I encountered creativity and art in several ways at the border. If you're reading all these blogs, I've shared some music with you and you've seen murals from the Mexico side of the border. But there are a few other art encounters I'd like to share.
CGOTB Final Concert
The three-day conference of Common Ground on the Border ends with a concert combined with show-and-tell. Workshop participants show their visual art or perform musical collaborations. I loved the variety; it reminded me of the mini-concerts we used to have every night at the UCC music camp I went to on the Cape as a teen.
I was struck by lots of symbolism as people shared their creativity. The pan flute artist had created a flute choir made up of novices. Each musician had a pan flute and responsibility for playing one note (like our handbell choir). They all looked completely panicked as they prepared to play, completely out of their comfort zone. But with each person playing just one note, together they played their whole song.
A local artist led a workshop on branch weaving - literally weaving on found branches fallen from local trees. The leader remind us that weaving requires both the warp and the weft; in the same way, we need each other.
A musician performed her original song, "Back to Back." It is based on an image she saw of two people standing back to back, holding hands. It reminded the artist of the border, how we are facing away from each other. It made me think of how we protect each other, how we say "I've got your back."
Again and again the concert / art show made me think about how we need each other. One of the leaders summed it up at the end when she said, "The borderlands are not a place that divides us, but a place we come together."
Tortilla Cloths
These cloths are art with a purpose; they are used to wrap warm tortillas. People
preparing to cross the border are often given one by their families to take with them on a journey, as a reminder of home. Volunteers on searches and water drops in the desert find worn and tattered tortilla cloths left behind as migrants face thirst and exhaustion.
The pictured tortilla cloth was made by the mother of a young man killed by US Border Patrol. She makes and sells the cloths through Border Patrol Victims Network to provide income for herself but also to draw attention to the deaths at the hands of BP agents.
Mola
The Guna people in Panama and Columbia painted beautiful geometric designs on their
bodies. Spanish invaders told the people it was wrong to paint on their bodies, so women began sewing the designs into fabric. I love the resilient creativity, as well as the pattern of hands coming together. The organization Bridges Across Borders works with people in Colombia, Panama, Mexico and the US in a number of ways, including selling indigenous crafts.
Art 38
On a free afternoon I wandered into an art gallery behind my motel and had a long and
lovely conversation with artist and gallery owner Linda Larriva. My time with her made me think of creative folks at UCCB! My attention was caught by her folded paper art, reminding me of the angels made by parishioner Wendy Abetz's mom, Lorraine. And I kept thinking about how much Nicolette Wellington would love the whole space, the way Linda combined all sorts of "treasures" to create beautiful art. Linda had these words on her wall - it was part of her bio, but it read like a poem:
"Collage is perfect for me.
I do not have to have a project plan.
I just look at my collection of
paints, papers, cardboard, sticks
wires, beats, etc and express my
passion."
Another expression of powerful art was the migrant memorials. I'll share those images in my next - and I think final - post on the border.
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