There's Only Make

The Pasadena Museum of California Art is currently exhibiting a retrospective of Sister Corita Kent's work. She is the amazing printmaking nun whose work from the '60s and '70s melded social justice themes in a colorful visual pop art explosion. On October 3rd, the day I visited, the museum offered a free silkscreening workshop where you could design and make your own print using Corita design elements. This was an awesome experience and I wish I could have stayed there the whole day to make different design combinations. Here's my silkscreen print which includes an image of Sister Corita:

My favorite Immaculate Heart College (where Sister Corita taught) Art Department Rule:
Rule 6: Nothing is a mistake. There's no win and no fail. There's only make.

Presidio Park, San Diego, California 9/5/15

Last Saturday I met up with the San Diego Urban Sketchers at the Presidio, a tranquil, beautiful park above Old Town in San Diego.  It felt like being in a forest at the top.  This was my first time visiting this site.  I've seen this tower many times when driving on the freeway, so it was good to finally check it out.  This building houses the Junipero Serra Museum.  Interesting timing given the Pope is coming to the States soon and will bestow saint status upon Serra, the 18th century Catholic monk who established the California missions.  A museum brochure states that the museum stands atop the hill recognized as the site of the first permanent European settlement, a presidio, in what would become the State of California.  Prior to Spanish colonization, native Kumeyaay people had lived on and around the hill for millennia.  Thank you to Lydia Velarde who organized another great USk meet-up.  It's really cool how sketchers from all over the world can meet-up with the local sketchers group of wherever they're visiting.  On this day we had visiting sketchers from the Netherlands and Australia.

Materials: Uniball Vision black pen, Gelly Roll white gel pen, Winsor & Newton Cotman watercolor travel kit

KimMariaCruz.com

My Art at the San Diego Art Institute!

I'm thrilled and honored to be in this show at the San Diego Art Institute: "(Con)Text: Rethinking Language in Art" which opens this Saturday, July 25th. I have a 6" x 8" original linocut print in the show that I made of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, 17th century Mexican nun, writer, and poet, who entered the convent as a means to pursue an education. My piece, titled "I Just Juana Learn (Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz)", features a quote from one of her writings in which she defends the rights of women to study, teach, and write.

More info on the show:

The San Diego Art Institute is pleased to present “(Con)text: Rethinking Language in Art” on July 25 at 6pm in Balboa Park. 

This exhibition invited artists of all media in Southern California/Baja Norte to submit work incorporating text, language, coding, spoken word, literature, books, and other aesthetic materials into their work. The exhibition includes a special sound component by Suzanne Thorpe, an installation by SDAI’s artist-in-residence Nina Preisendorfer, and performances by Arzu Ozkal and Perry Vasquez.

In tandem with this exhibition will be a youth art component by students from San Miguel Elementary in Lemon Grove, created through SDAI’s in-school teaching artist program, a solo exhibition by Judith Parenio (Remembered Sites: Real & Imagined), as well as the unveiling of a large-scale installation by renowned artist Raul Guerrero.

Participating artists in “(Con)text: Rethinking Language in Art” are: Irene Abraham, Wick Alexander, James Anthony, Jon-Loren Bazan, Robin Bright, Colin Burns, Stefani Byrd, Kim Cruz, Kristina Bell Di Tullo, Patrick Donovan, Dani Dodge, Matt Dunn, Richard Gleaves, Marina Grize, Vijay Hingorani, Heidi Kayser, Kenny King, Alexander Kohnke, Stephanie Lindquist, Elena Lomakin, Omar Lopex, Andrew Mandinach, Chris Martino, Bhavna Mehta, Christian Michaels, Arzu Ozkal, Keith Parks, Shauna Peck, Robert Pendleton, Judy Pike, Nina Preisendorfer, Barbara Romain, Deanne Sabeck, Ned Snider, Cheryl Sorg, Vicki Teague-Cooper, Suzanne Thorpe, Bradley Tsalyuk and Corey Dunlap, Perry Vasquez, Tina Ybarra.

This exhibition is sponsored by the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture.