February 28, 2017
My taste has always been different, a little eclectic kooky. At a very young age I wanted to become an interior decorator. Although, we were poor, dreaming didn’t cost, it was free! Mi Mama, like all Mamas wanted nothing but the best for her children. As a single Mama she had to prioritize, we had the basics; a warm home, food, clothes and love. I recall furniture wasn’t a priority for her until we were probably about 10 or 11, when she bought a beautiful paid too much living room set from McMahan’s (a high-interest, no down payment, popular for poor-people San Joaquin Valley furniture store). Her focus were always her children. She took such pride in her “chamacos” looking good and behaving well. We all developed a style of our own in dress and of course our personalities.
MI Mama had to halt my creative juices when I wanted to drag a full blown dead tree into my bedroom, or graffiti my bedroom walls.
One day in school I mentioned that I wanted to be an interior decorator and one of my amigos popped up, “they don’t have interior decorators for the “projects, what are you going to be decorating?” We all broke out in laugher. He did not say that to hurt me, but it did. Years later, I applied to thee “Art Institute” in Los Angeles, knowing I could never afford to attend. My first and constant passion has always been color; the more vivid the better. But I also like the softness of creams, whites and beiges; the colors of aged frayed lace and well worn European linens.I have always enjoyed decorating with old wooden crates and boxes to use as bookshelves and storage. I recall as a struggling starving college student I purchased cinder blocks and shelfs to make a bookshelf for books and my albums, all my friends had one. Mine had all my love poured into it; with an abalone shell with my sage bundle. Rocks and seashells from my travels. My lava lamp. The pictures of Mi Familia encircled by the constant Nag Champa incense sticks burning. I have always been a bohemian at heart. A blend of natural, nomadic, folksy and romantic. Since I didn’t find a category, I made one for myself……Loca Bohemian. Even though our most recent home remodeling/decorating venture had modern touches. It had my bohemian spell; always attempting to bridge the gap between austere cold sterile characteristics of modern. By incorporating elements of old wood, rustic handmade pottery blended with a rich blend of textured textiles and the natural element of tree stumps used as tables; all to add “calor.” No, this isn’t a typo. My signature has always been my roots of Mexican folk art and nature. Filling our home with the heart of Frida surfacing in every space. And my proverbial small wooden boxes filled with rusted old tools of all sorts, not quite sure what my connection is to rusty tools, but it reminds me of my youth and gives me comfort. The patina of life. Funny how certain things remind us of by-gone days. It describes my lifelong celebration of imperfection, history, and style that can’t be manufactured, planned or duplicated. It is solely uniquely mine.
Abrazos
