Monthly Archives: April 2020

Mexican Folk Art to Color – have fun!!

Posted on by
9

A long, long time ago (1987) I worked with Dr, Marion Oettinger at the San Antonio Museum of Art to produce a coloring book of some of the engaging pieces of art in the brand new Latin American Folk Art collection given to SAMA by Vice President Nelson A. Rockefeller. The Museum itself was only a few years old then.

I was working as a free-lance Illustrator for the San Antonio Express News at the time, and this was a fantastic chance to go behind the scenes at the museum to get a first-hand look at this comprehensive collection. Fun!

Long story short, earlier this week while I was doing my hunkered-down-at-home book organizing routine, I came across a copy of the coloring book we did. It’s called, appropriately enough, “Coloring the Folk Art of Mexico” and it was published by my dear friend David Bowen, whom so many of us still remember.

There are lots of folk art coloring books these days, but back then it was a novelty. We did a second printing with a different cover, but here’s the original version.

And here are a few original images from that coloring book for you to download and color (oh, boy!!) – you’ll be enhancing a little bit of San Antonio history with every mark you make!

Click on the download link below the small images to open and print the page-sized versions. The Devil Biker is my favorite. The Siesta one is the easiest to color. Staying in the lines is NOT required.

Download the Blouse

Download the Delivery Man

Download the Devil Biker

Download the Jar

Download SiestaTime

HAVE FUN COLORING . . .  AND TAKE GOOD CARE in your safe shelters !!

 

Small Comforts

Posted on by
35

Don’t know abut you, but I have felt pretty disheartened and non-productive during the last two weeks. I look at all of those articles and posts about what to do when you’re at home, and yet, somehow, my energy has shifted to hibernate mode (“Wahhhh . .just leave me alone!”). But knowing in my heart that it’s important to keep busy and creative, I started cleaning out my studio shelves. That’s always a recipe for inspiration.

I found lots of duplicates of things I thought I’d lost, and then bought more of – right? Every happen to you? Case in point – a bunch of bar magnets. I must have three dozen of these guys!

Why? Back in 2014, I taught an online class with Artful Gathering that featured little clip-on art-to-wear pieces that also function as displayed artwork. These pieces were one-of-a kind mixed media collages designed with a super-heavy-duty bar magnet on the back so they can also be displayed in a frame. I called them “Magnetic Adornments”.

Here are some examples from an old class worksheet:

Those re-discovered magnets were the kick-start for me, and I decided to play with that project again. I needed something small to work with, something that I could use as art therapy, something that was fun and had no real rules.

The base of the little collage is archival matboard. You choose a focal piece and just start building a miniature assemblage. I used my clay faces, but you could use an old piece of jewelry, a shell – whatever!

Once the magnet is glued on the back, you can wear the assemblage on a scarf or a hatband. You can also clip them into a frame by putting the back piece of the magnet on the back of the frame. Here’s one that I just finished:

A few more of the “Magnet Adornments” I’ve put together the past couple of days:

Here’s that last piece taken out of its fame and clipped onto a scarf:

Small magnetic assemblage clipped on a linen scarf

OK, that’s it for today. I may go hibernate for a bit – I hope you’re well, staying inside and still staying in touch with friends in whatever way is best for you. I’ve been Zooming a lot with my family. Who even knew what that meant last year??

Please find some small comforts to work on today in your own creative space. It really is good for you. Better than Cheetos. Maybe.