New work

A Trip To Explore My Country, My family, And My Story

What the what!?! I haven’t posted since before I left for my April trip to Venezuela! I have a lot to catch up on.

It was transformative. I came back with lessons that I have always known in my mind driven into my heart and into practice. The trip had many planned purposes – for my partner to experience my wonderful and extensive extended family; for my immediate family to get the chance to travel together as adults and share with each other in completely new ways; to have one last chance to share with the beloved matriarch of our family, my Abuela Teresita; and to rediscover a country that inspired the dreams and creativity of my youth. We accomplished it all and so much more in the span of just a few weeks. A few lessons learned:

• There is never enough time. Everyone feels this way when the end gets near. Everyone close to someone approaching the end of their life feels this way. Sharing openly, freely, and often with the family and friends in my life is a priority that cannot ever be pushed aside.
• If I cannot be utterly myself with the people that are genetically obligated to love me then who can I be myself with? Life is too short to be anything else.
• Hammocks make everything better.
• Most of my personality is genetic, if you have a problem with it take it up with the loudly laughing, enthusiastic, wildly gesturing army of Muller-Kargers that have preceded me.
• All Venezuelans, male and female alike, apparently think that Caley is best thing to happen to their country since arepas were first made out of cornmeal. I wouldn’t be surprised if they put him on their currency with “El Guapo” printed under his visage.
• Art gives culture identity. It is important. It will always be important. It is important that I feed into that with all of the ability I have.
• Emotion and thought are communicated in far more ways than speech. It is always possible to communicate despite any barrier.
• As Americans we are profoundly lucky, I must respect the gifts that come with that luxury and remember they are not birthrights but things that must be protected and refined all the time.
• Our planet is spectacular. Everywhere we turn there is wonder to be had. From Tepuis in the Venezuelan rain forest to Washington’s Olympic mountains. I will not just seek out that wonder while abroad. I will seek it out in my everyday life and live in awe of my home. I will protect it, learn from it, and inspire others to see it.
• I heart papaya…and I think it hearts me too.

By far, the highlight of this trip was working in my grandmother’s glass enameling studio once again. She taught me so much and is with me in spirit as I work everyday. Here are some of the images from the studio that sparked so much of my desire to do what I do:

For the rest of the photos from our trip to Venezuela please follow the three links below:

• Grandpa’s Finca and The Enchanted Mangrove Forest By The Sea

• Tepui, Rainforest & the Gran Sabana

• El Teleferico y Guaraira

Elpiniki Talentino

My friends have been diligently adding to my ever ongoing card catalogue project (http://astridmonique.com/blog/?p=23) but I’ve been completely derelict in posting their wonderful contributions! I unexpectedly received an envelope full of index cards from one of my dearest friends, Elpiniki, months and months ago after she and her fiance came to visit. She made these from photos taken on their flights to and from Seattle. If a little bit of sky is all that separates me from my loved ones then I’ll just have grow wings and to learn to fly…especially to New York City.

Elpiniki Talentino made these cards but you can participate too! see: http://astridmonique.com/blog/?p=23 to learn more about my card catalogue project.

To see Elpiniki’s artwork follow this link: http://www.elpinikitalentino.com/main.html She’s all kinds of wonderful.

My loom has its own daemon…

and he’s an origami tortoise named Lafayette. He really does a tremendous job of guiding my shuttle. More than one would ever expect of a little paper reptile… but one must always remember to expect the unexpected in the studio. It is the place where all magic is possible.

My night looks like…

this:

Growth Layer

Just another Friday night in the studio. I’m soaking, peeling, & drying out thin, translucent layers of tree bark from a trunk that washed up on the Washington coast. It’s just occurred to me that what I’m really doing is stripping away from the growth layer just underneath the bark. Growth layer from a dead tree…”Oy”, that means the goo I’m covered in right now is the tree equivalent of placenta. The things I get myself into, I swear.

Be warned, headdresses were used.

I’m not sure why or at what point during the making of this piece I felt the need to fashion myself a headdress. Looking back it just seemed like it needed to be done. Yup, that’s how things roll in this studio. The piece pictured here isn’t actually complete so who knows what kind of voodoo will will still need to be whipped out in order to finish it up.

New live/work space