a passion for teaching art because I enjoy it so much.
I am very happy to be part of this art exhibit. Thanks to Jose Ortiz and Hijos del Sol I fell in love with painting and developed a passion for the arts. Since I’m kind of far from Salinas it’s been hard to stay in touch with Jose, but this year he remembered about me and called me to invite me to be part of the show. I didn’t really have something new for his show since my Ramona painting is in the DOD show at Puerto Alegre in SF and my other small pieces were at my own DOD show at Contra Costa College, but he wasn’t picky and accepted other older work I had. This is the first time that my art work is shown at 3 different places at during the same period of time, it feels good and I feel very fortunate.
“July 6 is Frida’s Birthday, come join us at Puerto Alegre, 546 Valencia St, San Francisco to celebrate her life in an intimate look at the many faces of Frida. Original works and prints by Maria Sanchez, Rachel-Ann-Palacios, Alejandra Oseguera, David Diaz, Hector Silva, Stephanie Guajardo, Lawrence el Calacion and Lizbeth Ortiz, exhibit opening July 5 at 5pm. Installation by Polu Manu Productions.”
Exhibition runs from July 5th-August 9th, 2011.
My “Frida Smoking” and “Viva Frida” Paintings will be both part of this great show and they are both for sale too…check it out!
After the sudden and horrible death of Bambino, we were all very sad, I thought about doing a painting or something in homage to him, he was my dad’s pet for 14-15 years, and we all thought that he would eventually end up with one of the grandchildren since they live about 75 years. Anyways, his life was much shorter than that and we all cried his passing. We all hope that he is now in a much better place, with more birds like him. This is a yarn painting I decided to make in homage to him….it’s made with yarn inspired in the yarn paintings by the Huichol people. Tomorrow I’ll be going over to Celeste’s classroom to show the kids how to make them and I used that as an excuse to make my own….I’m happy with the outcome and I think I want to give it to my dad as a gift, hopefully I can take it all the way to Mexico without getting it damaged. (Oh, and by the way, this was made on a calendar cork board that was given to Agustin at work, I think they were throwing stuff out.)
Madre series of 4 mini paintings, 6″ x 6″ acrylic on gallery wrapped canvases depicting traditional mexican and purepecha mothers using their rebosos (slings) to carry and snuggle their beautiful babies. I’m satisfied with the outcome….I think this will stay in my personal collection.
One of these four is a self portrait of me with leon and the other one has my beautiful Celeste as a baby girl, can you find her?
I feel very fortunate to be part of this wonderful exhibition in San Ysidro CA. I wish I could be there next weekend but it’s too far and I’m just not able to make it, but I feel very honored that my two small paintings were chosen to be part of this great exhibition…I can only imagine the beautiful and powerful art that this exhibition will have!
New scrabble tile Jewelry made with scrabble tiles…very pretty and unique, it was somewhat difficult to get good photographs so these where the best ones I could get with my camera, the tiles are very glossy/shiny almost glass-like surface over image…check them out on my etsy shop, just click on “store”. Thank you.
“We are a group of over 60 Native American and Latina women artists and poets who are to be featured in the forthcoming anthology, Turtle Island to Abya Yala. Our goal is to raise funds to print this book in full color and in a way that is environmentally safe.
Lovato-Hermann, Celeste De Luna, Luna Maia, Nancy Magdaleno, Celia Monge Mana, Griselda Liz Muñoz, Sharah Nieto, Amparo Ochoa, Sara Marie Ortiz, Alejandra Oseguera, Pennie Opal Plant, Brianna Lea Pruett, Naomi Quiñonez, Maria Gisella Ramirez, Cassandra P. Rendon, Gabriela Spears Rico, annie ross, Kanyon Sayers-Roods, Kim Shuck, SistaHailstorm, Cinnamon Spear, Nazbah Tom, Theresa Turmel, Mica Valdez, Linda Vallejo, Vickie Vértiz, Martha Villa, Lela Northcross Wakely, Amy JB Wagner, and Sherry Wilson. Cover artwork by Nayeli Guzman.”
