In the following three sections, I write about my work during 2008 and 2009. Each is a part what I call the “Pro Arte Maya” project — a several faceted effort through art and books to honor the arts, culture and people of Guatemala and to to support craft education through collaborations with schools, foundations and individuals.
1. Printmaking
The wood and linoleum relief print series of artists and artisans of Guatemala nears completion at forty prints.
Hammock Maker by Marilyn Anderson.
Woodcut, 9 1/16 x 11 7/8.
2. Exhibits
In 2008-2009, four shows of prints, entitled “Hecho a Mano” (Made by Hand) took place in two universities, a college and one alternative space. Two showings also included drawings, photos, and weavings by Maya women artists. (A new exhibit will take place from October to December 2009.)
3. The Pro Arte Maya Education Project
In Guatemala, the Maya/Spanish language coloring book: Artes y Artesaniás Mayas de Guatemala was recently reprinted and distribution has begun. Especially for use in the United States and Canada, PDFs for the Teacher’s and Parent’s Guides “Kids and Fair Trade” and “Learning From the Maya” are now available to download.
1. Printmaking
Making prints is a process of discovery for me. (Many would say all art making is just that!) As I make my prints and write about my images of Maya and other Guatemalan artists and artisans, new ways of thinking and looking at them occur to me because each expression — printmaking and writing — can inspire and inform the other.
As I work, I also feel kinship with the artists and artisans depicted in the prints. Inspiration for the images stems from several kinds of experiences including photos I have taken of craftsmen and women as they work and memories and notes made while observing and conversing with them. Personal use and affection for the handmade articles shown in the images also influence my printmaking. But another dimension of the “kinship” I feel with Maya artists and artisans seems to happen because of the use the medium — relief prints, which, in my practice, is an amalgam of art and craft. It is also one of the most basic and ancient ways to make prints and — makes a connection to many of the print’s subjects who are shown doing ancient crafts whose origin dates back millennia.
The writing of scholars gives important general background for both writing captions as well as influencing my printmaking. Here are two fairly recent and widely reviewed books and their authors. The first is: Women’s work: the first 20,000 years : women, cloth, and society in early times by Elizabeth Wayland Barbour. It is full of history and fascinating information, such as this: spun and plied cordage from 15 thousand years ago has been found in the caves of Lascaux! The second book is The Craftsman, by the sociologist Richard Sennett. He writes with enormous erudition and in an engaging style about past and present history, place and meaning of craft making. Both books will engage and inform readers interested in arts and crafts.
But always whether writing, doing research about crafts, or making my prints, these efforts give constant challenge and personal rewards. Whether it is solving problems of composition and execution or being able to make much more complex prints than when I began the series — more than ten years ago — it also gives the satisfaction to be able to use my skills in ways that have a social purpose. That gives yet another reason for the joy of doing my work!
2. Exhibits
Exhibiting work seems both a necessary part of being an artist as well as being an expected one. It is a way to share one’s work with others and it can be said, that until sharing takes place, a piece of art is not fully completed.
In 2008 and 2009, with the title of “Hecho a Mano”, (Made by Hand) my four exhibits of work about Guatemalan artists and artisans took place in Rochester, New York area college and university library galleries — the fourth in a community space. (A fifth show will be on view from October 10 to December 31.) These venues offer the opportunity for educational outreach, such as lectures, something not always possible in commercial spaces. Each spaces, of course, has different room size and wall configurations. This gives the opportunity to learn from each gallery coordinator — all are talented individuals with creative ideas about show design and interesting ways of handling publicity, invitations and openings.
Arranging exhibits and mounting them takes time away from actual art making but brings other rewards. Hearing and reading the reactions of visitors to my “Hecho a Mano” exhibit stimulates and encourages me. A good number of viewers told me that arts and crafts — such as those done by the Maya — have a value not measured in monetary terms. Others volunteered that globalization has to affect artisan production. Still other remarks of viewers indicated that I am not alone in thinking about the importance of making things. In this twenty first century globalized post economic “meltdown” era, indeed the very idea of “making things” has taken on new meaning as people of the United States realize that much factory production has moved off shore. Even without speaking of artisan production — factory closings and huge job losses propel new awareness about the implications of “making or not making things.”
Still another kind of societal shift in the United States has happened within the last few years that has encouraged a surge of interest in making and selling crafts. (I remember a similar widespread movement in the 1970s.) Then as now people are discovering that learning how to make something well can transform one’s life and affect others in positive ways. All aspects of creating my prints — and photos and other art — do that for me. And it is a privilege to use my own abilities to celebrate the dazzling skills of the artists and artisans of Guatemala.
3. The Pro Arte Maya Educational Project in Guatemala and in the United States
In Guatemala, since 2001, the Maya/Spanish coloring book Artes y Artesanías Mayas de Guatemala has had three printings. The most recent of 3000 copies was completed in July 2009 and already books are being used in schools.
The short history about the book below comes from the back page of Artes y Artesanías Mayas de Guatemala. It lists donors, collaborators and describes the project to produce, reprint and use the book.
“Scholars, teachers, artists and others have long believed that the arts and crafts of Guatemala constitute a vital cultural treasure — some say one of her most valuable. To help pass on knowledge and appreciation of them, ten years ago, members Virginia Ajxup Pelíco, Juan Zapil Xivir of the Consejo de Escuelas Mayas Jun Ajpu Ixb’alamke and artist Marilyn Anderson first shared their ideas for production of an educational coloring book for children about the arts and crafts traditions of Guatemala. The first edition in 2001 of Artes Y Artesanías Mayas de Guatemala appeared with drawings and text by Anderson and with Dr. Fernando Peñalosa’s vital work as editor and designer. The work of the translators from Spanish to the Mayan language texts were crucial to the aims of the book”
“For the second edition in 2004, Ajpub’ Pablo Garcia of ILE at the Universidad Rafael Landívar and Laura Martin of Cleveland State University took on organizational and editorial tasks. Fernando Peñalosa once again worked as editor and designer. As in the past, in 2009, we are able to do a third printing because of the continued fiscal support from the Agostino Foundation, other educational, cultural organizations and individual donors, who have made possible the actual production of books. Teachers in schools and educational programs using the coloring books also deserve thanks for their important role.”
I am happy to report that as of August 2009, only a month after reprinting, already a new donation for yet another has been received.
In the United States my impulse to provide educational materials for children here — not only in Guatemala — resulted in the production the Teacher’s and Parent’s Guides “Kids and Fair Trade” and “Learning From the Maya.” Several years of presenting programs about the Maya in elementary schools of Rochester, New York, helped give me background to write them. They now are on my website in PDF form for easier printing. Some revisions have also recently been made to the Resource and Links pages. I hope that the guides will help teachers and parents give children a better understanding of both Fair Trade and Maya culture!
To end this short update with a quote of words by Rigoberta Menchu, the 1992 Guatemalan Nobel Peace prize winner:
“We have lived a long darkness… since 1492. Nevertheless, there are millions of us in the world and we have a great deal to give the present and the future.”
Among the many things that we we who live in so-called “developed” societies can learn from Indigenous People such as the Maya, is how to be a “maker” not only a “consumer.” At the least, being a “conscious consumers” will help to leave a better world behind us.