Tag Archives: Mazatlan

“A Room of One’s Own”

24 Wednesday Jan 2018

Posted by in Artist studios, Uncategorized

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The famous line by Virginia Woolf, “A Room of One’s Own”, has always struck a chord with me. The quote comes from a series of essays she wrote in 1928 about carving out a space for oneself – both literal and figurative. It was later adopted as a feminist statement in the 60’s and 70’s.  I translated this ‘room’ as a creative space, a refuge – a studio for the artist. As a young woman coming of age in the 70’s, it was important for me to have just that.

I claimed my first studio while still an undergraduate student at University of Florida. This was a shared space with some photographers, a rather bohemian situation. And even though money was hard to come by, living in student poverty as I was, somehow I found a way.  I needed this creative space away from academia, boyfriends, and other distractions. I was in the process of defining myself as an artist and making that declaration to the world. To have a studio, ‘a room of one’s own’, was a commitment.

When I moved to California in 1979, I got a job right away as a graphic artist fulfilling my financial obligations.  But needing to feed my artist side as well, I answered an ad in Artweek magazine for a studio partner in a printmaking studio in San Jose. Betty and I had a successful partnership sharing a studio for almost 20 years. We moved studio and presses twice – from a converted 2 car garage in Campbell to the Citadel, an old cannery warehouse on 10th and Taylor, and later to the “new” Citadel on 5th and Martha. Having a studio helped define me as a serious artist in the community.

I later moved to Oakland and developed a studio there as well – but not for long, as my heart was pulled in another direction – Mexico.  In 1999, I bought a small house in Mazatlán’s Centro Historico (for $27,000usd!) and soon after, built a studio on the 2nd floor. This was going to be my ‘studio abroad’ – my dream, my pie in the sky.   I had envisioned South of France or Italy, but after one visit to Mazatlán, I was hooked.  This beautiful city on the Sea of Cortez had just what I was looking for and was to be my haven away from the maddening crowds (and traffic!) of the San Francisco Bay Area.  It didn’t take long, less than 2 years, to move there full time and create my dream life.

Fast forward to 2018.  I am in San Miguel de Allende and just built a 3rd floor studio with plenty of natural light, space for painting, printmaking and workshops. Here, I am in a city known for its arts community and gallery scene – and an opportunity to introduce my work to a new market.  Call it the 17year itch – I was definitely ready for a change.

I have always considered an artist’s studio as sacred space – a place to grow, create, and thrive as an artist.

Glen at the Old Citadel

Glen at the Citadel in San Jose, CA, 1980’s

Glen doing a monotype

My 2nd studio in Mazatlan, 2007(?)

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My new studio in San Miguel de Allende

Plastic Madness – An Artist’s Response to a global crisis

19 Sunday Nov 2017

Posted by in Art from Recycled Plastic, Uncategorized

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Glen Rogers and Deborah Kennedy at Plastic Madness Exhibition at San Jose City College
Angela Peralta Gallery, Mazatlan, Mexico
OMA Galeria, Mazatlan Airport
San Jose City College Gallery, CA

As an artist, my work is inspired by visiting sacred sites around the world and connecting with the spirit of place. I honor our ancestors and am enthralled by the symbols they left behind on rock walls and pottery shards.  I borrow from a universal language – like the spiral that speaks of renewal and the circle that speaks of wholeness, as well as forms from nature found in cultures around the world. My work comes from a personal place and has a mystical and meditative quality.

I have lived in Mazatlan, Mexico – a little slice of Paradise on the Sea of Cortez- for 17 years. I love walking the beach or down the Malecon – 7 miles of ocean-front sidewalk.  But something has disturbed my tranquil walks – more and more plastic – shopping bags, straws, bottles, caps, styrofoam, etc. is in my path. Sadly, my walks have become more of a garbage pick-up excursion. And I have begun to learn more about the bigger problem with plastic in our world via the internet:

  • An estimated 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic are currently in the oceans, a third of which is concentrated in the infamous Great Pacific Garbage Patch – possibly twice the size of the United States!

I am not a political artist, but I do hold Mother Earth sacred, so how can I ignore her call for help?  Plastic is one of the biggest threats to our planet clogging our neighborhoods, highways, soil, beaches and oceans.  Ocean plastic pollution is killing more than 100,000 marine animals and birds each year. World-wide plastic production is increasing dramatically and every year we produce approximately 300 million tons of plastics. Plastic doesn’t decompose, it never goes away. We humans are negatively affected as the toxic chemicals in plastics are contaminating our bodies by entering our food chain and our water supply.

I decided to take action on the home front and also to take steps to bring the plastic crisis in focus. Here are some things I’ve done:

  • Recycle what I use at home and on the streets and beaches (not easy in Mazatlan because there is no city-wide recycling program)
  • Refuse plastic bags and straws at shops and stores (In Mexico, they give them out like candy!) “sin popote, por favor”
  • Re-use plastic bags, cups, etc that I have acquired
  • Take my refillable water bottle with me at home and on my travels
  • Created an anti-plastic logo and had some fabric shopping bags made that fold up and fit into a purse or back pocket as give-aways and gifts.
  • Started a Facebook page to disperse info found on the internet and to raise awareness to the plastic problem  (Campaña-Anti-Plástico-de-Mazatlan)
  • Created an informational hand-out to give out in both English and Spanish
  • Speak up to vendors, friends, and family to encourage them to also give up single-use plastic
  • And most importantly:                                                                                                  Curated an International Art Exhibition, Plastic Madness / Locura del Plastico inviting over 25 Mexican and U.S. artists to create artworks from plastic found in their daily paths.  This exhibition, with unique and compelling works of art, was shown at the Angela Peralta Gallery in Mazatlan to rave reviews, then at the OMA Galeria at the Mazatlan airport where it was viewed by hundred of visitors. (Many thanks to Dept. of Culture, Mazatlan and Claudia Gallardo, director of OMA Galeria.) The exhibition has now traveled to the U.S. and is currently being exhibited at San Jose City College (thru Nov 27, 2017). In this show, additional California artists were invited to join the Mexican artists uniting artists from these two countries in a common problem.  This show was co-curated by Katherine Levin-Lau and Deborah Kennedy. The next scheduled exhibition in the U.S. is Bluseed Studios and Gallery in Saranac Lake, NY in August 2018 where NY artists will be invited to participate.  (Carol Marie Vossler will co-curate the NY exhibition).  Additionally, a new Plastic Madness exhibition will be organized in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, February 2019.

VERY FINAL Card Plastic.pages

Some of the work from the Exhibitions:

By Carol Marie Vossler, U.S.
By Claudia Gallardo, Mexico
By Glen Rogers, Mexico
By Sean Boyles, U.S.
By Katherine Levin Lau, U.S.
by Hugo Anaya, Mexico
by Jane Gregorious, U.S.
By Lucila Santiago, Mexico
By Frizia Corina, Mexico
By Deborah Kennedy, U.S.
By Cy Rendon, Mexico

I believe that Art has a unique ability to engage our senses and raise awareness to this global crisis!

Las Labradas, Mexico- Voices of an Ancient People

07 Monday Dec 2015

Posted by in sacred sites

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I paid a visit to Las Labradas yesterday – a sacred site north of Mazatlán, Mexico. I’ve been there countless times since my first visit in 1999, each one as breathtakingly beautiful as the last.  The expansive, pristine beach and ocean view alone are beautiful, but it’s the rich array of petroglyphs carved into the volcanic stone that really speak to me.  Moving from boulder to boulder, light and shadow play on the surfaces, revealing spirals, figures and other mysterious glyphs.  These visions and myths, voices of an ancient people, were created in ritual by The Toltecs thousands of years ago. I can’t help but be inspired by its symbols, the merging of stone and water, and the spirit of place.

In the last 15 years, Las Labradas has become a protected site and a tourist destination – a blessing and a curse. One now sees huge tour buses in the parking lot. On my first visit there was no parking lot much less a barely navigable road.  On previous trips, we would have the place to ourselves, rarely seeing another human being. This time, a “guide” silently shadowed me my entire walk, yet (blessedly) allowed me space to do my own thing.  The rocks still hold their magic and will continue to call me back.

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Clearly a pubic triangle. First time I’ve seen this one.

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Some of my monotype prints inspired by Las Labradas:

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A - Three Spirals

A - Four Way Path

There is a chapter in my book, Art & Sacred Sites: Connecting with Spirit of Place, on Las Labradas. Contact me for orders: glen@glenrogersart.com

 

 

 

 

 

The Labyrinth – A Walking Meditation

17 Thursday Sep 2015

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This labyrinth no longer exists, and is now a skateboard park.

Labyrinth – Mazatlán, Mexico

I first discovered the Labyrinth as a spiritual tool in my readings on archetypal symbols. Based on a circle, it implies unity and wholeness, and is considered a metaphor for our journey through life. Dating back to the goddess culture of Minoan Crete, the Labyrinth was also used in medieval times as a walking meditation and was often included in the final steps of a sacred journey or pilgrimage. These large-scale symbols were imbedded into the stone floors of monasteries and churches, with the better known being Chartres Cathedral in France, whose Labyrinth continues to receive visits from pilgrims to this day.

My first opportunity to walk a Labyrinth was on a New Year’s Eve at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco – it was a profound experience.  Sometime later, I had the honor of attending a Women’s Quest with 100 women at the same cathedral – a sort of spiritual “slumber party,” an incredible evening of empowerment, with silent meditations, walking the Labyrinth by candlelight and making connections with like-minded women of all ages and backgrounds.

Dr. Lauren Artress, who organized the Women’s Quest, is responsible for bringing the Labyrinth to Grace Cathedral and helped revive this ancient spiritual tool with her book, Walking the Sacred Path. Some of her suggestions for taking this journey include quieting the mind, asking a question, repeating a mantra or prayer and allowing a receptive state. Walking towards the center is an opportunity to let go of things no longer useful. Reaching the heart of the Labyrinth, Dr. Artress suggests taking a moment to offer gratitude, and on the final circuit, asking for what you’d like to bring into your life.

“To walk a sacred path is to discover our inner sacred space: the core of feeling that is waiting to have life breathed back into it through symbols, archetypal forms like the Labyrinth, rituals, stories and myths.”

Labyrinth -Sibley Park, Oakland, CA

I never miss an opportunity to walk this mystical path and commune with the divine, knowing that somehow it will affect my life and my art. Here are some works that have the feel of the labyrinth.

Click on the images to enlarge:

This post is an excerpt from my book, Art & Sacred Sites: Connecting with Spirit of Place. To order, glen@glenrogersart.com.