"Una Mesa Para la Gente"

San Anto Cultural Arts

Community Mural and Public Art Program

Presents

The re-dedication of the newly restored mural:

"Una Mesa Para la Gente"

The general public is invited to help us celebrate the completion of the restoration of our 14th mural, "Una Mesa Para la Gente." The public art piece was originally completed in 2000 by Cruz Ortiz and Lisa Veracruz. The newly restored mural was completed by Ruth Buentello and Lisa Veracruz. Spend the evening celebrating and being involved in a community blessing for San Anto Cultural Arts’ 14^th mural. San Anto will host poets Pancho Mendoza and Victoria Garcia Zapata Klein early in the evening followed by DJ JJ Lopez spinning soulful Chicano sounds.

Bring a shirt and for five dollars artist Cruz Ortiz will silkscreen a Manuel D. Castillo design on your shirt. A special time will be designated for those who would like to share a memory or thought about Manuel Diosdado Castillo, Jr. This event is FREE and open to all. Please join us for our first mural blessing of the year!

What: "Una Mesa Para La Gente" Blessing

When: Saturday Feb 7 ,2009

4:00pm-8:00pm

Where: 402 N. Zarzamora & W. Salinas
@ theYbarra Carwash

San Antonio Cultural Arts

1300 Chihuahua

San Antonio, TX 78207

For more information please contact: Heather Eichling, (210) 226-7466

More Eugene Murals

A wonderful email from pippi on January 27, 2009:

I stumbled upon your blog about murals in Oregon, and was so pleased to see so many old friends!
She shares some beautiful murals for us to enjoy.

Tibet mural - Willamette St and 15th. by Jim Evangalista

Down to Earth warehouse mural by Dan Hitchcock. This photo doesn't show all of the mural, as a truck was parked in front of it, but the picture on the truck kind of blends in with the mural and the trees behind.

Another view of Kari's deer mural

Another view of Kari's mural on 4th & Monroe. This mural has changed considerably since it was first painted. I took a picture after she first finished it years ago, but will have to scan the photo to share it.


Kari also painted this mural on the side of the Center for Appropriate Transport, located on 1st and Washington.


And if you are walking down Willamette street from the downtown to the post office, you will pass right by this mosaic mural on the side of the Hilton hotel, across from the Hult Center for Performing Arts.


And finally, there is a great article about the post office murals on the Lane
Community college website.

http://www.lanecc.edu/library/don/morris.htm

Enjoy!
~Pippi

Muralists and Wastewater

Many muralists are environmentalists. We understand that we are creating works that impact our cultural environment. We are also impacting the air and water where we create work with our materials. My average mural produces 2.5 gallons of solid waste (paint skins) and 20 gallons of liquid waste (water to clean brushes). I’ve worked on projects where artists simply dump their paint water into the sink, usually a janitors closet. Where does this waste end up? In a wastewater treatment facility, that you could probably sniff out in your area, unless you live in Arcata CA or other visionary places that have advanced systems.

For several years I’ve been experimenting with ways to safely dispose of wastewater. The idea is that before we dump our paint water we can put it through a hand made filter with sand and ground charcoal. While this filter doesn’t remove all the toxins from the water, there is a noticeable difference in the color and odor of the water. There are a number of commercially available filtration systems, that are advisable if you are using oil paints, or large amounts of acrylics. Fortunate for printers there are now entire lines of nontoxic organic printing pigments.

Unused paint skins and paints can be taken to a hazardous waste facility. From there at least there will be some degree of remediation. I’ve done some experimenting with dissolving acrylic paints into water over a period of time to try and restore them. To some degree this can be successful, especially with large amount of paints that are still a little crumbly. The pollution caused by our trade takes place in the production, use and disposal of paints, varnishes, gels and other assorted goodies. Hats off to Golden paints for being socially responsible, and for their advanced wastewater treatment facilities.

So if your looking for a place to safely dispose of your toxic art supplies here are some links to Household Hazardous Waste Drop-Off Centers

Berkley
Chicago
Philadelphia
Portland
San Francisco
Seattle
Tucson

Here is a challenge, and eye opener for you, on your next mural project do a carbon count. You can calculate the impact of your project and then make a list of things you need to do to offset the pollution you have created.

National Green Arts Corps

There is so much to report on in the community mural world. Every week I get an email or phone call regarding a new project or program that seeks to employ the visual arts in healing and mending the word in some way. Here are some highlights.

A project by Rima Malallah called Mural Mural on the Wall has transformed the streets of Amman Jordan.

Kristine Khouri for The National

Last May in Indianapolis Eli Lilly employees painted a 1,230 foot long mural designed by artist Patrick Viles. Get out your tape measures - this is now considered the world's largest paint-by-number mural. This project illustrates a growing trend in service and art related projects.


The National Campaign to Hire Artists to Work in Schools has started a facebook page.
You can read more about this exciting national organizing initiative on APInews.

Kiff Gallagher has put together the Music National Service Initiative. Their site is hosting a conversation entitled “Who Wants an Artist Corps”. You can participate in the conversation here.

Consensus seems to be building for a national work program that includes the arts in a Federal One /WPA/CETA type project. How about developing a program that integrates artists and cultural workers into a Green Jobs and Growth stimulus package? Our future lies in developing programs that are specific to bioregional culture. The ideal National Artists Corps would be one that embodies the idealism of the Obama era, one that funds grassroots and neighborhood based organizations and artists and takes Cultural Democracy into consideration. In this model artists work with Green Job Training Centers to identify areas for innovation and collaboration in all areas of the arts.

The possibilities are endless, and artists have this unique opportunity to advocate for a program that recognizes their unique creative sensibilities and skills.

Your homework tonight: Dream up your most amazing, empowering green participatory arts project that will help revitalize the economy.

New Fire- Mexican Cultural Mural

Photo by Jack Ramsdale

One of my (many) favorite murals in Philadelphia is by my friend and colleague Cesar Viveros-Herrera. This project is one of more than 3000 beautiful works of art created through the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program. His mural New Fire- Mexican Cultural Mural located at 223 W. Girard Avenue. The mural includes cement elements, horticulture and extentions. Its one of those works you have to see it in person to fully enjoy.

danza azteca philadelphia



This video that animates the mural, and connects it to place, culture and history. I think this project operates on many levels, using a multi-disciplinary approach to mural making. Yet another great example of the power and need for murals as we investigate how the arts play a role in revitilizing communities.

Imagining a National Artists Corps

We stayed up way too late last night, enjoying the static air, dancing, speeches, cheers, students running by shouting “Happy Obama Day”, strangers hugging.

Today the work started, for me it was making advocacy calls for a National Artists Corps as outlined in the Obama Biden Arts Platform.

What is exciting about this proposal is that the structures needed to administer a National Artists Corps/ Community Artists Corps are in place. The passion, desire and talent exists to facilitate local multi disciplinary arts programs that pack a punch. We have a president-elect that understands the value and power of the arts.

I feel our greatest challenge will be to demonstrate how our
proposals can be integrated into the calls for a Conservation Corps and the creation of Green Job Training Centers. Artists are natural holistic thinkers, seeing the interconnection between all things. If necessity is the mother of invention, we in the arts are her midwifes. Community based artists in the trenches have much to contribute to this discussion and I hope many of us will be called upon as this program takes form.

I encourage readers to write their elected representatives in support of a National Artists Corps.

LOTS more to come on this subject....