Culture Reflections

Culture Reflections:

As the weeks move along and I listen to the critiques from my peers and our Instructor Tony, I realize that I want to continue expanding on the materials I use to create my art. I love how the class and critiques have taught me how to think outside the box when creating my pieces. This week we read and learned a lot about the land and the traditions in cultivating and producing from what mother nature and the land offers us. In Mexican culture we grow and use maize to create food and even drinks. Maize is a gift from nature & gods, some even have rituals where they ask the gods & land for permission when cultivating and harvesting the maize. The maize is only harvested at specific times of the day as is viewed as being part of the soul of the land. It is respected and honored because it is  the part of nature that keeps us healthy, fed and nurtured. If we respect the land and grow the maize then the land will care and respect us by providing substance and nutrition. Another gift from the land is Maguey. Maguey is a type of cactus that at a specific time of its development creates a type of liques that is harvested to create an alcoholic drink named, "Pulque." Pulque was very popular and was heavily consumed in the last century. As the reading and videos we viewed have showed us it has become a tradition that has lost interests from newer generations and is very sad to think that it could be a tradition that could eventually be lost. Pulque and Maize are very much a part of ourselves, our traditions heritage and our culture. The piece I created this week is a landscape watercolor painting. A scene of a Maize and Maguey field. I added a reflective metalic border so that the viewer could see him or herself reflected back as a reminder of our background, culture and traditions. Our ancestors worked the land to survive and we are here because of there struggles and hardships. We must learn to reflect and acknowledge their struggles as well as who they were in order to understand who we are, where we came from and how we got to where we are, I love learning about my culture and traditions that I know little to nothing about. This weeks reading, songs and videos really helped and inspired me to create the piece you see above. I see myself reflected in my work and I hope you see yourself as well. :) Until next time!