The Art of Making Something Out of Nothing

My BFF at the time and I were selected from Lorena Street Elementary School to participate in an Art Camp during the summer of '69, aka the Age of Aquarius. Two students from each grade school in the Los Angeles Unified School District were chosen and picked up outside our respected schools then bused over to Farmdale Elementary in El Sereno for daily art activities and weekly themed parties with performance and food.

I've been looking for information on this program but can't seem to find anything. I really want to know who the instructors were because I'm sure there were some well-known art names in the mix of young hippies running the program. One of the lessons I remember most was a scavenger hunt collage. The instructor took us kids on a walk around the block to collect leaves, twigs, small rocks, bottle caps, broken bottle shards and other small discarded items. We took our finds back to the classroom and glued them onto a wooden plaque. When dried the teacher took our works outdoors and spray painted them gold. That mixture of found junk was transformed into a beautiful masterpiece, I was amazed. The process of creating somethng from collected items that seemingly have no business being put in the same place has intrigued me ever since.

Holiday cowbell ornament redo with buttons. gems and beads. I found this cowbell in the discount rack at Ross and knew it had a better purpose than being painted in an ironic ugly sweater pattern.

I was raised in thrift shops. Back then it was something you kept to yourself unlike the post-pandemic social media resellers/thrifters flooding your social media feeds with their finds. I did the thrifter/resale thing back in the late 1970's all through the 1980's. I even co-ran an underground vintage shop with my son's dad called El Garaje in Boyle Heights duing the 80's into the early 90's.

There was no such thing as eBay or any of the resale sites and apps there are today. You had to lug your finds to the Rose Bowl, PCC or Fairfax HS flea markets then bust your ass the remainder of the day in hopes you make a profit. Over the years I have waned from reselling wares and/or from buying collectables, instead I hunt for objects that can be turned into art. You may overlook a hideous 1970's wood plant holder, a plain accent lamp, an old tweed skirt and I see how these pieces can be transformed into art, home accents or accessories.

That's the thrill of the hunt for me, buying stuff that I know will be used some day. Sometimes it takes years, even decades, before a collected item is used and until one day an idea comes to me when I see a dust collecting milagro cross with a broken tip and missing pieces then I give it a Rustic Chicana transformation.

Maybe it's the rasquache in me but I strongly believe taking existing items in your posession that are either worn or have missing pieces then turning them into something new is far better than flooding the garbage dumps with reusable items. Recycling fast fashion poly fabric for making dolls, pillows, totes, etc. is a good way of caring about the planet and your pocket book.

Let's be honest, art supplies aren't cheap. Unless you're art lifestyle is being funded by grants, trust funds or benefactors then you can head over to your local dollar store for brushes and other art/craft supplies. Don't believe the hype that the best tools or education make art stars. Jean-Michel Basquait often collected discarded items off the curb to use as a canvas. He also used basic craft acrylic and oil sticks. Frida Kahlo was a self taught artist who did not attend art school. Even with that it is still worth it to enroll in some form of art instruction for a multidue of reasons. You gain confidence, encouragement, and most importantly find that side of you that's been wanting to get their hands mixed up in finger paint since their kindergarten days.

Over the weekend I went through my sewing accent remnants to toss out scraps and see what needs to be replenished when these corazones came to life. I began working on them at midnight on Saturday like a mad scientist in the lab. The next morning I wondered what came over me. They may not meet everyone's cup of tea but I was pleasantly surprised. I've always had a belief that if I can get at least one person to try making art/write poetry simply because they think my work is shit and they can do better then I have done my job. Bravo! I encourage everyone to embrace their creative side and just go for it.

There are plenty of websites available that have demos, links, templates for assemblage, collage, found object, recycling and, of course, rasquachismo to refer to for getting ideas and get working.

Here Comes Santa's Rejects 2024

Santa's Rejects were inspired by the Island of Misfit Toys in the 1964 Videocraft International stop motion Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer classic, downtown Los Angeles department store Christmas displays of that same era and the storefront window paintings of off-set elves and Santas that graced Boyle Heights/East LA during the 1960's/70's.

My tagline for the cockeyed and snaggletoothed dolls was: "Not intended for the average child." Actully, they weren't intended for small children as I used buttons and beads which we all know can be choking hazards.

It's been about twenty years since I made the dolls and ten years since I made a limited series of Santa's Rejects X-Y-Mas Stockings featuring Flaming Firs, Rodolfo the Mocoso-Nosed Reindeer, El Feo, GingerBit Man and Pissy the Snowman.

This year I decided to paint individual portraits of the Santa's Rejects characters on cardboard as my doll and stocking making supply stock has been nearly depleated by pandemic art/craft time with my granddaughters and I have yet to restock.

I had already a painted portrait of Santa Reject, El Feo, last year and had it on display in my front window. I usually use my front window as a gallery. I've had several solo exhibitons that way.

More portraits to follow.

I Was Going Loco Making a Logo

I come from an era when cut and paste art/text was used to make all forms of media. There was really no need for me to delve into the graphic design world so many fell into. Poetry chapbooks, party invitations, newsletters and event announcements were put together with glue sticks on the workspace counters at Kinko's and Office Depot. Colored paper, usually dayglo flourescent, was used as an added eye catcher. The finished fliers were then handed out at art exhibits, band gigs, parties or posted on announcement boards at independent coffehouses. Fast forward three decades and that antiquated method of hands on social interaction has been silenced by social media. After trying out various online logo makers (free versions) I decided to scrap it all for a DIY photo edit of enlarged fonts by using the paint tools to come up with exacly what I wanted. Here it is:

Breaking Bland

Color contrast can be frightening for those who believe we should stay within safe boundaries. I just brought these over-sized unfinished wood tea set wall pieces to life with bursts of color.

"Yerba Buena Time" and "Manzanilla for Two"

The Birth of Rustic Chicana

Rustic Chicana was born of the 2020 global pandemic. A time when resources and financial secruity were uncertain. Going from in-person shopping for art supplies, food, basic necessities to having everything delivered to your door left me wondering what to do with the build up of packing materials. The days of bringing home discarded cardboard sheets from my job at an art handling company for use in making protest signs were behind me. After 50+ years of taking to the streets in protest, I retired. So, what was there to do with the stacks of cardboard boxes and packing materials piling up in my yard and home? The only logical solution for recycling was to make art. Never one for being able to afford top quality art supplies I've always had to resort to making do with found objects, thrift store finds and discounted products so the decision to take on the Rustic Chicana moniker was both a play on living la vida pobre and a take at the commercialized and overhyped rustic chic style. Having distressed everything has been a way of life for me so why not make the best of it. Here is a sampling of the Rustic Chicana pieces brought to life utilizing cardboard and packing materials from online purchases:

Limited series Rustic Chicana Walltares - Dia de los Muertos 2021

Homage to OG storefront signage of Boyle Heights and East LA. Rustic Chicana 2021

Sancho and Cha Cha Calaca portraits. Rustic Chicana - Dia de los Muertos 2023

Corazon de Razon. Rustic Chicana 2023

Santa's El Feo - Rustic Chicana, Xmas 2023 '

Calaca masks made of DIY paper mache pulp. Rustic Chicana 2023

Vaudevillian stage for La Mariquita, handmade plush doll. Rustic Chicana 2024