In the Name of Art

The End at Last!

Three more shots, journal and photos all together. The first is an ofrenda of sorts set up in a restaurant in Morelia that also boasted a shrine to St. Anthony with statues of the saints turned upside down. The shrine also consisted of notes from "spinsters" (how long has it been since you heard that word?) seeking a husband. It was a quirky place. And I never did figure out all of St. Anthony's responsibilities, from husbands to missing visas and luggage, he seemed to handle it all.

The next, a shot of 2 women in the market place finishing off the fringe on a rebozo or shawl and the last is a final journal page. I found the repro of Frida in a store that was hosting an exhibition of photography and many of those were portraits of Frida Kahlo. They were large, maybe 8x14 and in beautiful sepia tones. 

So I'm going to pack it in with this trip and get back to making some collage, some art and finding an old  object to write about (this a notion from Michele Ward).

Journal at Santa Clara del Cobre Studio

This is what I was sketching in the photo that follows. I rarely had time to put the color in when I was in Mexico and this one was finished at home. I was inspired by a younger woman who happened to sit down at one of our breakfast tables who had a sketchbook with a couple of 2-page spreads. 

Sitting in Ignacio Angel's studio I could hear the young chicks peeping under the squash plants. Since his working space is open this was the view looking out. Eventually the chicks got brave and became part of the composition but I didn't put them in.

This and That, Loose Ends

First and only, a shot of what I spent most of my time doing during the visits to artist's studios; one ear open and rapidly sketching. The blouse was a purchase from the market set up especially for the holiday about a block away from the hotel. There were 3 generations working the booth and embroidering madly but the mother stopped long enough to make a sale assuring me that, yes, they had done all the stitching on the blouse. When I gave her the money, she crossed herself and kissed it before putting it away.

The second shot is an embroidery form made only in Tzintzuntzan and shows the preparations in the grave yard for Nov.2. I bought mostly textiles since they're easier to get home and couldn't resist this one.

Last Pictures

Sunday, November the 2nd we all piled on a bus to go to Santa Clara del Cobre to visit a copper artist, Ignacio Angel,  and see his studio as well as his store. These are from that visit and from our farewell dinner. Ranch la Mesa was a restaurant that sat above Lago Patzcuaro with a phenomenal view of Janitzio and surrounding cities. I was still a bit dazed by it all and it was time to go home. Tomorrow I'll post some random photos and a 2-page journal spread and after that I have some textiles I bought in the market to share.

Journal, Noche de la Muertos

The process of doing a travel journal attaches me in a more physical way to what I see on my trip because the physical process of drawing involves more than simply looking. Its why I do a journal, it enhances my perception of what I might just pass by. That said, some of this journal was done on the jet, mostly the crosshatching, but some drawing as well. The Catrina here on the left I made up based on a variety of tourist papers. Many artists in Mexico make 3-d clay versions of these ladies  and I'd love to take one home but they are extremely fragile and I didn't want to chance it. Catrinas are ladies of the night based on Jose Posada's prints, apparently they have to come back to do penance for their sins, but they certainly do that with panache!

The painting of the ofrenda was done from a photo, it's really not as authentic as the other paintings but I dearly wanted an ofrenda painting for these pages.

Night, Dia de los Muertos

We took off for the graveyards in Tsintsuntsan and Ihuatzio in early evening and planned to be out until midnight. Tsintsuntsan was mobbed with locals and visitors perhaps because the cemeteries are very large and on a busy street. The P'urepechan temples were lit up and could be clearly seen as we walked the paths between the grave sites.

The first, rather dark, shot was taken outside the graveyard without a flash, but it comes closest to what I saw on entering. Before entering we walked past food booths, candy booths, crafts booths and they reminded me of how this night is festive and not, predominantly, sad. The next shot is the entrance to the graves at Ihuatzio, a much more quiet and subdued place, it was a smaller village off the beaten path. We were kindly given candles and marigolds that could be placed on forgotten and undecorated graves and the paths here were much more narrow and nearly non-existant. 

Imagine a graveyard filled with candles, incense, ofrendas crafted by individual families and people cooking over open fires much like a camping site. There were tarps strung up to protect the displays, sleeping bags and tents scattered everywhere. Children were carrying hollowed out gourds with cut-out eyes and mouths and begging for money or candy and I should have been carrying 100 pesos in small change! And among all this, the ofrendas to attract the spirits. Since there is some uncertainty about what happens to spirits in the interval before the judgement, folks here believe that their dead ancestors can come back and join them for one night in the year, All Souls Day.

There was very little wind and candles burned brightly to provide what little light there was. 

More or less, the 4th day

The pavilion from Erongaricauro is the subject of the 1st page and some masks hanging in the outside foyer in the Horta household (they were out in the cold to get rid of bugs that had decided they needed artistic digs) are on the 2nd page. The loblolly pines to the left of the mask drawings were on the grounds of the Eronga Furniture factory. And the poinsettias were really there. I have occasionally thrown poinsettias all over my pages but not this time. 

There are no ofrendas but thats because I was literally walking around in a daze, stunned by all that beauty.  

4th day in Erongaricuaro/Tzintzuntzan (Hummingbird in P'urepechan)

These shots start with the plaza in Erongaricuaro and end with the straw sculpture of Mario Lopez Torrez. In between are shots of the ofrenda competition by high school students, the Eronga furniture business, mask making by the Horta family, P'urepechan temples currently being rebuilt, and the preparations for All Souls Night and Day of the Dead in the cemetery at Tzintzuntzan (take off the "t's" to pronounce it and you'll be very close to correct).

The artists are all small businesses trying to make a living off their craft by selling to locals as well as tourists. The Eronga furniture factory is run by an American couple from Tucson who employ the people you see working. All these folks work magic with clay, straw, wood and paint, but it appeals to a narrow market. I did my best to support them!

The ofrendas are gorgeous of course, but what is really amazing is the amount of community effort that goes into building these altars to loved ones. It is so different from the cemeteries here that it brought tears to my eyes thinking about my neglected ancestors. And the shots of the cemetery were of works in process since everyone had til midnite on the 2nd to get things finished for visiting spirits! Ironically, these places for the dead were intensely alive.

Journal Entry, 3rd day, mas o mienos

The first page here is primarily from the Museum of History, there were some wonderful ceramic figurines but the didactics were in Spanish (I know just enough Espanol to get myself in trouble) so I don't know anything about them. The courtyards were full of flowers so I had to sketch and paint those! 

The second page has a sketch of the church right down the street from our balcony and it was festooned with red, green and white flags for the holiday. Underneath that is a scene from the bar in Janitzio, the flowers, fruits and vegetables were spectacular!

Thursday, Oct 30 in Patzcuaro

Some pictures of our Patzcuaro walking tour, up a steep hill to the Basilica de Nuestra de la Salud where I bought some milagros; other churches, and pasta de cana ( a sculpture technique that uses corn stalks and corn paste to produce very light statues). Some more ofrendas at the Museum of History and a shot from a high window onto a courtyard in an artisan plaza called 11 Plazas. In the afternoon we took a boat trip to Janitzio, and island in Lago Patzcuaro renowned for its boisterous celebration of the holiday. There's a statue at the top that can be climbed but I just decided to do a little walking and have a beer. The boat we went over in had been decorated with marigolds and were too pretty not to photograph. The scent of marigolds is supposed to attract the spirits.