We Honor Our Mothers mural was the largest work we completed during the summer. Made up of two 48″ x 24″ canvases, the total piece was 4′ x 4′. Keep scrolling, there are more pics below. I don’t know why there is so much space between the images, but unfortunately I don’t have time to fix it right now. Please overlook the inconvenience.
We Honor Our Mothers
Many people worked on this canvas. I did the initial drawing, called a cartoon. We started on the background with the piece laying flat on the ground. The children liked the stencils. The girls chose a motif of butterflies and flowers. The ESL portion of this project focuses on interviewing. Each child interviewed their mother, asking question that were calibrated to their level of English competency. Their mothers’ answers were written down on worksheets. For beginning English learners, the questions were very simple: to identify favorite foods, flowers animals, etc. For more advanced learners, the questions were more complex and required probing. (What makes you happy? What makes you sad? What do you miss most about your country? What do you like best about living in the U.S.? Do you think education is important and why? What piece of advice can you give me about living a satisfying life?)
We pulled combs through the paint we laid down for the hair to create texture. Then Diego Reyes, our other resident artists, added some highlights. Suzanne Armstrong, a visiting artist from the Southwest School of Arts and Crafts, added a couple of butterflies to tangle in her tresses. In class, we discussed the importance of respecting our parents and made a list of types of people who merit special respect. (I made the list.)
Detail of We Honor Our Mother
The next step was to paint the blouse. When the paint was dry, we pressed sheets of aluminum in an embosser. The embossing pattern was a lacy floral motif. We cut the aluminum into triangles and glued it around the neckline and sleeves. Then we painted the aluminum the same color as the blouse. After it dried, we very lightly dry brushed a cream color over the top of the aluminum. The ridges of the embossed aluminum caught the cream paint and gave the collar and sleeves texture.
Meanwhile, the kids are learning about aerial perspective and about basic modeling of forms, using light and dark paint. At the Art Bash, we tackled the arms. About eight people worked on the mural that day, including both adults and kids. Later, we brought the butterflies on top of the figure to encircle her. The kids were given worksheets on facial proportions and were practicing drawing faces, but we ran out of time so I painted the face. If we had had another two weeks, we had two very talented young women in the class who would have been ready to tackle that part of the canvas. Next time I do this project, we’ll start earlier. We worked like a classical art guild in Ruben’s day. Ruben didn’t paint everything in his canvases. As soon as an apprentice acquired the skills, he was put to painting background in the periphery of the canvas. From there, he worked his way to painting drapery, cherubims and other details as his skills improved. Even today, one well-known NYC artist employs 50 apprentices and assistance to turn out work. Getting into one of these modern ateliers is highly competitive.
Detail of We Honor Our Mother
The last thing we did was add bling. I found rhinestone circles at the craft store that were perfect for adding more surface texture. (A girl’s gotta have some bling.)
Detail of Bling
