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.