Culture

November 10, 2017

El Paso, TX – The annual Las Artistas Art & Fine Crafts Show is happening on November 18 and 19 at the spacious EPIC RAILYARD Event Center on 2201 East Mills Avenue in downtown El Paso, TX (located off I-10). The show runs from 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday, November 18, and 10 am to 4 pm on Sunday, November 19. Admission is $7 and free for children under 18. Valet parking is free.

The perfect kick off to the holiday shopping season, the Las Artistas Art & Fine Crafts Show features beautiful, one-of-a-kind paintings, prints, ceramics, glass, jewelry, metal, leather, wood, wearable art and more in all prices. Attendees can meet established and emerging artists and students, talk to them about their work, and shop for high quality art and fine craft. And every sale made at the show contributes to the livelihood of artists and craftsmen – many of whom are local small businesses.

The quality of the work in the show is exceptional. Ninety artists and craftsmen from El Paso, New Mexico and other parts of the country are participating and all have met Las Artistas’ jury standards for technical proficiency, originality, and creative vision. Three years ago, Las Artistas introduced an emerging artists section in the show; this year the number of emerging artists has grown, and will include the work of children and relatives of Las Artistas members. Students in the Metals and Ceramics programs at the University of Texas at El Paso are also selling their work at the show.

New this year is the participation of the It’s Your World recycled arts program, under the direction of El Dorado High School art teacher Candie Printz. Motivated to take on a project that would improve their community and promote the importance of recycling, Candie and her students have been cleaning up part of the local desert and using the collected items to make art. She and her students will be selling their art at the Las Artistas show.

Classical and Flamenco guitarist Jake Mossman will be performing at the show on Saturday from noon to 4 pm. Jake has performed in theatres throughout the southwest, and has accompanied renowned Flamenco dancers and singers. Gourmet street food will be provided by The Grub Thai Food, Megalicious, and High Mesa Kettle Korn, and there will be a cash wine bar provided by Wine Attitude.

The Las Artistas Art & Fine Crafts Show is sponsored by Ruhmann Law, with support from the City of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs Department.

Get a first look of the show at the Preview Party on Friday, November 17

Las Artistas is hosting a Preview Party on Friday, November 17 from 6 pm to 8 pm in the Circa 1963 Room at the Hotel Indigo on 325 North Kansas Street in El Paso (located just minutes away from the EPIC RAILYARD Event Center). For a cost of $15 – which also includes one-day admission to the show – attendees can mingle with artists, craftsmen, and like-minded people and see a preview of work that will be in the show. Light appetizers will be served and a cash bar is available. This event is sponsored by Margie Melby, one of Las Artistas’ founding members, and tickets are available at lasartistas.org.

About Las Artistas

Founded in 1970, Las Artistas has grown from a small group of enterprising El Paso women artists seeking a venue for their work, to one of the premiere arts organizations in El Paso and Southern New Mexico. For more information about the Las Artistas Art & Fine Crafts Show or Las Artistas, contact Pam Sullivan at (915) 319-4541, email marketing@lasartistas.org, or visit lasartistas.org.

Culture, Visual Artscrafts, el paso, fine arts, Las Artistas, show

Las Artistas Preview Party

The Art Avenue

October 31, 2017

Las Artistas Preview Party

Be one of the first to preview artwork by international artists premiering at Las Artistas in November.

This sneak preview of works include paintings, prints, ceramics, glass, jewelry and wearable art and will be on display in the Circa 163 room at Hotel Indigo on Friday, November 17 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm. In it’s 47th year Las Artistas is striving to foster a relationship with the public and will have artists on hand to meet and greet guests and answer questions about the upcoming show.

The preview is $15 and includes one-all day ticket to Las Artistas at Epic Railyard, an opportunity to enjoy light appetizers and appreciate the El Paso sunset and surrounding mountains.

Founded in 1970, Las Artistas has grown from a small group of enterprising El Paso female artists seeking a venue for their work, to one of the premiere arts organizations in El Paso and Southern New Mexico. The Las Artistas Art & Fine Crafts Show is sponsored by Ruhmann Law, with support from the City of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs Department.

Las Artistas Preview Party is sponsored by artist Margie Melby

For more information, visit www.lasartistas.org

Hotel Indigo

325 N. Kansas Street

Event cost: $15

Las Artistas

Epic Railyard

November 18 & 19, 2017

10:00 am

Cost: $7, under 18 admission is free

Culture, Featuredartist, Artwork, el paso, mural, Texas

Bold, Beautiful and Breathtaking, Going Beyond the Paint

The Art Avenue

June 29, 2017

Taking the art world by storm, an emerging artist creates bold, colorful murals diverging from traditional southwest style. Her paint brushes have graced walls across the world including Mexico, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and others. Identifying as a nature worshipper, Celeste Byers’ artwork largely centers around the metaphysical, while encompassing humanitarian and environmental issues.

Byer’s illustration for The New York Times Op-Ed, Beware of Cold-Blooded Americans

“[My artwork] is the one thing I’ve felt passionate about my entire life,” said 28-year-old Byers. “I am trying to communicate through my art that there is magic beyond what I can see.”

Born and raised in San Diego, CA, Byers is not the typical “starving artist”. Graduating with a BFA from Art Center College of Design in 2012, she jumped straight into the art world. Almost immediately, she was hired by a major news publication. “I was pretty lucky and one of my first jobs out of college was working for the New York Times doing illustrations for the Op-Ed section!” Byers said.

Wonder Woman, Acrylic and spray paint on canvas, 8′ x 8′

But Byers’ murals are what brought her international attention. Her unique usage of bold color schemes in combination with detail didn’t go unnoticed. For Wonder Woman’s 75th anniversary, Warner Bros. asked Byers to design a mural of the superhero at Comic-Con 2016.

“Her use of vibrant and rich colors is unlike I’ve seen before,” said Rocio Salinas Almeida, a graphic designer and El Paso local.

Her most recent work, Nopales in Love, a mural featuring two cacti kissing, is located at the SANDI Apartment Complex in El Paso, TX. This work highlights her creative process.

“I always try to make my subject matter relevant to the location I’m painting,” Byers said. “The idea for that mural [Nopales in Love] took a few hours to come up with. First I wanted to paint straight up portraits, then I got the idea to paint cactus people portraits, then that evolved to wanting to make the cactus people kissing.”

Nopales in Love centers around the love found in nature. “[Nopales in Love] is about everything and everyone,” Byers said. “All people, all animals have this need to find love. So I made the cacti into people, expressing everything’s need to reproduce.”

Her artwork begins with a “sketch” which usually incorporates Photoshop. “I use these ‘sketches’ to paint from as well as show my client so they can understand my idea,” Byers said. After the sketch is completed, Byers prepares and then begins to paint.

“I’ve recently enjoyed spending around 10 days at a mural location and working on the wall,” Byers said. “Before that, I was usually painting murals in about 5 days but I was always getting sick after painting for 12-14 hours a day every day. I realized I can enjoy the location and have better health if I give myself more time to finish and paint for less time every day.”

Byers standing in front of Nopales in Love

Byers’ murals can take anywhere from a few hours to several weeks to complete. Nopales in Love took her eight days to finish.

But Byers doesn’t always like to take her time with her work. “I like to make artwork about things I think are important,” Byers said.

At Neon Desert Music Festival 2017, photo courtesy of Byers

Her partnership with PangeaSeed Foundation has been one such avenue. PangeaSeed is an international non-profit organization which seeks to create environmental change for oceans through “ARTivism,” education and science.

“I think the conservation of nature is extremely important in our day in age,” Byers said. “[Working with PangeaSeed] has taught me that art is a powerful medium for communicating ideas about activism and social commentary.”

In May, Byers live-painted a mural seeking to highlight glamorized drug usage and its environmental damage at Neon Desert Music Festival in El Paso, TX.

“I included a parrot skull in my mural because… although the aerial fumigation programs are targeted at killing coca plants, they end up wiping out vast amounts of rainforest and the plants and animals that live within them,” Byers said. “The ribcage and human skeleton hand serve as a reminder of the people who have lost their lives in this violent industry.”

Check out Celeste Byers’ website for more information and to see her work!

Culture, FeaturedCelebration of Lights, Downtown El Paso, San Jacinto Plaza

Lights Out in San Jacinto Plaza

The Art Avenue

January 5, 2017

Photographed by Brian Wancho

Don’t be left in the dark…this is the last week to experience the Celebration of Lights in the San Jacinto Plaza in Downtown El Paso. If you have yet to take in this beautifully decorated Victorian theme winter wonderland, you have until Sunday, January 8 to witness this incredible transformation of the park to an illuminated playground for both kids and adults.

Bright lights decorate El Paso's San Jacinto Plaza for Christmas — Bright lights decorate El Paso’s San Jacinto Plaza for Christmas

For the first time since the 2012 Celebration of Lights, the San Jacinto Plaza was decorated with an abundance of lights, a towering 50-foot high Afghan Pine Tree featuring LED lights, a life-size nativity scene and interactive illuminated ornaments where visitors can pose for pictures. The city went even further by introducing Winter Fest; an ice skating rink situated between the El Paso Museum of Art and The Plaza Theatre along with a series of pop-up business selling anything from food and drink to holiday gifts. “I was blown away by how much effort the city put into this,” said local resident Erin Upson. “It was such a great time, I will probably go again before it ends. There’s a lot of people there but there’s enough to see so you don’t feel crowded.”

It has been four years since visitors attended the tree lighting at the park after a controversial reconstruction plan delayed the completion until April last year transforming it from its historical, traditional ambiance to a more modern one. Since reopening volumes of people have passed through the $5.3 million dollar renovated park to enjoy the fiberglass sculpture of Los Lagartos by nationally recognized artist Luis Jimenez, catch a game of chess or checkers on the concrete erected tables distributed throughout the square alongside table tennis and a splash pad not meant for kids only. There’s even a cafe where visitors can enjoy a bite to eat and pet friendly water fountains are situated inside the park.

Residents are still in awe of the magnificent transformation of Downtown. “I didn’t know there was so much to do. The lights are incredible and there are so many people. It’s beautiful,” said Raquel Finn, first time visitor to the park.

The lights turn on daily at 5:30 pm and the Celebration of Lights runs through Sunday, December 8, 2017.

CultureDiary, Nancy Lea, Tom Lea, UTEP

Girl, Interrupted

Jessica Nunez

December 23, 2016

The month of November is a month dedicated to the widely known artist, Tom Lea, however, this year a new aspect from his life was unveiled. The University of Texas at El Paso commemorated the late artist this year with a special exhibition that will be on display through December 22 at the UTEP Centennial Museum. The exhibition surprised many and brought to light a subject that lingered in the dark for years: Nancy Lea.

The name of the exhibition is The Notebooks of Nancy Lea, whom was the first wife of Tom Lea. Nancy and Tom eloped two years after they had met at the Art Institute of Chicago. They then moved to El Paso, but three years later Nancy died in 1936 due to complications from an appendectomy at the age of 29. “When people think about an ex-wife there are many negative connotations, but this was not the case,” said Kaye Mullins, education curator at the University of Texas at El Paso Centennial Museum. The museum chose to commemorate Lea’s late wife with her journal in which she wrote about various subjects ranging from her thoughts on womanhood in the early 1900s to her appreciation of nature.

“She was a woman with very progressive thoughts about the world around her,” Mullins said, “She wrote about things that were not being said at the time.”

Men do not begin to know that the Feminine World is like…they believe – at least some of them do – that they know all about women. If ever they could discover what any perceptive woman observes daily amongst them, they would speedily kill all of them without quarter. –Nancy Lea, Having Tea: Feb. 11, 1933

After her passing, Tom had discovered various written works of Nancy’s, including a finished novel, various short stories, and a journal that was not meant to be published. Nonetheless, Tome made 25 copies of the journal and gave them to close friends and family.

The exhibition tells the untold story of Nancy, but also includes quotes from Tom on how her death affected him, “She died here in El Paso. And I’ve chosen to blank that part out of my life,” said Tom in Tom Lea: An Oral History.

Nancy’s journal contains various subjects that were a part of her every day life – one that would be a major component in her husband’s life: art.

I believe the important factor in creating any work of art – a painting, a piece of sculpture, a book, a symphony – is selection. Life is a many-ringed circus, so distracting in its diversified component parts that one can scarcely see everything. –Nancy Lea, My Writing: Sept. 21, 1932

Nancy was a bright young woman with compelling thoughts that the Centennial Museum curators believe should have been brought to light with this novel that carries out much information on her life and that of her husband’s.

There is a great deal of insincerity and unfaithfulness in this world; but once or twice I discovered loyalty and integrity, and I caught a glimmer of how fine mankind can be, and knowing that the finest things are usually the rarest. –Nancy Lea, Questions and Answers: Dec. 3, 1932.

Culture, Extras, Featured

Common Language

Kimberly Rene' Vanecek

December 3, 2016

Nature-inspired artists showcase their collaborative works at a swanky Austin gallery

by Kimberly Rene’ Vanecek

Photographs courtesy of the artists

Flatbed Press and Gallery celebrate 25 years and two El Paso artists are along for the ride.

Suzi Davidoff and Rachelle Thiewes

Painter Suzi Davidoff and jewelry designer Rachelle Thiewes were asked to help commemorate the Austin gallery’s quarter century in business with their exhibit Common Language, a collaborative effort spanning thousands of miles and incorporating land installations as well as individual works at the prominent print studio.

Path to Alsviken

The project sent Davidoff and Thiewes traveling from El Paso to Finland’s Fiskars Village in 2009, an area surrounded by overgrown woods and rivers, which served as the initial backdrop for Common Language. Incorporating nature and minimalistic objects these two artists stamped their mark throughout the woods alongside Fiskars River—later continuing the project in the deserts around El Paso.

Sunland Park

Thiewes say environment awareness is a central theme to the endeavor. “In Finland we did a couple projects where we wrapped trees with flagging tape which is commonly used to mark trees that will be cut down. Foresting is a major part of Fiskars and the Finnish economy, trees grow for decades, build a beautiful forest and then are cut and logged out, leaving the forest bare,” said Thiewes.

Riisla Aqueduct

Armed with gold leaf, a vial of cochineal, and color flagging tape the artists embarked on their mission to complete their project during their two-month residency. Thiewes said along their journey they acquired other elements to incorporate in their installations, “On the dock in Finland we used clay that was dug up for us from the Pohja fjords, and in El Paso we used shale from the mountains around the Rio Grande. Other materials were silver leaf, dragees (silver coated sprinkles), fishing bobs, fishing weights covered in gold were used for the Riisla Aquaduct and bullets. We purposefully limited our materials.”

Rio Grande

Davidoff said they tracked 500 kilometers throughout the forests during the Fiskar installation and were surprised to see that some of their pieces vanished shortly after they were put in place. “Some of our installations in Finland, like the gold leaf fishing bobs in Riisla aqueduct and the small dragee covered stone, disappeared very quickly,” said Davidoff. The areas they chose to install their projects were often aligned with hiking trails, and both artists assume someone walking along the path may have removed the art not realizing it was an installation. Davidoff said some of the installations did need to come down. “In Finland we were careful to remove the flagging tape from trees, as the same material was often used by the foresters to mark trees ready to be cut,” said Davidoff.

Riisla

Upon returning to El Paso the duo continued their efforts in creating a favorable and rich environment as was documented in Finland. “We were careful not to contrast the beauty of the verdant forest with the desolation, even the perceived ugliness, of the desert. Both of us find extraordinary beauty in the desert so our goal became to create works that were every bit as rich and full as in the forests around Fiskars,” said Davidoff in an interview with Dan Lambert, author of Common Language: Punctuating the Landscape.

Timmerkar

Davidoff and Thiewes set out to the Chihuahuan desert shared between New Mexico and Texas frequented by the ear-piercing sounds of trains screeching on miles of rails twisting through the canyon. This is where they were tasked with trying to adhere flagging tape to the rails in order to document their works before a train reared by and destroyed their creation. “The trains would come through fast from both directions at unpredictable intervals. As soon as the rails would start to vibrate, we’d collect our gear and climb up the slope. The crush of air accompanying the train as it rolled over our worksite would pull sections of tape off in its wake,” said Davidoff.

Dock at Kivijarvi

After completing several installations the two artists stumbled upon quite a surprise in the desert. “Walking in the desert you find structures built out in the middle of nowhere that appear to be lost or of no conceivable use. The creaky wooden walkway supported by a spindly steel frame was one of them,” said Thiewes. The artist recreated the oval footprints that were documented in Finland on the dock in Kivijarvi, this time using ancient shale from the Rio Grande to create the markings.

Santa Teresa wash

The duo completed their project in 2011 and have continued collaborating on works through their group Razi Project. Davidoff and Thiewes say they’re excited to be a part of an art community that is so well documented. “Flatbed is a very well respected print studio in the U.S. so it is an honor that they have invited us to show this project as well as our individual works,” noted Thiewes. Common Language images were transferred onto aluminum accompanied by a twin-screen video projection for the event, which runs through December 31, 2016.

Common Language

Flatbed Press & Gallery

2832 East MLK Blvd.

Austin, Texas

512.477.9328

Open Tuesday-Friday 10-5 pm; Saturday 12-5 pm.

Culture, Extras, Featured

A Medley of Mediums

The Art Avenue

November 16, 2016

Las Artistas Art & Fine Craft Show is Bringing the Best of the Best to EPIC RAILYARD

Photographs provided by LAS ARTISTAS

“A Waiting” by Aleksander Titovets

Downtown El Paso is expected to be the mecca of all art shows this weekend. EPIC Railyard will be bustling with more than 80 Artisans from throughout the U.S. and El Paso at the 46th annual Las Artistas Art & Fine Crafts show.

Jewelry by Helen Ellison-Dorion

Las Artistas is an organization committed to bringing “the best of the best” in paintings, prints, ceramics, fiber, jewelry, metal, wood, wearable art and more. Event planners say there is a wide variety of prices to appeal to all visitors. The organization prides itself on the quality of the work that is exhibited noting that the participating artists and craftspeople have to met strict standards for originality, creative vision, technique and craftsmanship. “The stringent jurying standards guarantee that the art on display is high quality and relevant. This encourages artists, both returning and new applicants to push themselves to create higher quality work,” said Las Artistas President Jorge Calleja.

“Sunflower” by Candy Mayer

Many of the region’s notable artists will be participating in the event this year including painters Aleksander Titovets, Amado Pena Jr., Candy Mayer and Krystyna Robbins alongside jewelry-maker Helen Ellison-Dorion and several new talented entrants. A section of the show will feature seven emerging artists that have been juried for their skill, adding to the show’s diverse range of media and perspective.

Painting by Amado Peña

Visitors can shop at 66 booths inside the spacious EPIC Railyard Event Center– a space that has an industrial feel with an edgy attitude, and is now known as the EPIC Railyard Design District. “We share a common goal with Las Artistas—to bring the arts to downtown El Paso,” says Irma Estrada, events manager. “The south side of El Paso is quickly becoming an arts community as many artists and creative professionals are moving in and redeveloping some of the old buildings in this area.” EPIC Railyard Design District is also home to Laura Carrillo Designs and Dulce Alexandra, a creative businesses that focus on events, home décor and fashion.

Garment by Maria Navarra Pino

New “Meet the Maker” series at the show

“Mesa Gold” by Wendy Wilkerson

Event goers will have an opportunity to learn about the creative process through an interactive program called Meet the Maker. Each day there will be a series of one-hour sessions with participating artists talking about their work, giving demonstrations, sharing their stories and answering questions. “We wanted to give visitors an opportunity to get an inside perspective on what goes into making fine art and craft,” said Calleja. “The stories of these artists are truly inspirational. Claudia Ley, an emerging artist and third generation Chinese-Mexican-American jeweler of El Paso will talk about her background and how she became the first female to follow in her family’s trade.” Calleja went on to say that Wendy Wilkerson will demonstrate her gouache technique and photographer and emerging artist Amy Schultz will show visitors how to compose a photograph.

Jewelry by Claudia Ley

Las Artistas’ commitment to promote arts education in the Borderplex continues with a Children’s Art Exhibition called “My El Paso”—an exhibit of two-dimensional work by elementary, middle and high school students from the El Paso area. The students were asked to interpret their view of their city through art. The exhibition will be juried by Las Artistas members and prizes will be awarded. “Families enjoy seeing the children’s art exhibition, and in a larger sense, the exhibition is helping us cultivate a generation of new artists,” said Calleja.

Photograph by Amy Schultz

Las Artistas has provided students from UTEP’s Metals program with a unique opportunity to show and sell their work for the last 20 years. This booth is popular with event attendees where twenty students participate in this “learning classroom” where they interact with customers, receive feedback about their work and gain marketing experience. They are also able to meet and network with the other established artists and craftspeople in the show.

Glass sculpture by Larry Hamilton

The Las Artistas Art & Fine Craft Show has been going strong for 46 years. The first show was held in 1970 in the back yard of an artist’s home in El Paso, and was organized by a handful of women artists (thus the name, Las Artistas). Over the years, the show grew in popularity, moved to various locations in El Paso and is now a two-day juried event.

Painting by Patrick Gabaldón

The Las Artistas Art & Fine Crafts Show is sponsored by United Bank of El Paso Del Norte, Redfin, Ruhmann Law Firm, and with support of Museums and Cultural Affairs Department and the Texas Commission of the Arts. Media sponsors are, El Paso Times, El Paso Scene and The Art Avenue.

Plushy by Michelle Delgado of Lula-Squid

Event organizers say along with creative holiday gifts, the opportunity to meet local artists, experience the fascinating world of fine art and crafts there will be gourmet street-food provided by Food Truck Circus and a cash wine bar provided by Wine Attitude. For more information, visit www.lasartistas.org

BOX

Saturday, November 19, 10 am – 5 pm
Sunday, November 20, 10 am – 4 pm

EPIC Railyard Event Center, 2201 E Mills Avenue
El Paso, TX (located off I-10)

$6 for adults

Children under 18 are free

FREE Valet Parking

NEW Meet the Maker Series

Children’s Art Exhibition

Creative Cuisine by Food Truck Circus

Culture, Featured, Past ExhibitionsEl Paso Community Foundation, El Paso Museum of Art, EPMA, Philosophical Systems Institute, Sebastian

Curating the Classroom

The Art Avenue

July 5, 2016

This past March, students and teachers from three El Paso elementary schools had the unique opportunity to interact with Sebastián, a world-renowned Mexican sculptor. The experience was made possible due to a collaboration between the El Paso Community Foundation, the El Paso Museum of Art and Philosophical Systems Institute.

In 2011, the Community Foundation established The Classroom Fund to provide resources directly to teachers and classrooms at the front lines of education. Since its inception, the fund has given out more than $500,000 in resources to classroom teachers. This year, the Foundation is partnering with the El Paso Independent School District and Philosophical Systems Institute to present a pilot program called Active Learning Through the Fine Arts. Imagine a classroom filled every day with music, dance and visual art. Imagine children having the opportunity to work with professional artists—learning through creative exploration. This is the world the El Paso Community Foundation and its partners s hoping to build.

Students at three elementary schools —Burnet, Coldwell and Hillside—have daily experiences with the arts and arts integrated lessons in math, science, language and other subjects. “Research consistently demonstrates that regular participation in fine arts strengthens academic and social development, increases test scores, and raises graduation rates,” said Eric Pearson, President of the El Paso Community Foundation. “We want to make sure all students in El Paso have access to the arts.” The program will expand to three new schools next year and the long-term goal is to reach out to other districts.

When the El Paso Museum of Art wanted to have a teacher fellowship program in conjunction with their current exhibition KNOT: The Art of Sebastián, partnering with the Fine Arts Initiative program seemed like a perfect match.

On the exhibition’s opening weekend, teachers participated in a workshop with Sebastián, and 176 first through fifth grade students from the pilot schools took a field trip to the museum to explore Sebastian’s work through a series of hands-on activities. “The students’ responses were amazing,” said Stephanie Otero, project director with the El Paso Community Foundation. “His work is not only accessible to children, it speaks to them.”

Following the visit to the museum, teachers and students continued to explore the mathematics and construction of Sebastián’s sculptures through activities at their schools. The students studied and experimented with 2D and 3D surfaces through storytelling and physical models. The end result? An exhibition by the students in response to Sebastián’s work—attended by the artist himself. The exhibition, A Conversation Among Artists, will open May 21 at The El Paso Museum of Art. “The students cannot wait to see their art in a real museum,” Otero said.

Culture, FeaturedPoetry, Valentin Sandoval

Pulp Poetry

Kristopher Johnson

December 19, 2015

Valentin Sandoval’s debut prose collection, South Sun Rises, is a true American chronicle. The collection, published last December, features poems of familial ties and struggles with its personal and shared traumas. Sandoval’s slice of American pie is bubbling at the surface and grabbing at your feet. Sandoval’s lust for life comes across in “La Rutera,”

His Father,
those Ancient Ones unite to see
me, who is them
in full form.
They teach me how to
laugh at the sickness
when it overwhelms,
like a Buddha I roar
my laugh into the dark.

He speaks from the womb, and as his mother. The on-again, off-again maternal protagonist radiates, and then, in a poem like “El Coyote,” the Chihuahua Desert becomes part of the narrative and the dual protagonists become immersed into the narrative landscape. He also reaches out from an omnipresent voice. From Sandoval’s “Narcopreneurs”:

I pray,
“Oh Great Creator,
Gran Creador,
Juarez needs salvation,
their souls need to be sown
into the life of Juarez,
the beautiful city
where there live
young hearts hoping
to claim the new folklore
of their own making,
their own meaning”

South Sun Rises is directly grounded to the source of its setting. What’s most evident in these works is the necessity for the slowing down of time into blood, sweat and tears.

As the poems progress the collection takes on the ideas of the beauty of place, fragility of family, breaking of cycles, survival and resilience. Best embodied in “The Desert Cold Again,”

Sandoval comes across like Faulkner here, the sound and the fury of a pseudo Compson family on the border, stressing the guilt that weighs on the history of our communities and on the best of us.

What stands fresh throughout is Sandoval’s willingness to bear his own traumas, his naked and afraid moments, all of this tied to a journey of hope into wonder, highlighted by his mother. This is Americana through the lens of the border, not just for the mestizaje baked under the Chihuahuan Desert sun, but all the pseudo desert dogs from sea to shining sea.

Culture, Featured, Visual ArtsEPIC Railyard, Las Artistas

EPIC Art

Carol Fusaro

December 19, 2015

The 45th annual Las Artistas Art & Fine Craft Show on Nov. 21 and 22 has an epic new location—the EPIC Railyard in Downtown El Paso. This historic warehouse—recently renovated and given a new creative life as an event space—is the perfect setting for showcasing local art and fine craft. “The Railyard has allowed us to feature a larger number of artists and craftspeople and expand our educational offerings,” said Las Artistas vice president Jorge Calleja. “It is an artistic space that reflects the environment of our show.”

The Event will take place at the Epic Railyard. A contemporary event venue. — The Event will take place at the Epic Railyard.
A contemporary event venue.

This hip new venue gives art lovers another reason to attend the weekend-long showcase of art and craft made by more than 90 creatives from El Paso and beyond. Visitors can see and shop for paintings, prints, ceramics, jewelry, home decor, wearable art and more. The event serves as a well-known beacon among locals seeking out distinctive and fun holiday gifts. Admission is $6 per day, free for children under 18, and there is free valet parking. Creative cuisine will be provided by Food Truck Circus.

A popular feature of the Las Artistas Art & Fine Craft show is that you can meet and speak with the artists and learn the story behind the piece of art and the technique that was used to create it. There will also be demonstrations, such as painting and woodturning, so you can watch the creative process in action. As part of Las Artistas’ commitment to promote arts education in El Paso, the show will feature a juried exhibition of children’s artwork made by students from Polk Elementary School.

The more than 90 artists and craftspeople participating in the show have met Las Artistas’ strict standards for originality, creative vision, technique and craftsmanship. Many have exhibited in the show in past years, including metal artist Helen Dorion, whose contemporary jewelry is sold in galleries across the U.S., and nationally renowned painters Aleksander and Lyuba Titovets (painters of former first lady Laura Bush’s portrait).

Meeting the community’s growing interest in discovering new and emerging artists, for the first time the show will feature up-and-coming artisans in a dedicated section this year. Metals artist and jewelry maker Laura Caballero, who came to El Paso from Juarez to attend school at UTEP, will display her playful, colorful jewelry made of metal, gemstones, resins and glass. Another first-time participant is Patricia Black from Las Cruces, N.M., who grows and paints gourds and transforms them into contemporary art pieces with a Southwest flair. Roman Martinez is another emerging artist who creates paintings and murals influenced by iconic western themes and his Mexican heritage. Pam Schuster is a self-taught jewelry artist who enjoys experimenting with silver, copper and gemstones to create her work. She has taken classes in UTEP’s Metals program and participated last year in the Las Artistas show in the UTEP student booth; this year she will exhibit her work in her own booth.

Artist Laura Caballero wearing a ring that will be available for purchase at the show.

For more than 20 years, Las Artistas has provided students from UTEP’s Metals and Ceramics programs with a unique opportunity to show and sell their work. 40 students, selected by their professors, participate in this “learning classroom,” where they interact with customers, get feedback about their work, and gain marketing experience. They are also able to meet and network with the other established artists and craftspeople in the show.

A portion of the proceeds from the Las Artistas Art & Fine Craft show is used to support UTEP’s Metals and Ceramics students. The UTEP program uses these stipends to provide educational opportunities, such as bringing in visiting artists and sending students to workshops and conferences.

The first show was held in 1970, in the back yard of an artist’s home in El Paso, and was organized by a handful of women artists (thus the name, Las Artistas). Over the years, the show has grown in popularity, moving to various locations in El Paso, and has expanded to become a two-day, juried event.

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