Some things I saw and made, some people I met, and some things that they made, in Veracruz in the winter and spring of 2017-2018.
Books by Berenice Torres…
Una Gallina de Fuego y otros miembros de El Rinoceronte Enamorado…
Some things I saw and made, some people I met, and some things that they made, in Veracruz in the winter and spring of 2017-2018.
Books by Berenice Torres…
Una Gallina de Fuego y otros miembros de El Rinoceronte Enamorado…
I have the remarkable opportunity to spend 4 months this winter at the residencies La Ceiba Gráfica and Rancho 2 x 2. These are two incredible spaces for creative experimentation and cross-cultural collaboration in Northern Veracruz, Mexico.
There’s still time to help fund these projects by purchasing artwork from my Etsy site until Nov. 7th. And…free shipping! Use the code FREESHIPPING2017 at checkout.
Please help support a continuing exchange of ideas about papermaking, performance, printmaking, food, farming, sculpture, community, language, architecture, ethnobotany, the inventing of machines and the making of stuff.
To see cut-out woodblock prints of trout installed in an abandoned pool, collagraphs of spores, corn fungus, monotypes on cloth, toads printed on handmade paper with bits of locally grown kozo and coffee, please see this post from last year’s residency at La Ceiba.
In February and March, I was a resident at La Ceiba Gráfica in Coatepec, Veracruz, Mexico. In addition to printing monotypes on paper and cloth in their printmaking shop, I ended up experimenting with papermaking, installation, and several editions of pizzas in their pizza oven. Making edible art out of local ingredients with the incredibly creative folks in the La Ceiba community was fantastic.
To all of you who participated in last year’s fundraiser to support these projects, I can’t thank you enough! To all of you at La Ceiba, see you again soon!
My first coloring book is now available HERE!
Based on actual events, the 18 black and white illustrations were made in Orissa, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh, India.
This project was truly made possible with technical help from Chris Sullivan in New Orleans, USA and translation help from Ajay Pandey at Kriti Gallery in Varanasi, India.
You will surely be inspired pondering a palette for the complex lives of these brave beasts:
Let me know how it goes.
Also a big thanks to the first focus group, the students of Buddha’s Smile School. You kids are a motivating force, and fun, too…
Thanks to all the generous participants of last year’s India & Etsy Fundraiser! Your support made possible my two month residency at Kriti Gallery in Varanasi and many workshops with the fun and lovely students of Buddha’s Smile School…
The Gujarati word for sparrow is chakali. This is a linoleum block print of a chakali:
I made 100 of these prints while I was an Artist-in-Residence at Chhaap Foundation for Printmaking Trust.
I dyed them in turmeric,
then had them stuffed and sewn up.
Meanwhile, through an introduction by the organization Koshish Milap, I was conducting art workshops at a nearby school.
This extraordinary little one-room school was also a clinic in the evening.
The mission of Koshish Milap, headed by Drs. Kishor and Varsha Mistry, is to educate and provide healthcare to the ‘slum’ community of Muj Mahuda.
There are over 750 families in Muj Mahuda that use these medical and educational services.
The children loved making collages.
The word spread about their talent and enthusiasm, and the Times of India wrote an article about their good work!
I thought we could collaborate on the subject of chakalis…
They made some excellent collage birds,
I mean, really excellent…
and loaned them to me for an exhibit at Chhaap.
In exchange, all 50 students received one Chakali.
You can have one, too!
photo credits: Shannon Holman
Many folks ask where I find my materials to make collages.
Here are some scraps, sources and experiences from my last trip to India.
While an Artist-In-residence at Chhaap Foundation for Printmaking Trust in Baroda, Gujarat, I used a batter of coffee grounds and tea leaves, bindi powder, turmeric, and Celluclay (a dried paper pulp) to experiment with paper sculpture. The texture was made with a fork.
Some of this paper I’ve paired with old portraits:
These were found at the exquisite ‘Friday Market’ on the outskirts of Baroda.
This is a sprawling maze of live goats, tin charms, chai carts, torn saris, wooden game pieces, broken toys and, most lovely for me, old photographs.
Scavenging for mid-century photographic ephemera outside of The States is quite challenging, our Kodachrome generation being unparalleled, so this particular market was really a gem. (On a side note however, it seems India’s snapshot culture of today is certainly catching up).
The upcycling at Friday Market also deserves some attention. Here are some wonderful hand-stitched oil-can cozies:
I experimented with using some of the found objects as stamps, such as these keys:
Moving South, in Fort Cochi, Kerala, I picked out some paper goods at Junk Junction (Kumbarramukku, if memory serves).. Looking through newspapers, game cards, old books and ledgers, this passerby wanted to document a dusty picture of a famous 70’s movie star:
The language there, Malayalam, has a beautiful alphabet, and I was quite inspired by it.
I was in India for a number of teaching projects, as well as dumpster diving, and the scraps came in handy for those, too. In this bookmaking workshop at Chhaap, students rummaged through a rag bag donated by a local fashion designer, Rupali. They used the pieces to customize their book covers.
It was an honor to have Jyoti Bhatt, one of India’s most renowned artists and photographer of Indian ephemeral art, among my students.
In a nearby school run by the organization Koshish Milap, I brought in scraps of handmade paper and fabric in all colors and shapes. It was a great ice-breaker for them to teach me the colors in Gujarati (new to me), and having a full-spectrum palette easily accessible helped them to jump right in and start collaging (new to them).
The kids were overjoyed and seemingly not intimidated at the process of building their own beautiful compositions out of scraps.
Thanks again, India, for all the inspiration and generosity. See you next time.
In January of 2012 I was welcomed to Buddha’s Smile School, in Sarnath, India, to host some art workshops with the kids. Here’s some of the fantastic results and a glimpse into daily life at the school…
The kids used handmade paper, fabric scraps, glue, and scissors to cut out letter forms and piece together images in our collage workshops.
We cut out and decorated letters for a photo project to thank the donors of last year’s fundraiser. For all the donors names, please see The Thank You Project.
In the watercolor workshop, they learned about primary and secondary colors, how to mix colors, and how different ratios of water and pigment have different effects.
A drawing collaboration in an accordian book between myself and a talented young lady, Jahida…
In the courtyard, we shared paints and pencils working on the Thank You Project (you can see their lovely new generator in the background).
Everyday, after morning classes, lunch is made in their kitchen and served to the 221 students at their desks.
After lunch, there is a supervised time for the younger grades to learn how to wash their hands and brush their teeth.
An orderly line-up for time at the sink…
Toothbrushes are marked with every child’s name and distributed.
I was extremely impressed with how hard-working the teachers and staff were to create this structured time for the health and dignity of the children. For many of the students, it is the only time of the day dedicated to a nutritious meal and personal hygiene.
It made me so happy to see the leaders of the school taking a little time out for fun and creativity.
photo credit: Shannon Holman
The students, teachers and founders of Buddha’s Smile School send their love and gratitude to those who participated in last year’s spectacular fundraiser…
and…
…for helping to create the first Brooklyn Commune Community Scholarship for a Buddha’s Smile School Student. They were very excited to know our community took an interest in their well being!
To see more art projects and activities at the school, look HERE.
Some of the most inspiring work I’ve ever seen is being made at The Art Department, an arts space that serves “artists with intellectual and developmental uniqueness” in Portland, Maine.
I was invited to expand on their monthly theme of Album Cover Art by hosting a collage workshop. They were already off to an amazing start:
We all enjoyed searching through bits for the good stuff:
Jane chose The Mountains as the subject of her collage:
Devan chose to focus on Things That Are Scary:
Music and Neighbors of Poland, and Mythology were also subjects of the day:
Here’s some of the group with their finished pieces:
The arts program here was started a year ago by the fantastic Liz Mortati, now the Program Manager.
Artists are engaged in painting, paper mache, textile arts, sculpture, installation, film, exhibits, zines, book arts, photography, writing and text, signage, made-up language, community projects, interactive transparency and mylar shows, celebrity makeovers, and more! Their gallery was simply beautiful.
Here is Daniel Fuller, Director and Curator of the Institute of Contemporary Art, admiring an album & album cover bird mobile:
Tom Selleck made the scene…
As well as President Obama:
I was particularly drawn to a series of silkscreens prompted by the question “If your food could do anything, what would it do…?”
I am changed!
I’d like to thank Jane, Sophie, Devan, Abbott, Abby, Paulina, Steven, Justin, Liz, Sean and the numerous volunteers for making such a delightful workshop possible.
And a particular thanks to Adriane Herman for the introduction to The Art Department and the general whirligiging around Portland
November in Leon, Nicaragua:
It was an overwhelmingly successful month. Dozens of you contributed close to $8,000!! The school, the students, and I thank you so much for all the support.
Details to come when I return from India next spring.
_______________________________________________________________________________
The Goal: To provide scholarships to 8 students of Buddhas Smile School: Paro, Vishal, Ravi, Khusboo, Rekha, Sunita, Brijesh, and Pooja.
Each scholarship of 25,000 Rupees (about $500) covers costs for school supplies, books, clothing, first aid, meals, and transportation for one year.
These are children previously holding down full-time jobs, mostly as garbage collectors and recyclers on the streets of Varanasi. For most of them, Buddhas Smile School, a non-denominational, non-profit school, is their first experience with education and with someone taking an interest in their well-being.
Here’s how you can participate:
All proceeds of any purchase on my Etsy site from now until November 20th will be contributed to the fund.
In partnership with the lovely Brooklyn Commune Cafe in Windsor Terrace, a print sale of my collages and drawings is running until November 27th.
All proceeds go towards the fund. Prints are 20 bucks. 25 prints= 1 scholarship.
If you would like to create a full or partial scholarship either by purchase or donation in your name, or in the name of your family, school, organization, press or label, I will make a one-of-a-kind certificate and present it to the school when I visit in January. Just think of it!
As always, thank you so much for your support.
If you have already contributed, your generosity is greatly appreciated!
Erica, Shannon, and Rajan (founder of Buddhas Smile School)
I’ve just returned from six weeks in Varanasi, India.
I have some answers and I have some questions:
It was my great privilege to be able to work with some of the city’s most outstanding young artists. Continue reading
Urban Beautification with kindergarten-2nd graders at P.S. 74 Future Leaders Elementary School in Staten Island, NY, 2011
Our neighborhood: New Dorp Lane with the 3rd grade class of PS 41, Staten Island, 2011
Action Word Wall with 3rd-5th graders at PS 261 in Brooklyn, 2008
The History of Staten Island with the 4th grade class at PS 41 in Staten Island, 2009
In September, I traveled to Guatemala to teach workshops on soap making.
I was invited there by the organization Oxlajuj B’atz’, based in Panajachel.
One of the workshops was in the village of Xeabaj Dos.
This community of people has been twice relocated in less than eight years.
Their original village, Santa Catarina Ixtahuacan, was completely destroyed by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. After reestablishing themselves high up in the mountains, Hurricane Stan came in 2005 and wiped out the new settlement. Many of the newly built homes in Xeabaj Dos have walls constructed from USAID tarps. They have a large, sturdy school, and just got electricity for the first time a few months ago.
You can see a photo essay here about the first relocation.
In the center is the structure we used for our workshop:
One of the goals of Oxlajuj B’atz’ is to provide opportunities for women to learn new skills and improve upon those that they already possess with the goal of developing more work opportunities, better income-earning potential and greater access to local and global markets.
The women in this village had requested to learn how to make soap, both for their own use and as a potential new product.
Soapmaking can be precarious; it involves a chemical reaction with a very caustic substance: lye. Measurements and temperatures have to be exact, and safety precautions have to be taken. Our experience proved one can still have great success soapcrafting in fairly basic conditions.
To make soap, you need three basic ingredients: an oil or fat, water, and sodium hydroxide (lye).
We started by heating up the oils over a wood-burning stove, and measured out a proper quantity of water…
Lye is a strong base, or alkali, and can cause severe burns if it splashes on your skin or in your eyes. When handling it, you must use protective gloves and safety goggles.
When it is added to water, it also creates toxic fumes. Make sure you have plenty of ventilation when mixing your ingredients!
After the lye, water, and oil have been mixed, the mixture is poured into molds and allowed to sit for 2 days.
These women had a particular interest in making soap that had medicinal qualities. Among the plants and herbs that grew in the area, we experimented with adding eucalyptus, camomile, calendula, lavender, and achiote (annatto) as a colorant.
Lye will react with anything in its path. In order to retain the natural properties of herbs and additives, it is necessary to add them when the soap compound is stable enough. This process is called ‘rebatching’.
After the cakes of soap have rested for a couple days, they should have a ph balance neutral enough to come in contact with delicate herbs or hearty hands. The soap is then cut into small pieces, re-melted, and the dried crushed herbs are added.
Once this mixture is poured again into molds, the soap should be ready to be used in 2-4 weeks, after all the lye has neutralized.
Soap making is a new process for me, too, and the excitement at the workshops was contagious.
After all, it was the request of the women of Xeabaj Dos to be taught how to make soap that inspired me to learn how to do it myself. I consider this a great and rich collaboration.
I hope this is just the beginning of a greater involvement on my part in bringing materials and information on soap making to the women working with Oxlajuj B’atz’.
I’d like to thank everyone involved for their invitation, participation, enthusiasm, patience, and humor.
See you soon!
Photo credits: Eddie Haynes, Erica Harris and Taryn
Some collaborations, collages & scenes from a 2 month residency at Sacatar Foundation, on the Bay of All Saints, in Itaparica, Bahia, Brazil.
I was in residence last fall at artpoint-gumno in the village of Sloeshtica, Macedonia. I had wonderful neighbors who taught me how to herd sheep, keep bees, make plum liquor, speak Macedonian, and get around town. Nostravia, Sloeshtica!
The Colima Project is a community art exchange sponsored by San Francisco State University. Continue reading