Totems and Symbols

The totem standing in it's perfect spot in Bishop Arts District for the Latino Arts Festival

a closeup of the last pieces "disfruta la vida", love birds and the guitar and wrenches

I'll have to post a better photo of the totem later but right now I don't want to move an inch. It has been a nonstop whirlwind over here rushing to get places and rushing to get stuff done in time for events. My work at ArtCon took longer than expected and the result was me getting  up super early yesterday to hurriedly finish my totem. NON STOP PAINTING ACTION ALL WEEKEND LONG! So today I am not painting. I am just not painting. My back has been tweaked out all week and all this hustle and bustle hasn't helped matters so today its rest and relaxation and hopefully my back will love me again and start playing nice.

But let's chat about this totem for a moment since I slaved so hard over this thing...

The initial idea was just to be a fun totem that blended some of the primitive symbology with my bright contempo color schemes and cut vinyl records (a primitive technology to us now). But along the way personal symbols and images kept creeping in and so I let it, because that is how I work. I let my mind and heart direct me and I don't fight it.

It started with the SUN FACE. I have always loved the Mexican sun face ceramic wall hangings so at the top of the totem I placed the sun. I used a 15" red vinyl phonograph record with a hard laquer 10" (78rpm) as the face. This reminded me of this brilliant sun my Dad painted on our hardwood dining room floor when I was a kid. It looks nothing like his sun but reminded me of it all the same.

Next piece was the birds, I started with the Quetzal(coatl) symbol, known as a feathered serpent or mesoamerican diety. As a tie back to my roots, my fathers roots in Mexico and is a symbol of crafts and arts, knowledge, priesthood, learning, merchants and dawn. In the center I placed a symbol of an eagle- a Mexican symbol on their flag and monies and had his wings formed from cut records. The eagle stands on cactus the native plant of Mexico and also a personal symbol for me as my Dad loved nopales and was growing a proud little cactus in his garden. 

The next piece was the guitar with wings and wrenches. This piece was undoubtedly all inspired by my father. He was a musician and his trade was as a fix it man, mechanic, all around magician who could fix anything. I added the fierce serpent as the animal totem on this piece because my Dad could be very fierce and not back down at times. 

The last piece was the lovebirds which I likened to my Mom and Dads union with each other, above their heads is five flowers. Three pinks for the daughters and two blues for their sons. The jaguars on each side act as protector figures but they look away from each other to show divorce. At the very bottom my Dads words to me, he wrote in a birthday card long ago..."Disfruta la vida" which means Enjoy The Life. Which I try to remember every day. 

So there you have it - my "Musical Totem" an homage to my Dad, family life and our roots. I displayed it on the far end of a corner so you could see him all the way down the street at the Latino Arts Festival. It was a fun event and I met some wonderful people as well as saw some of my family ( a treat!) and met new artists. I also snagged 2nd place in the judged art show which means I won $500! WHOOP WHOOP! I need that money. I have like $300 to my name and rent will be due soon. It was a busy but fruitful weekend and as tiring as it was I'm still grateful to be doing what I do.

I'll post better photos later...until then...

Disfruta la vida!