I do not need land
To endure. Look for me in
The floating gardens.
I have started on a new series exploring the notion of phantoms and of the ongoing bonds that we share with those we have lost. This is the first piece, which draws upon the Aztec origins of the Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). The cempasúchitl (referred to in the title) are the marigold flowers used during this holiday to draw spirits to their loved ones.
-UB
Happy New Year!
As I resume creating, I am experimenting with different ways to integrate verse and visual imagery into one piece rather than two separate ones.
In this case, the background is a collage of patterned craft paper. I designed and cut the silhouette from black card stock and drew the clouds onto the text bubble with colored pencils. Finally, the text superimposed on the image with the application Adobe Creative Cloud.
Thanks for stopping by and taking a look!
-Ursula
This month I have the fortune of sharing my most recent work at Left Coast Art Studio. This local gallery on the Central Coast of California features a wide variety of local artists and hosts a wide range of workshops and activities for people of all ages and levels of interest. If you are ever in the area, it is worth stopping by this unique creative space.
I have been invited to share my work in a local art studio this November. While working furiously to put finishing touches on pieces, I was struck with the idea of using a new medium for presenting the companion poems to the visual art: fabric. After a few failed attempts and profanity-laden sessions of seam ripping, I finally began to feel pleased with this choice. Below are a couple examples of the frames that have emerged from my humble sewing machine, plus the paintings that accompany them.
Long ago
I became the
Seamstress
Of my own skin.
Like the Quetzal
Like the Macaw
One color is not
Enough to speak
My name.
Study
My layers
As you would swim
The Caribbean
As you would face
A setting sky.
Share in
My glimpse
Of this universe
Knowing it will
Never fit inside
Your suitcase.
This four-panel piece and poem is an homage to the textile medium of the mola created by the indigenous Guna community of the San Blas Islands. It is intended to be displayed horizontally rather than vertically as I have done here. When done so, the sand, the horizon and sunset continue across all four panels. The background has been painted in acrylic. The foreground, kept mostly in black to suggest a silhouette, is all card stock. I left the natural wood grain behind the sand to increase contrast with the design in the paper.
At the beginning of November, I will be displaying this work along others in a local gallery.
Thanks for stopping by and taking a look!
-UEB, 7/21.
During this little hiatus from WordPress, I have been savoring a long process of work in a relatively new medium for me: paper. Here is some of the progress I have made so far on what will hopefully become 4 panels celebrating the textile art tradition of the Mola from the Guna women of Panama. A poem will accompany these pieces as well.
More to come! Gracias por la visita.
Why do guns continue to be better protected than people in this country? More than one mass shooting a day cannot be our new normal. Gun control should not be a partisan issue.
A lot of magic is going on behind the covers of And/Both Magazine.
I recently learned of them from a fellow artist who thought my multidisciplinary style could be a good match for this publication. I submitted work and was pleased to have a poem and painting accepted, but the real pleasure came upon receipt of the issue itself (#6, “inhale/exhale”).
There is breathtaking artistry in every detail of the magazine. Some entries of verse are printed on vellum, allowing for collaboration with the visual art that follows. Other entries are tucked in as bookmarks, which inspire further interaction as they follow your progress over different entries. Even a moveable arrow on one page and an embroidery ribbon weaving through another remind you that you too are an active participant in this experience.
As a result, And/Both becomes a beautiful celebration of diversity and community. Each piece resonantes with its own unique and complex perspective, but an open dialogue continually buzzes amongst them, building commonalities. It is an endeavor that proves particularly cathartic in this latest issue, which focuses on current events related to the pandemic and civil unrest and injustice in the United States.
For more information about And/Both Magazine and for purchase of their issues, visit their website: https://andbothmagazine.bigcartel.com/products
As yearning Yields its last steps Circling the dust Drum in hand She arrives Girl Fawkes Christener of tin roofs Windshields Oak groves Cracked clay Beckoning all To drink in her cool Clean mirth Her resolve Her faith Until even The asphalt beams Under this Coat of Afterbirth -UEB
What She Sees 