Mini painting for an upcoming art show.
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By: tweedlebop,
on 12/16/2009
Blog: Sugar Frosted Goodness (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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By: Donna Pellegata ,
on 10/11/2009
Blog: Donna Pellegata ~ ArtQwerks ~ Art Blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: art show, ArtQwerks, Donna Pellegata, Birmingham MI, Communtiy House Birmingham, Our Town, Community House Outreach, Deroy Testamentary Foundation, Add a tag
Come see my work here on the dates stated above! 
By: msedano,
on 7/14/2009
Blog: La Bloga (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Ricardo Ortega's stunning pair of canvases captured many an admiring eye. The dark triple portrait expresses the model's beauty stunningly. Unfortunately, the not-dancing Shiva-like figure is so compellingly imaginative that it steals the show.
The woman in red, above, was dancing like Shiva when I happened upon her. Seeing the camera, she stopped and stepped out of the frame. "No, no," I implored, I need people in the shot." She obliged admiringly. I wish gente would realize they have more right to space than a camera. Don't duck under the lens, don't step out of the shot, don't halt your forward progress.
The Frida collection includes one stunning portrait that depicts middle-aged Frida, what she must have looked like at the end of her life, or maybe older. So many paintings, including Kahlo's own, depict her at younger ages, so this older Frida stands uniquely beauteous.
By: Lisa Alvarado,
on 6/25/2009
Blog: La Bloga (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: visual art, art show, exhibit, Cristina Acosta, retablo, Add a tag
Cristina Acosta
Guadalupe with Crown, the World is Her Heart
La Conquistadora/The Corn Maiden/Dine Spider Woman
Exhibit: Reshaping the Divine - Contemporary Hispanic Retablos Exploring the Divine Feminine
When: Summer 2009
Where: El Museo Cultural, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Click here to see this series of Hispanic Retablos.
This is quintessentially female, strong, sinous, visual art. It is a contemporary re-visioning of traditional retablo, hinting at the aesthetic of popular commercial artists like Laurel Burch, but containing a depth of spirit. There is a certain richness, an evanescence emanating from the figures portrayed. Acosta has an ability to make a heart connection with the observer beyond the demands and trends of the marketplace, or the prevailing winds of "fine" art communities and critics. I find Acosta's work to be completely accessible, capitalizing and re-visioning icons from a metizo heritage, as well as feminist ideas of the female God-force.
She's also creative in the use of precious and mundane material in the creation of these retablos. In an in depth look at her site, piece after piece reveals she is truly a renaissance woman balancing comerciality with content and succeeding admirably.
Take a look at what Cristina herslf has to say about her work:
Over the past twenty years, my series of Madonna retablos came to me in ebbs and flows via a series of powerful dreams. The dreams started during my pregnancy with my daughter. For the entire pregnancy I dreamt of being a woman on a journey north across dusty plains and through arroyos as I mostly walked behind an oxcart. The dreams ended in a room lit by a wooden candelabra filled with tallow candles and the birth of my daughter, Isabella Pilar in 1993.
I called these dreams my Maria Dreams because in the dreams, I/she was named Maria. Seeking the meaning of those dreams over the years brought me down a path I could never have imagined and deepened my understanding of my cultural heritage. Searching for the meaning of my Maria Dreams eventually lead me back to New Mexico, the land of my Ortiz ancestors.
My paternal grandmother, Catalina Maria Ortiz Acosta, born in 1904, was the daughter of J. Nestor Ortiz and Maria Elena Salazar, descendents of the original Spanish settlers founding the cities and villages throughout New Mexico. Researching my family genealogy (my grandmother spoke vaguely about her ancestors), I discovered that my direct ancestors had participated in the initial 16th and 17th century migrations of the Spanish, traveling North from Mexico City into the region that is now the State of New Mexico. I read books about the era and became fascinated by the types of experiences my female ancestors must have had while living on the New Mexican frontier for generations. With this research nurturing my experience of my personal history, my calling to paint Madonna’s began to take shape.
Born in Los Angeles to an Anglo mother and Hispanic father, early on I was aware of cultural concepts because of the differences between the two sides of my family. Despite their differences, Catholicism was the central theme for my parents. Celebrating their devotion resulted in religious images from the Americas and Europe scattered throughout our home and those of our relatives. Images of Mary the Mother of God as the Guadalupe, Conquistadora and many other versions were always present. Along with those images were displayed American Indian items from the Ortiz ranch.
The artifacts from the Ortiz family ranch consumed my imagination from as far back as I can remember. Handmade Indian blankets and pots, and even a gold menorah (referred to as a “candelabra” by my grandmother) made by Ortiz ancestors generations past (some of the men were renowned filigree gold smiths). Those as well as the chili ristras hanging in my grandmother’s kitchen hinted at another world far from the Southern California beach scene of my childhood home. For reasons I can’t sufficiently articulate, the mix of these images and experiences coalesced into my calling to visually explore and create new images of the Madonna as an expression of the feminine divine.
Each of the retablos I paint results in a new vision of the sacred. For example, painting La Conquistadora opened the door to re-balancing the dominant patriarchal and European view of the divine with the North American native and feminine. In La Conquistadora I layer symbols of the Dine Spider woman and the Puebloan Corn Maiden, seeking to blend the indigenous ancient female images and concepts harmoniously with the Catholic image of Mary. The result is a Madonna that hints of ancient goddesses many thousands of years old at the same time she conveys the current blend of cultures in the Southwest.
I create my work in the traditions of the Spanish/Mexican retablo to reinforce my expression of reverence and convey the intimate experience of sacredness. I find antique, reclaimed timbers for the substrate. I mix gold, silver and copper metals into my oil paintings to both embellish the image and in homage to the gifts my ancestors created for me with their existence. The vintage gold glazed ceramic tiles come from a tile company that operated near my childhood home in Southern California during the 1950’s and 60’s. When I finish a retablo, I write a blessing on the backside of the retablo to convey love to all who view the images.
My Maria Dreams from over a decade ago continue to influence this series of work. May you find your own meanings and blessings within these images.
By: jw miller,
on 4/24/2009
Blog: Sugar Frosted Goodness (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: portrait, urban, skateboarding, art show, dektown, jw miller, oil paint, Add a tag
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By: tweedlebop,
on 12/16/2009
Blog: Sugar Frosted Goodness (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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By: Donna Pellegata ,
on 10/11/2009
Blog: Donna Pellegata ~ ArtQwerks ~ Art Blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Come see my work here on the dates stated above! ...and click on the above flyer to read more about the show!
When you purchase an item from ArtQwerks, 10% of your purchase price will be donated to my favorite animal charities; Last Chance Animal Rescue and Horses Haven, both in lower MI. Which charity will depend on the item purchased and I will most certainly appreciate it.
See my store and galleries to the right--->
0 Comments on Our Town as of 10/12/2009 9:31:00 PM
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By: Traci Bixby,
on 8/4/2009
Blog: Traci Bixby - Illustration (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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By: msedano,
on 7/14/2009
Blog: La Bloga (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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Michael Sedano
This week has started out as a gallery week. Sunday, bloguera Ann Hagman Cardinal relates an experience with an irritating woman who made it her business to fault Cardinal's choice of clothing. Although the altercation happens in a department store rather than an art gallery, it is a fine piece of performance art that would have made a superb set of photographs.
Monday, bloguero Daniel Olivas extols the entrepreneurial treats he discovers down in the OC, Santa Ana to be exact, at Calacas, one of those welcoming mercantile and arts hot spots the internet hasn't managed to kill.
Today, I'm happy to introduce ChimMaya, a spot of entrepreneurial genius located in eastern East Los Angeles. ChimMaya has the distinction of being one of those rare eastside galleries to have gotten some ink from the Los Angeles Times. Felicidades, ChimMaya.
El Lay gente will find a trip to this Land of Nod (it is at the east of ELAC) well worth their time. Art collectors with a few thousand dollars can pick and choose from a tempting array of genuine bargains in the three shows running concurrently, 16 X 20, Duality, and Frida.
Visitors on a summer vacation jaunt into Southern California will deprive themselves of one of LA's hidden treasures if they do not find time to make the trek out the Pomona Freeway. Beverly Drive is not in Beverly Hills, but ChimMaya has all the cachet of a chicano Rodeo Drive.
In addition to artwork, Chimaya Gallery offers a dazzling array of women's accessories, particularly purses and exquisite sparkly jewelry. I ran into poet extraordinaire Olga Garcia at the register, as well as Margaret Quiñones-Perez from El Camino College, whose husband Monte Perez, of Moreno Valley College, was buying his wife a glamorous trinket. Garcia emailed me that "I had to control myself at that place yesterday. I did buy the best yellow purse ever! Unfortunately, the art was way out of my budget." My feelings exactly. If I had unlimited funds I would have bought ten or twelve of the works on display.
The woman in red, above, was dancing like Shiva when I happened upon her. Seeing the camera, she stopped and stepped out of the frame. "No, no," I implored, I need people in the shot." She obliged admiringly. I wish gente would realize they have more right to space than a camera. Don't duck under the lens, don't step out of the shot, don't halt your forward progress.
Ortega's wall stands alongside the Frida show featuring San Diego and Baja California artists, in the West Gallery. 
The signature piece, the blue Frida illustrating the show poster, is far subtler than web colors allow. It will make you stop and stare, then come back and stop and stare again.
The Frida collection includes one stunning portrait that depicts middle-aged Frida, what she must have looked like at the end of her life, or maybe older. So many paintings, including Kahlo's own, depict her at younger ages, so this older Frida stands uniquely beauteous.
Sadly, I did not photograph this gallery, owing to close quarters and lingering gente, testimony to the enduring popularity of Frida images.
In the main and east galleries, Chimaya was opening the 16 X 20 group show featuring 32 artists. The 16" x 20" canvases hang side by side, encouraging comments and comparison of various painters' styles. This wall shows Dolores Haro, Aydee Lopez Martinez, Yolanda Gonzales, Joe Bravo. Opposite wall, not illustrated, contains additional work by Bravo, Gonzales, Ernie Herrera, and other outstanding creators.
The north gallery offers "Duality," a perplexing display of stylistic syncretism that left me scratching my head in confusion, wishing I could have engaged painter CiCi Segura Gonzales in an extended platica about her work. Filling the east wall was a large abstract canvas of colors and shapes that offers little to challenge the eye and, had this been her single contribution, would have led me to about face in search of something interesting. I have nothing against Segura's abstracts; I own a small piece bought at the now-closed Carlotta's Passion.
On the north wall she hung a circus triptych of colorful doll-like figures that resemble illustrations in a children's picture book. Although well executed, the canvases would have limited appeal to a wide audience. This was evidenced by the passersby who spent scant moments scanning the canvases.
Ni modo, I thought, when I looked to the south wall of the room where people stopped and studied, conversing excitedly about the work here. Arresting portraits. Compellingly executed, dramatic, and highly refined technique. These, too, are "circus" pieces, though the reference is irrelevant to the quality contained within the bounds of each portrait. As the artist notes in her statement, I was inspired by the photographer, Irina Ionesco, who was born into an eastern European circus and worked as a snake charmer. She challenged me to create paintings of her exotic photographs. They lent themselves well to the darker mood that runs through my small circus scenes. My abstracts capture the rhythm and color of the theme. 
I wish I could show you close-ups of all these, the highlight of the show, which is tough to say when I think of Shiva, most of the Frida, and numerous pieces not mentioned here. Silence on my part is no excuse on your part not to visit ChimMaya. This is a trip you owe yourself, even if just to get that fabulous yellow purse. Oh, that's right. Olga Garcia purchased that one. Better get there soon, que no?
I wish I could show you close-ups of all these, the highlight of the show, which is tough to say when I think of Shiva, most of the Frida, and numerous pieces not mentioned here. Silence on my part is no excuse on your part not to visit ChimMaya. This is a trip you owe yourself, even if just to get that fabulous yellow purse. Oh, that's right. Olga Garcia purchased that one. Better get there soon, que no?That's the second Tuesday of July, 2009. A Tuesday like any other Tuesday, except you are here, or on your way to East Los and ChimMaya gallery and boutique. Thank you for visiting La Bloga.
Ate,
mvs
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3 Comments on Three Art Shows at East Los' Chimaya Gallery, last added: 7/20/2009
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By: Lisa Alvarado,
on 6/25/2009
Blog: La Bloga (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: visual art, art show, exhibit, Cristina Acosta, retablo, Add a tag
Cristina Acosta
Guadalupe with Crown, the World is Her Heart
La Conquistadora/The Corn Maiden/Dine Spider WomanExhibit: Reshaping the Divine - Contemporary Hispanic Retablos Exploring the Divine Feminine
When: Summer 2009
Where: El Museo Cultural, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Click here to see this series of Hispanic Retablos.
This is quintessentially female, strong, sinous, visual art. It is a contemporary re-visioning of traditional retablo, hinting at the aesthetic of popular commercial artists like Laurel Burch, but containing a depth of spirit. There is a certain richness, an evanescence emanating from the figures portrayed. Acosta has an ability to make a heart connection with the observer beyond the demands and trends of the marketplace, or the prevailing winds of "fine" art communities and critics. I find Acosta's work to be completely accessible, capitalizing and re-visioning icons from a metizo heritage, as well as feminist ideas of the female God-force.
She's also creative in the use of precious and mundane material in the creation of these retablos. In an in depth look at her site, piece after piece reveals she is truly a renaissance woman balancing comerciality with content and succeeding admirably.
Take a look at what Cristina herslf has to say about her work:
Over the past twenty years, my series of Madonna retablos came to me in ebbs and flows via a series of powerful dreams. The dreams started during my pregnancy with my daughter. For the entire pregnancy I dreamt of being a woman on a journey north across dusty plains and through arroyos as I mostly walked behind an oxcart. The dreams ended in a room lit by a wooden candelabra filled with tallow candles and the birth of my daughter, Isabella Pilar in 1993.
I called these dreams my Maria Dreams because in the dreams, I/she was named Maria. Seeking the meaning of those dreams over the years brought me down a path I could never have imagined and deepened my understanding of my cultural heritage. Searching for the meaning of my Maria Dreams eventually lead me back to New Mexico, the land of my Ortiz ancestors.
My paternal grandmother, Catalina Maria Ortiz Acosta, born in 1904, was the daughter of J. Nestor Ortiz and Maria Elena Salazar, descendents of the original Spanish settlers founding the cities and villages throughout New Mexico. Researching my family genealogy (my grandmother spoke vaguely about her ancestors), I discovered that my direct ancestors had participated in the initial 16th and 17th century migrations of the Spanish, traveling North from Mexico City into the region that is now the State of New Mexico. I read books about the era and became fascinated by the types of experiences my female ancestors must have had while living on the New Mexican frontier for generations. With this research nurturing my experience of my personal history, my calling to paint Madonna’s began to take shape.
Born in Los Angeles to an Anglo mother and Hispanic father, early on I was aware of cultural concepts because of the differences between the two sides of my family. Despite their differences, Catholicism was the central theme for my parents. Celebrating their devotion resulted in religious images from the Americas and Europe scattered throughout our home and those of our relatives. Images of Mary the Mother of God as the Guadalupe, Conquistadora and many other versions were always present. Along with those images were displayed American Indian items from the Ortiz ranch.
The artifacts from the Ortiz family ranch consumed my imagination from as far back as I can remember. Handmade Indian blankets and pots, and even a gold menorah (referred to as a “candelabra” by my grandmother) made by Ortiz ancestors generations past (some of the men were renowned filigree gold smiths). Those as well as the chili ristras hanging in my grandmother’s kitchen hinted at another world far from the Southern California beach scene of my childhood home. For reasons I can’t sufficiently articulate, the mix of these images and experiences coalesced into my calling to visually explore and create new images of the Madonna as an expression of the feminine divine.
Each of the retablos I paint results in a new vision of the sacred. For example, painting La Conquistadora opened the door to re-balancing the dominant patriarchal and European view of the divine with the North American native and feminine. In La Conquistadora I layer symbols of the Dine Spider woman and the Puebloan Corn Maiden, seeking to blend the indigenous ancient female images and concepts harmoniously with the Catholic image of Mary. The result is a Madonna that hints of ancient goddesses many thousands of years old at the same time she conveys the current blend of cultures in the Southwest.
I create my work in the traditions of the Spanish/Mexican retablo to reinforce my expression of reverence and convey the intimate experience of sacredness. I find antique, reclaimed timbers for the substrate. I mix gold, silver and copper metals into my oil paintings to both embellish the image and in homage to the gifts my ancestors created for me with their existence. The vintage gold glazed ceramic tiles come from a tile company that operated near my childhood home in Southern California during the 1950’s and 60’s. When I finish a retablo, I write a blessing on the backside of the retablo to convey love to all who view the images.
My Maria Dreams from over a decade ago continue to influence this series of work. May you find your own meanings and blessings within these images.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
And from none other than our own recently published Rudy G,
And from none other than our own recently published Rudy G,
Win a book!
Midnight, Friday, June 26 is the deadline to enter to win a copy of the just-released Needles & Bones anthology, featuring a fantastical story by La Bloga contributor Rudy Ch. Garcia. Click here for details.
Midnight, Friday, June 26 is the deadline to enter to win a copy of the just-released Needles & Bones anthology, featuring a fantastical story by La Bloga contributor Rudy Ch. Garcia. Click here for details.
Lisa Alvarado
2 Comments on Cristina Acosta: Luminous Work, Lasting Art, last added: 7/15/2009
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By: jw miller,
on 4/24/2009
Blog: Sugar Frosted Goodness (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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10" x 10"
oil on illustration board
created for the stoked sessions l.a. fundraiser show.
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By: crystal driedger,
on 3/30/2009
Blog: Scribbled Business (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: college, art show, grant macewan, youngest mother, design studies show, lina medina, Add a tag
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This piece is a work in progress for the Grant MacEwan Design Faculty Show entitled "True Stories". I thought that since pregnancy has grown to be such an engrossing theme in my life this year that I would research fascinating "true stories" about pregnancy for my submission. I may do one more piece for the show if I can spare the time to complete it about another very rare and amazing pregnancy story.
My piece is about Lina Medina who became the world's youngest mother on mothers day in 1939 at the age of 5 years (and 8 months) old. This story is both disturbing and amazing for what I hope are obvious reasons. Please feel free to read more about this interesting "true story" here.
2 Comments on Lina Medina - In Progress, last added: 4/6/2009
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Great Gallery, GREAT ARTICLE,
Can you tell me about future exhibits @ this gallery?
Paco, thank you for visiting La Bloga. You can contact ChimMay via their website: http://www.chimmaya.com/home.htm
ate.,
michael sedano
Mr. Sedano's experience at ChimMaya is thoroughly echoed by my own and by friends whom I have taken there. From the moment you enter the front door, beauty in a variety of forms greets you not only through the artists' works, but from every corner of the gallery. The dedication and commitment of ChimMaya's owners, Steven and Danny, is on display throughout. Their obvious respect for the artists is matched by their commitment to the East LA barrio. In my estimation what sets them apart is the heart that they invest in every event. Whether it's a book signing, a music performance, or a new artist's exhibition, I try never to miss it for purely selfish reasons: the art is as provocative as it is uplifting; I meet fascinating people; I have the opportunity to purchase art at a price that is fair to me, to the proprietors, and to the artist. Everyone wins! So thank you ChimMaya for all that you do for the local community and metropolitan Los Angeles.
Anita Rehker