The Nature of Words: Paulann Petersen, Oregon Poet Laureate Collaborates with Artist Cristina Acosta

Snow Red I, by Cristina Acosta and Paulann Petersen

This past year I have been fortunate to collaborate with artists working in different mediums. I've written about working with the artists Tolley Marney and Cindy Williams Guiterezz. Here I'm sharing with you the work I've done with the poet Paulann Petersen, Oregon's Poet Laureate. 

The work is exhibited for sale at Atelier 6000 in Bend, Oregon and is conjunction with The Nature of Words, in Bend, Oregon.
Show Dates: NOVEMBER: First Friday, November 1, 5;30 – 8:30 pm “Broadsides” Hanging at the crossroads of art and literature, Atelier 6000 and Nature of Words present “Broadsides” artworks that include mixed media and two-dimensional works with emphasis on text and image. This juried show opens November 1 and continues through November 30, 2010.

How to Find Us

389 SW Scalehouse Ct.
Bend, Oregon 97702
(Off SW Wilson near the Old Mill District)
541.330.8759

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Artist Statement – Paulann Petersen, Oregon's Poet Laureate

On the page, poems assume lives of their own. They encounter readers and listeners. Once my poems are launched into this world, I realize I can no longer explain or defend or amend them. Separate from me, they unilaterally carry—in the arms of their lines—whatever music and meaning they can convey.

Snow Red II (ghost image)

I’ve known this—that a poem takes on a life of its own—for a long time. But in the process of collaborating with Cristina Acosta, I’ve recently learned that poetry can become part of a collaborative process in which the poem continues creating itself.

When Cristina gave me the monotype (and ghost image) she’d created in response to my poem “Snow Red,” she asked me to continue the artistic exchange by adding text or graphics to her work. Her striking, luminous images compelled me to write, in pencil onto the monotype’s surface, phrases I borrowed from my poem. And as I added those words to her images, I found them rearranging themselves into new combinations and permutations.  As my eye followed Cristina’s color and line and form, the phrases juxtaposed and re-sequenced themselves in startling ways.  My response to Cristina’s visual response to my poem gave that poem a new life.  The poem assumed a life that included—one that actually welcomed—continual change.

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Artist Statement – Cristina Acosta

I came to this collaboration with poet Paulann Petersen through an invitation from her that has resulted in an artistic conversation unlike anything I’ve experienced. After meeting Paulann at an artist’s salon in Portland she sent me one of her poems, Bloodline. Reading that poem resulted in my first experience of a visceral response to a piece of poetry. In return, I sent her an image of a monotype painting I made reflecting that response and our collaborative conversation commenced.

Paulann then gave me her book, The Wild Awake and I dove into her poetry. The poems took shape for me like sculptures formed of flowing mass, hue and value. Experiences that existed for me outside of words now found shape and form within her poems. The monotypes in this exhibit are the result of working with the poems from The Wild Awake. I then gave those monotypes to Paulann so that she could choose to add additional work to the pieces (or not). Turning my pieces over to her for the next part of our conversation was a conscious surrender to the process of continual change. The result will take on new meaning to the viewer, continuing creation.

Paulann Petersen is Oregon’s sixth Poet Laureate, former Stegner Fellow at Stanford University, recipient of the 2006 Literary Arts Steward Holbrook Award for Outstanding Contributions to Oregon’s Literary Life. She is the author of four chapbooks, and two full-length collections of poems including, The Wild Awake and contributor to many publications.

Cristina Acosta is an artist, author and color and design expert. The author of Paint Happy, her art is in numerous collections nationwide. She is also a contributor to many art, design and home décor publications over the past two decades.

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“Broadsides” is Atelier 6000’s November exhibition.  Artwork from Texas, Colorado, Washington, Iowa and Oregon are represented. Cristina Acosta's collaborative art with poets Paulann Petersen and Cindy Williams Gutierezz are exhibited in the Broadsides show.

Awards:
First Place: “Meditation” by Joseph and Marquita Green (see left)
Second Place: “Sleep Awakens” by Kris Tolmie
Third Place: “Phoebe in the Watermelon Boat” by John Simpkins
Honorable Mention: “Lamentation” by Barbara Payne Ward and Boston Tea Party by Danuta Muszynska

www.CristinaAcosta.com

Artist Collaboration: Sculptor Tolley Marney and Painter Printmaker Cristina Acosta

 Artist Statement

Artists: Cristina Acosta and Tolley Marney

Mixed Media Originals – are a combination of the classic artist printmaking process teamed with drawing and painting techniques. The art process begins with a drawing or painting that is made with intaglio-ink and placed on the bed of a hand-cranked printing press. Using 100% cotton or other natural paper, only one image is made at a time. Acosta and Marney then finish the art by hand-rubbing it with powdered pigments and/or drawing and painting on the piece.

         Marney and Acosta collaborate on a series of original mixed media images based on the image of the horse. Marney says, “I’ve interacted with horses all of my life, so I understand the horse and feel a comfort working with its image. The horse is a kindred spirit. Horses are creatures that will do anything in the world for us as long as we ask in the right way. Heart and soul, they always amaze me.”

            Acosta’s work blends spirit and physical energy, both creating a new vision of the horse as well as translating the images of the sculptural pieces into mixed media monotypes rich with surface and texture. Acosta says, “The image of the horse is symbolic with layers of meaning that I’ve echoed both actually and metaphorically in this series.”

            Working as much as possible with environmental sensitivity, Marney works in reclaimed steel and Acosta works with enviro-safe printmaking materials. Both artists contribute to the other's imagery and often work together on the pieces. All art is signed by both artists.

            Primarily a sculptor, Marney exhibits his sculptures in premier art galleries in New York, Palm Springs, Santa Barbara and San Francisco. His sculptures are in many private collections. Marney also won first prize in the New Jersey Equine Art Expo in 2003.

            Primarily a painter and printmaker, Acosta’s art has been featured in many national venues including galleries, museums, print and internet media. Acosta is the author of the art book Paint Happy ©2002, 2004 and a contributor to art and design books and articles.

www.TolleyMarney.com

www.CristinaAcosta.com

Artist Collaboration: Poet Cindy Williams Gutierrez and Printmaker Cristina Acosta

This monoprint mixed media piece includes drawing and painting. It is a collaboration between the poet Cindy Williams Gutiérrez and me. After reading her poem many times, this image came to me. It is not a literal illustration of the poem but a response to Cindy's evocative, image-rich language. Collaborating like this has been a wonderful experience. I'm grateful to be working with such a beautiful poem.

Creating the monoprint is a sensual process that by its nature engages images. I begin with a glass plate that I then finger paint an image onto it. I refine the image with a variety of tools like sticks, wedges and other edge tools. When the image looks done, I put it on the steel bed of the printing press and turn the crank handle, pressing the image onto a sheet of paper. After that I hang the image to dry. Later I go back into the image with drawing tools to pick up lines, shapes and forms that enrich the image.

When I finished my part, I gave the image to Cindy and she refined areas important to her, and the piece became entirely different. Read what Cindy had to say about her part of the collaborative experience:

 

If I Were a Nahua Poet/  Si yo fuera poeta Nahua

This broadside is a collaborative project involving three artists:

poet Cindy Williams Gutiérrez, translator and poet Ángel Fuentes,

and printmaker Cristina Acosta.

The original poem was written by Gutiérrez in English with

Nahuatl code-switching in 2008. In January of 2010, the poem was

translated into Spanish by Yucatecan poet Fuentes (with the author)

in a translation workshop led by Professor Pedro Serrano of la

Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). Both the

original and the translation were published online in UNAM’s

Periódico de poesía in April of this year.

This August, visual artist Acosta responded to the poem by creating a collage of two original monoprints encircled by the original poem and its translation (in her handwriting). In the spirit of collaboration, Acosta left the broadside with Gutiérrez, inviting her to alter it as she felt moved to do so.

Note: This project evolved from el Grupo de ’08, a collaborative artists’ salon

founded by Gutiérrez in 2008 to inspire collaboration among Northwest writers,

musicians, and visual artists. The salon is inspired by Federico García Lorca and

named for the multi-disciplinary group of Spanish artists to which Lorca belonged,

la Generación de ’27. Greg Simon, a noted Lorca translator, is a core member and

a continual source of inspiration for the Northwest group.

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Artist Statement
Cindy Williams Gutiérrez

Duality inspires my work. I write to wrestle with contradiction, to explore the connections among the disparate—to experience opposing ideas, emotions, people, places, even languages in close proximity.

In this piece, I was drawn to the copper leafing Cristina had applied, particularly the shapely moon. I found two copper coins in my jewelry box—one from Spain and one from Mexico. I used the Spanish coin to cover the top half of the skull near the heart image: for me, the power of history is evoked in the juxtaposition of a Spanish coin and a Nahua (or Aztec) skull. In this context, a contradiction is created: through the lens of the Spanish conquest, the nearby heart is evocative of human sacrifice rather than the human trembling we all share.

I placed the Mexican coin to the center of the flower near the deer image. Poetry, or “flower and song”(“floricanto” in Spanish or “in xochitl in cuica” in Nahuatl) was a valued currency in the life of the Nahua tribes of central Mexico. The Nahuas believed that poetry was the way to a pure heart, an emerald heart.

I write to see. I am impelled by what I might discover—if I dig deep enough, if I turn something over and over enough to subvert its face value.

In this piece, I was fascinated by the way Cristina interwove lines of the original poem (in English) with lines of the translation (in Spanish). I became curious about how the piece would be experienced if some of the poem were hidden. I overlaid strips of colored paper that matched Cristina’s palette until a single new hybrid poem emerged. The original and translation were no longer redundant. English, Spanish, and Nahuatl flowed freely into each other as all three languages felt of a whole.


My goal is to surrender to poetry and let it be my guide. I trust myself most when I write. In these moments, I am but a vessel. The poem is the thing that’s most alive.

Cindy's Website
www.CristinaAcosta.com

Artist Pulled Handmade Prints of Horses

Horses have been an active part of my imagination since I was about 10 years old and rode my first Smoketree Ranch horse at the Moonridge Stables in Big Bear Lake, California. As an adult I even owned horses for about 6 or 7 years, taking dressage lessons and going trail riding with friends.  Though I've dipped in and out of riding throughout my life, horses are always part of my imagery.

This year I've been collaborating with different artists. The result of those collaborations is now emerging. My friend Tolley Marney, a sculptor in Palm Springs (and a cowboy), creates beautiful sculptures of horses using recycled steel. Working from his images I created a series of original works on paper at A-6 (the printmaking studio I joined last year). Check out our collaborative work at this link http://store.incredibleartist.com/collections/tolley-marney

www.cristinaacosta.com

New Monoprints - Bare Bones and Feet

Working at Atelier 6000 for the past half of a year has been such a wonderful experience. Learning the variety of printing processes (and there is much more to learn) has enabled me to blend drawing and painting in a way I've never been able to achieve with drawing or painting alone.

The techniques of mono-printing that I used to create these images involve painting with my hands on glass plates and drawing into the surface with my fingers, sticks, and more. The process is very sensual and enables me to feel as though I'm building each image with my hands from the stuff of my dreams.  For me this is a very mystical and satisfying way to create art images.

I prefer studio time in the morning when the visions from my dreams and subconscious are most accessible.  Here are two images I've recently finished.

Broken Pairing - Geese Feet Study 14:  Rives BFK paper 9" x  20".
A close friend of mine is a hunter and owner of Women's Hunting Journal.  Not only is she a responsible hunter and steward of the land, she's one of the few people I know who knows exactly where most of her meat has come from and she doesn't shy from her part in the life cycle of animals that humans harvest for meat.  She gave me some of these feet after a successful hunt. 

Ancestral Claim - Vertebrae Study #36, Rives BFK paper 16" x 16"
I am regularly in the forest and desert of the High Plateau around my home in Bend, Oregon. For many years I've picked up bones (I lived on a old homestead ranch for most of my first decade in Oregon). I especially love how the vertebrae echos some of the shapes of the DNA helix. I've worked with bones in my imagery since I first became an artist in the 1980's.

www.CristinaAcosta.com

Every Cowgirl Closet Needs Painted Cowboy Boots

Have you ever taken a load of old clothes to a thrift store and made yourself a little ill when you tallied up the money you paid for them?  Well, fashion trends come and go, but the best fashion investment I've made is my cowgirl clothes. Though the presence of horses in my life has ebbed and flowed. I still have some Stewart boots that are 30 years old, belts, and even some shirts that are certainly in the vintage category by now (An age category thing that's a bit tough to take when I'm the original owner!)

Recently I took a pair of old Tony Lama cowboy boots I bought at a garage sale and painted them. It's a fun way to play with your inner cowgirl and get something new for your cowgirl closet. Here's a few tips I came up with to paint leather  boots.

• Use oil paints.
• Very lightly sand the entire boot with a 100 grit sandpaper to open the surface of the leather. Don't sand over stitching as it will tear.
• With a rag, wipe the boot down with paint thinner to prepare the surface.
• Let the paints dry for months as recommended with oils, then protect the surface of the boot with a natural oil finish.
• Have fun! 

Note: I painted these boots with thin washes of Cadmium Red Dark and Quinacridone Red on the foot area. On the boot shaft, I painted the gold calligraphic floral pattern with a laquer-thinner based 14kt. gold pigmented paint.
www.CristinaAcosta.com

Clearing out Old Energy: Creating Something New from Something Old

I get attached to things -- not necessarily valuable material things (though sometimes they are), more often a beautiful bone or an old battered box that used to sit on my late grandmother's dresser is what catches my attention.

This January I've been inspired to finish organizing my Abuelita's (Grandmother's) family photos. I narrowed the pile down to about 500 photos that span about 100 years. It's been an ongoing project that I've dipped in and out of for several years. I took the junky old button boxes and battered jewelry boxes that were part of the pile and remade them with collages of my drawings, monoprints and images of my paintings. Here's a photo of my finished group of work. It also includes a pair of painted cowboy boots and some candy tins I made into mini-retablos for my house.

www.CristinaAcosta.com

Creativity in the local Brew Pubs Catches the Wall Street Journal's attention

This past Christmas Eve the Wall Street Journal gave some Bend, Oregon restaurants the holiday gift of an endorsement.  Reporter Adam Thompson wrote a piece for Off the Beaten Path on what to do, where to stay and where to try Deschutes County's local brews.

Among the list are some of my personal favorites including two businesses for whom I've created art: Deschutes Brewery and Jen's Garden. Though it's not a brew pub, Jen's Garden made the list, an accomplishment it fully has earned.

Many years ago I created the holiday Jubilale label for Deschutes Brewery (the second year of their annual artist label).

The painting "Jen's Garden" is in the restaurant above the fireplace.

It's been an honor to be involved with these two very creative companies. I recommend you visit both restaurants when visiting Bend.

New Retablos of the Guadalupe, Conquistadora and Others for Christmas Shows

Owning a piece of beautiful art may be easier than you think. Meeting the challenging economy head-on, art galleries are working hard to present collectors with affordable art pieces.

To make a series of affordable retablos, I put giclee prints of images from my Hispanic Culture art series of retablos and santos on hardwood panels. Hand rolling and cutting clay into a variety of shapes including leaves, crosses, birds and more I fired those then mosaiced them onto the hardwood. I painted the hardwood with a variety of gorgeous abstract colors then layered that with figurative leaves and flowers created with metallic paint.
The retablos are 15" across x 21" tall and sell for about $598.00.

This holiday season, three galleries are carrying my new series of retablos: These retablos retail for $598.00.

ChimMaya Gallery, 5283 East Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA
www.Chimmaya.com 323-869-8881

High Desert Gallery with locations in Bend, Oregon.
www.HighDesertGallery.com 541- 388-8964 or toll free 866-549-6250.

Suzanne Etienne Art Gallery, Ashland, Oregon. 541-482-1766
www.SuzanneEtienne.com

Contact the galleries to purchase one of these pieces.
www.CristinaAcosta.com

Gracias to Latina Magazine for the Article!

Angie Romero, a writer for Latina magazine wrote this piece, Madonna Mia about my art exhibit, Reshaping the Divine. Thanks Angie for supporting my work. Here's an excerpt from Latina:

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My older sister was named Maria Auxiliadora, after the Virgin Mary. Maria is a very predictable name for a Latina, but my mom named her that because she was in a near-fatal car accident when she was pregnant with her firstborn, so she promised la virgen that if she and her baby survived, she’d be forever grateful. To this day, she is a devout Catholic. Me, I’m more spiritual, but that’s another story for another day.

I recently received an email from an artist who did a whole collection of Madonnas (as in the mother of Christ, not the queen of pop). Cristina Acosta was born in L.A. to an Anglo American mom and Mexican American dad. Her paternal roots date back to New Mexico in the late 1500s. Growing up, she says she was always fascinated by that side of her family tree.

Her Madonnas (my favorite of which is “La Sirena Verde,” which Acosta painted for her sister to celebrate her recovery from cancer) are painted with oil, sterling silver, copper, gold metal leaf, and inlays of antique, gold-glazed ceramic tiles. They often delve past the dawn of Christianity and also represent the earth religions of the Native Americans. . . . READ MORE at Latina
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www.CristinaAcosta.com

Bragging About My Kid's Artwork

Isabella Acosta Barna's paintings

Please forgive me, but I'm a mom and I am so proud of my daughter, Isabella Acosta Barna, that I just have to brag a bit. Isabella's greeting cards are for sale at the Clinton Presidential Library Gift Shop!!

And, a portion of every sale funds The Alliance for a Healthier Generation.

The Alliance for a Healthier Generation Youth Advisory Board and Empower Me 2 Be (of which Isabella is a board member) is on task to halt the increase in childhood obesity. Last year the Alliance asked Isabella to make some images using their color scheme that convey health. They would then choose one or more to use in their outreach.

The slide show of Isabella's art work has a photo of her at work in her respirator, carefully layering stencils and other collage materials on her piece as she paints. This was a great opportunity for her to work within the client's design and concept parameters as she explored how to creatively fulfill those guidelines.

Isabella is a strong and independent artist -- which means that I had nothing to do with the outcome of these images beyond explaining to her the mental/artistic process of how to approach this type of project. I love her final images -- they are beautiful!

And as a mom and an artist, I'm glad my child likes to make art. Presenting art to a kid and knowing when to slip in a little teaching now and then is a very fluid experience over their lifetime. There is no one right way to encourage creativity. My approach is to have the tools and time available and then to be a good example of working my own creative process.

www.CristinaAcosta.com

Successful Artists and Their Original Art

Years after I've taught an art class, a student will introduce themselves and tell me that they liked my class. One of the best things about teaching is having a student tell me that their art learning experience with me was positive. Especially if they are telling me months or years later when their memory has sifted and re-sifted the experience until the essence is left.

My next best thing is bragging about my art students. Some of my students come to me as experienced artists who glean a little and move on. Others are beginning artists -- a group I feel especially responsible to. Teaching someone art for the first time usually sets the tone for their attitude towards art education.

Here is some artwork from past contacts:

Steve Bennett took Central Oregon Community college art classes from me in the 1990's. He was already an accomplished artist and has gone on to create even more beautiful work. His lovely pastel of this forest glade is the cover for an artist workshop exhibit and sale at the U.S. Hotel Ballroom, California & Third St., Jacksonville, Oregon. August 25 - September 2, 2009 Daily 10 am – 7 pm. Gala Reception, Saturday, August 29, 2 – 4 pm . Steve Bennett and his wife, Sue Bennett are both accomplished artists and educators. They operate the art tour business, AIM Art in Motion Workshops.

Dianne Charewicz, a blog reader sent me this recent note regarding her inspiration from my book, Paint Happy : (Here's a photo of her art)

Hi Cristina,
Back in February I had emailed you asking how you sealed the soft pastel on top of the acrylic painting. I promised to send you a picture of my painting. Well, here it is. My husband really liked it and so many people comment about how "Happy" it is! Thanks for your help!
Blessings,
Diane Charewicz


www.CristinaAcosta.com

Art of the Tatoo - Portland Art Museum

Altering your looks is the status quo of our culture. Makeovers are featured in most every magazine and for the financially backed, an entire menu of plastic surgery lite and full course options abound. Change and reinvention are firmly embodied in the flesh around us.

After seeing Marking Portland: The Art of the Tattoo at the Portland Art Museum June 20 - Sept. 7, 2009, the choices offered by the question of change and reinvention expanded. Tattoos are the tool of choice for many Portlanders seeking to express themselves beyond a nip, tuck or new hairstyle.

My daughter, Isabella and I spent the afternoon in the Portland Art Museum, ending our stay with a rest on the benches downstairs and the slide show that was the exhibit, Marking Portland: The Art of the Tattoo.

Sitting on the bench was the Checkerboard Face Man. I introduced myself to him and he was very gracious regarding my interest in his tatoos. His name is Matt Gone and he's an artist who has used his body as his canvas, covering everything except his gums and palms of his feet with tattoos. Willamette Week featured a great piece describing his motivation and life experiences as a completely tattoed man.

Matt posed for me, pulling up his pant legs and shirt to expose his body covered in a checkerboard pattern of tatoos interspersed with colorful motifs. He's an affable man with quiet and unassuming body language that is at odds with his flamboyant markings.

I admire Matt's dedication to his personal vision. In the Willamette Week article Matt says that his wish is to preserve his skin for display after he dies. For Matt, reinvention never stops.

www.CristinaAcosta.com

Painted Sarongs for Sailing

Color and light filled with air propelling me across the surface of a High Cascade's lake. WOW!

Flatwater stand up paddling on lakes usually involves wind of some sort if you're out past noon. My friend, Judy Shasek and I were playing around on Hosmer Lake, Oregon last week and came up with a lot of things to laugh about while we experimented with our SUP boards.

Memories of catching the wind on windsurfers inspired Judy and I to take advantage of a tail wind and try some sailing. Since I often travel with sarongs (as SPF, clothing, mosquito distractor, etc.) I was ready.

I whipped my sarong into the air with a gust and Judy and I made a jib sail between us. It worked so well that we returned the next day with two sarongs and caught downwind puffs singly wherever we could. We even convinced Judy's husband, Ed to give it a try.

I painted these sarongs on silk and cotton and was totally grooving on how they looked filled with air and lit through with sunlight. Silk was definitely the material that won the day as a sarong sail. Silk is strong, lightweight and catches the wind easily. It also looks good on.

Judy and I got so caught up in sarong sailing that we almost re-invented the windsurfer!

Judy's husband, Ed Shasek took the photos (unless he was in them).
www.StandUpPaddleFlatwater.com

www.CristinaAcosta.com

Art and Grieving - Making Group Art

The past several months I and my family have lost some close friends in accidents. In my own way I work through these sad times in my art work. Sometimes consciously working with the experience, but mostly by continuing to work and observing after I'm done that references to that sadness are in the work.

My friend, Cameron Clark, owner of C3 Events recently experienced the passing of Jimmy Pantenburg, the child of a close friend. Cameron called me and asked me if I'd be willing to work for him creating a place both physically and psychically for Jimmy's friends to make a mural in his honor.

I just finished the mural project and want to share with you Cameron's brilliant idea. Brilliantly rich was how I felt watching a dozen teenagers with spray cans talking and painting as they created a tribute to their late friend. (Though, as an adult, the irony of teaching teenagers the fine points of spray painting did give me a smile.) Not only did they all agree that the piece is "really sweet", they had a chance to talk about the fun things they did with their friend. They'd look through Jimmy's album of spray paint stencils and photos of his work, then they'd copy something as they talked.

I didn't know Jimmy, but after seeing his work and listening to his friends, I feel enriched by his life. His friends got a chance to live consciously with their feelings of grief and share them openly without any heavy expectations or the sense that they had to do or be any particular way. They were hanging with his spirit. It was a beautiful thing.

On a practical note -- facilitating the creation of a group art piece that's 5 feet tall and 15' long necessitated some basic design parameters. Here's what I did:

• Painted one basic background color. In this instance, red.
• Put together a selection of spray paint can colors that would work with Jimmy's themes.
• Determined the central theme and set that first so that the kids could work around it. In this instance the focal point was the grafitti moniker, "Always".
• Gave the kids tips on how to best use their spray paint cans.
• Kept the image "floating". That's a term I use to describe my method of keeping the entire surface of the image working together at the same time. Practically, that meant I'd work intermittently with the kids -- being sure to disappear enough that they felt very invested in the work.
  
• When the kids were done I spent some time "tightening" the image so that it would be even stronger.
  

I enjoyed helping out this way. I highly recommend a mural project of this sort as a way to bring a group together, regardless of the occasion.

www.CristinaAcosta.com

Learning Printmaking

I've spent as much time as I could the last two weeks at Pat Clark's printmaking studio, Atelier 6000 (A6), in Bend, Oregon. Pat, her helpers and fellow printmaking artists have been especially helpful guiding me through the world of printing. Here's what I've learned so far.

Printmaking is FUN! It's also exacting, engaging and messy. I've been learning mono-printing as everyone tells me that monoprinting is most like painting, therefore an easier segue into printing for a painter.

I especially love how I can't predict anything (yet) during the printing process and that results in surprises that always lead to something even better. It's a fun and relaxing way to fill my creative well. I'll post of few of my learning prints when I have some I really like.

www.CristinaAcosta.com

Nature Influences My Art

The well of experience that I draw from to create includes everything I experience. To keep the waters of creativity flowing, it's very important that I continue to experience new things and experiment with different viewpoints.

Changing my viewpoint is a lot easier when I try something new that always pushes me to learn. One of the easiest methods to bring fun and positive change into my life is athletics. Stand up paddle boarding has become one of my favorite sports. This is my third summer of paddle boarding and I'm hooked. I've learned to surf ocean waves, wind-driven lake waves, and paddled rivers. Besides being fun, stand up paddleboarding puts me in to intimate contact with nature. I'm often on waterways that have their own life rhythms and images.

Last weekend I went on a 35 mile downriver paddle with some of our local stand up paddling group. (You can read more about paddle boarding on the SUP Stand up Paddle blog my husband I and share.) The nine hours we were on the Deschutes River in Oregon, filled my senses with both obvious imagery and more subtle experiences.

I work animal and plant images into all of my paintings regardless of the style I'm working in. Here are a few examples of oil paintings I've done that focus on animals. The Blue Heron is a large 4' x 6' oil of an experience I had watching a Blue Heron fly through the forest before dawn. The Eagle is a raptor that I see often on the High Desert Plateau near my home. The Deer Herd is often in my garden (eating or drinking!). Flora, fauna, madonnas and figures populate my imagery and flow from my actual experiences. Figure drawing once a week keeps me in touch with on of my favorite artistic disciplines, stand up paddle boarding is another type of discipline. It's all good!

www.CristinaAcosta.com

Reshaping the Divine - Contemporary Hispanic Retablos Exploring the Sacred Feminine

This exhibit is up for Summer 2009. The artist statement describes the personal context of my art and about the intent behind these pieces.
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Reshaping the Divine: Contemporary Hispanic Retablos Exploring the Sacred Feminine

Cristina Ortiz Acosta – Artist Statement 2009 - Exhibit at El Museo Cultural, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Click here to see this series of Hispanic Retablos.

Over the past twenty years, my series of Madonna retablos came to me in ebbs and flows via a series of powerful dreams. The dreams started during my pregnancy with my daughter. For the entire pregnancy I dreamt of being a woman on a journey north across dusty plains and through arroyos as I mostly walked behind an oxcart. The dreams ended in a room lit by a wooden candelabra filled with tallow candles and the birth of my daughter, Isabella Pilar in 1993.

I called these dreams my Maria Dreams because in the dreams, I/she was named Maria. Seeking the meaning of those dreams over the years brought me down a path I could never have imagined and deepened my understanding of my cultural heritage. Searching for the meaning of my Maria Dreams eventually lead me back to New Mexico, the land of my Ortiz ancestors.

My paternal grandmother, Catalina Maria Ortiz Acosta, born in 1904, was the daughter of J. Nestor Ortiz and Maria Elena Salazar, descendents of the original Spanish settlers founding the cities and villages throughout New Mexico. Researching my family genealogy (my grandmother spoke vaguely about her ancestors), I discovered that my direct ancestors had participated in the initial 16th and 17th century migrations of the Spanish, traveling North from Mexico City into the region that is now the State of New Mexico. I read books about the era and became fascinated by the types of experiences my female ancestors must have had while living on the New Mexican frontier for generations. With this research nurturing my experience of my personal history, my calling to paint Madonna’s began to take shape.

Born in Los Angeles to an Anglo mother and Hispanic father, early on I was aware of cultural concepts because of the differences between the two sides of my family. Despite their differences, Catholicism was the central theme for my parents. Celebrating their devotion resulted in religious images from the Americas and Europe scattered throughout our home and those of our relatives. Images of Mary the Mother of God as the Guadalupe, Conquistadora and many other versions were always present. Along with those images were displayed American Indian items from the Ortiz ranch.

The artifacts from the Ortiz family ranch consumed my imagination from as far back as I can remember. Handmade Indian blankets and pots, and even a gold menorah (referred to as a “candelabra” by my grandmother) made by Ortiz ancestors generations past (some of the men were renowned filigree gold smiths). Those as well as the chili ristras hanging in my grandmother’s kitchen hinted at another world far from the Southern California beach scene of my childhood home. For reasons I can’t sufficiently articulate, the mix of these images and experiences coalesced into my calling to visually explore and create new images of the Madonna as an expression of the feminine divine.

Each of the retablos I paint results in a new vision of the sacred. For example, painting La Conquistadora opened the door to re-balancing the dominant patriarchal and European view of the divine with the North American native and feminine. In La Conquistadora I layer symbols of the Dine Spider woman and the Puebloan Corn Maiden, seeking to blend the indigenous ancient female images and concepts harmoniously with the Catholic image of Mary. The result is a Madonna that hints of ancient goddesses many thousands of years old at the same time she conveys the current blend of cultures in the Southwest.

I create my work in the traditions of the Spanish/Mexican retablo to reinforce my expression of reverence and convey the intimate experience of sacredness. I find antique, reclaimed timbers for the substrate. I mix gold, silver and copper metals into my oil paintings to both embellish the image and in homage to the gifts my ancestors created for me with their existence. The vintage gold glazed ceramic tiles come from a tile company that operated near my childhood home in Southern California during the 1950’s and 60’s. When I finish a retablo, I write a blessing on the backside of the retablo to convey love to all who view the images.

My Maria Dreams from over a decade ago continue to influence this series of work. May you find your own meanings and blessings within these images.

www.CristinaAcosta.com

West of the West Art Exhibit - A Celebration of Ranch Life

Ranch living in Central Oregon was a true culture shock for me when I moved from Southern California to Bend, Oregon in the 1980's. Though I'd lived at both the beach and the mountains, rural ranch life was like nothing I'd experienced. I moved to a ramshackle almost-100-year-old ranch of about 20 acres (it was a bank repo of a ranch that originally numbered near a couple hundred acres). Here are the two original oil paintings I am exhibiting in the West of West exhibit. They are both direct expressions of my life experiences during that time.
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When: Saturday, May 30 – Sunday, June 28, 2009 - Artist Reception
Where: High Desert Gallery, 281 W Cascade Avenue, Sisters Oregon 97759

West of West, A Celebration of Ranch Life at High Desert Gallery
Fine Art Group Exhibition and Sale featuring work by Central Oregon Artist including, Cristina Acosta, Kathy Deggendorfer, Kimry Jelen, Grace Bishko, Paul Alan Bennett, Cary Weigand, Trisha Hassler, Glen Corbet, J Chester (Skip) Armstrong, plus special guest Central Oregon artists, Jerry Werner, Sue C Smith and Jean Wells.

West of West , A Celebration of Ranch Life
hosted by High Desert Gallery from May 30 through June 28, 2009.

An Artist Reception on Saturday, May 30, 2009 from 4-7pm will include great art by regionally and nationally acclaimed Central Oregon Artists, refreshments, live music and a darn good time. A Hoot For Sure! West of West, A Celebration of Ranch Life is in collaboration with Sisters Art Works, Ranch Life and Rodeo Show a day long celebration and special exhibition of the Western lifestyle and living history.

Artist Reception: Saturday, May 30, 2009 4-7PM
High Desert Gallery – 281 W Cascade Avenue at Oak Street, Sisters Oregon 97759
For more information: www.highdesertgallery.com, 541-388-8964 / 866-549-6250
Gallery Hours (Spring): Open Friday through Monday 10am to 6pm, Tuesday through Thursday 10am to 2:30pm. Summer Hours starting June 14, 2009 Open Daily 10am to 6pm.

Co-Teaching a Workshop at A6 in Bend, OR

Patricia Clark and I are co-teaching the class, "Infringing Upon Barriers - Icons & Iconography" at Pat's beautiful print-making studio, Atelier 6000 or A6, in Bend, Oregon next week. It's going to be a lot of fun and very interesting. A6 is a "green" studio which means you won't be smelling toxic oil based printing inks. The light is beautiful, the workspace serene and well-balanced and Pat is lovely.

Here's what you need to to know about our class:

Workshop: Tue–Fri, Jun 2–5, 10:30 am–3 pm
Invite freedom and flow into your art and jump-start your creativity in this exciting class that breaks down the barriers between the artistic practices of painting and printmaking. Veteran artists Pat Clark and Cristina Acosta will demonstrate their process and techniques for you. You’ll learn to combine painting and printmaking techniques to create something new and different on canvas or paper. Not only will you be inspired, informed and empowered, you’ll have accumulated class techniques and processes to inform a portfolio of unique drawing and painting outcomes.
Adult. $151 + $35 studio fee.
389 SW Scalehouse Ct. Suite 120, Bend, OR 97702, 541.728.8527

We'd love to see you there!

www.CristinaAcosta.com