I often say that each exhibit I have mounted helps me usefully define my Pro Arte Maya Education Project and pushes me to think anew about the goals for my work. Saying that, I hope to have more exhibits––one type could consist of a smaller section of the present show––which would include only the artist and artisan wood and linocut series or shows. (Definitely, the easiest.) But new showings could also be similar to that at NCCC, which also includes photos of Maya women (as seen in Jon Garlock’s and my book, GRANDDAUGHTERS OF CORN), drawings of Maya women and photos documenting artist and artisan production and the actual crafts––as depicted in the prints. (This is a much bigger effort.) But, at least, I hope some of you will take a look at exhibit photos. Feedback is welcome!

March 10 to April 7, 2011
Opening reception, Thursday March 10, 12-2 pm. I will give an artist talk at 2 pm.

Art Gallery, Division of Arts and Media
3111 Saunders Settlement Road
Sanborn, NY  14132
Follow signs to Lewis Library
716-614-5975

Gallery Hours
Monday and Tuesday 10 am – 5 pm
Wednesday and Thursday 10 am – 8 pm
Saturday 11 am – 3 pm
Closed Friday and Sunday

Since 2008, I have had five exhibits here in Western New York––in spaces as diverse as university and college galleries to my local credit union and an activist center “the Anti-War Store”.  Mounting shows allow me to share what I have learned about the artists and artisans who carry on their traditions. It is also a way I can acknowledge both those in Guatemala and in the US to who have helped me to continue my work over many years and evaluate progress towards the goals for my what I call my “Pro Arte  Maya” education project.

Some of my goals are:

• to create empathy and appreciation for traditional artists/artisans and to recognize the skills and the beauty of their work.
• to remind viewers about the relationship of arts and crafts to ecology, sustainability, customs and traditions.
• to stimulate thinking about issues such as “monoculture and globalization ” and the value of traditional cultures.
• tto encourage consideration and support of Fair Trade craft production in our globalized world.

Along side my current exhibits, since 2000,I have pursued an educational effort for children in Guatemala which mainly consists of the Maya languages/Spanish coloring book “Artes y Artesanías Mayas de Guatemala”. Working with Maya educators/ colleagues there enables its production and distribution.

But, I am happy to bring my work to NCCC in Sanborn, NY, near the Buffalo/Lockport/ Niagara Falls area, a place of history and a population of people who include descendants of the indigenous nations of Western New York and those who have come from many areas of the world––but all of whom give a wonderful vibrancy to this area.

To see the print series, please go to the Relief Print Gallery»

If you wish to purchase prints, please contact me and indicate what print you wish to buy. The prices are reasonable for hand pulled prints done on handmade paper.

I have most prints on hand, but if there is a special demand for certain ones I may need to reprint. It requires three to four weeks to do the reprinting, dry the print properly and get it to you.

See more information on purchasing prints here»

To recap my 2009 efforts, I mounted three shows and reprinted, with the help of colleagues here and in Guatemala, the Maya/Spanish coloring book. Also with the help of friends and colleagues, I posted craft education materials in PDF form on my website

The Print Series: A Little History

I started my printmaking project around ten years ago. And as I’ve worked on the series, the both initial idea and its scope has changed. At first, I anticipated that thirty images would give a good overview of the range of arts and crafts in Guatemala. Then, I did not think about depicting other artisans making such things as brooms, roof tiles or candles. Gradually, as my understanding grew about the relationship crafts have to Guatemala’s culture, people, environment and economy, I began to develop images of these other kinds of crafts in addition to those that have the most visibility, as is the case with Guatemalan weaving. (Image: Rattan Furniture Maker, by Marilyn Anderson)

The project has also given me an even greater respect for how all artesanal work has requirements of expert knowledge and experience. Even though not all crafts demand the skills needed by complex weaving — to do a relatively simple craft such as braiding palm leaf, the workers must know many things.

For example, a palm leaf braider must know:

• If cutting their own raw material, they need to understand the growth cycle and qualities of palm so as to know when and how to cut it, and that cutting too much could damage the tree.
• If buying already cut palm leaves in a market, they must how to treat them before braiding.
• They must learn the several types of plaiting techniques that are used.
• The braiding has to be be done with attention to preparing even width strips and, as work proceeds, when the palm strands being used become too short, proper insertion of new ones needs to be done to add to the total length.
• When making already braided palm leaf into rolls, it must be a uniform 20 yards length for the demands of the buyers making hats.

The amount of detailed knowledge artisans of all kinds had to have do their work well always impresses me. Without doubt, I have left out still more details involved in doing palm leaf braiding.

Projection for Print Series Completion

My plan is to finish a series of over forty blocks with accompanying text. Thirty-six prints are completed, with four more nearly ready to transfer to wood blocks for cutting the relief image.

The new prints include:

• a maguey spinner making twine using a “talavera” — using a rather a simple wooden apparatus rather than a spinning wheel
• a marimba maker
• a roof tile maker
• paper makers
• a kite maker
• a fine furniture artisan
• a wood carver

My deadline to complete the prints is September, 2010.

The print series will never cover all of the arts and crafts of the artisans of Guatemala. Doing the series is my attempt to honor the makers of handmade textiles, containers, wood, metal workers and the many other kinds of artisans. I hope my work will tell a story about their significance in history and helps others to understand their place in the lives of people today.