In November 2012, The Rillito River Project invited the artists from Art Lab to install artwork at Biosphere 2 (B2) for an exhibition called The Art of All Possibilities. It was wonderful for me to be reunited with everyone I built great relationships with during the 2011 Art Lab.
We arrived a week prior to the opening to begin installing our art at B2. I was joined by Fritz Buehner (Boston,MA), Bently Spang (Billings, MT), Ellen Skotheim (Tucson, AZ), and newest art lab artist, Morgan Schwartz (Providence, RI). Reuniting in the Thar meeting room at B2 was intense, we had all talked about how climate change had greatly affected our lives personally. Bently lost his family home on the Northern Cheyenne Nation Reservation in Montana due to the devastating wildfires in June 2012, hundred of homes were lost and over 200,000 acres of land burned. Fritz's studio in Brooklyn, NY was flooded during hurricane Sandy.  Here is Tucson we endured hotter temperatures this summer and we saw an increase in wildfires throughout the southwest.

This past year I was diligent in sharing all that I learned during Art Lab and every chance I could get, I would talk to folks about the importance of water harvesting, the battle against buffle grass, increasing our tree canopy, and climate change. I also took the information into several middle school classrooms and the John Valenzuela Youth Center here in Tucson. I wanted to make sure and include these students into my art installation. When I visited youth I would bring in juice pouches for them to enjoy while they listened to me talk about climate change and then we did an art project. They would cut their pouches in to shapes of leaves and write their names and schools on them for display on my art installation "Planting the Seeds of Hope".
During the week of installation at B2 I was able to interact with visitors while creating my sculpture. It was wonderful to meet folks from all over the country and a great opportunity to give them information on my sculpture and why art is important to get everyone talking about climate change. CSA cooked for us every night with good delicious local organic ingredients. Being at B2 with all its scientists and wonderful tour guides, Rillito River Project's Creative Director, and the wildlife and scenery made this experience not only wonderful but inspirational. I felt like our coming together was powerful and that we can all make a positive change in our world.
Opening day of the exhibition was super awesome! I saw new and old faces and it especially felt good when I saw the youth from the John Valenzuela youth center that came to support me and visit B2 for the first time. Seeing their excitement to learn about science, ecology and art was so rewarding. You can visit the exhibition at B2 through February 28, 2013. I look forward to continue to network with B2, Rillito River Project and my community to do my part in planting seeds of hope.

During the Summer of 2012 I worked with the youth of the John Valenzuela Youth Center in South Tucson during their summer mini art camp. We created several mural panels to serve as public service announcements to the community. 

   

I told the youth my story of being a graffiti artists as a youth in Los Angeles, how I was headed down a wrong path in life. One morning after being out painting graffiti all night and trying to sneak back home, my mom caught me and said, “MEL, Do you want to pay the city for what you’re doing? Or do you want the City to Pay you?” Those words led me to leaving the street life and creating my art on canvas and murals and becoming a professional artist. I want to continue inspiring youth to follow their dreams!

We talked about making better choices for snacks; such as eating fresh fruits and vegetables instead of eating junk food. The “Junk Food Monster” on the mural is made of all the junk food that is directly marketed to the youth and their culture, making junk food even more appealing.  I explained to the kids that its very important to look at the labels of the foods they eat. How lots of fat and sodium are really unhealthy and I also showed them the different labels on fruits and veggies. We hope this panel encourages other youth in the community to make healthy eating choices!

This one is called The Art of Story Telling. The Art of Story Telling was a great way to talk to the youth about old folklore, like the story of Quetzequatl and the Ants; a story about how humans discovered maize. The giant Olmec in the mural represents the mixture of history and science fiction; provoking the thought of the possibility that giants created the ancient temples. Then there is the sci-fi that makes you ponder, was it aliens? Finally on the right of the mural, a child reading; learning about history, using the imagination, and creating his/her own stories.

At the end of the summer the youth invited their friends and families to a program at Ochoa Elementary School where they presented the mural panels we created, receive awards for their sportsmanship, and perform a skit they created in drama. In art camp we also created the masks that they used in their performance.

     

In October, the Pima County Public Library had asked if I would like to display art at the Joel D. Valdez Main Library in downtown Tucson. I accepted because I knew this was a great space to display all of the art that I've created with the youth in the community over the past two years. The art will be displayed until November 30, 2012

My experience being part of the Rillito River Project was an amazing one. Originally from Los Angeles and now a Tucson resident, The Rillito River Project exposed me to a lot of valuable information about the environment and inspired me to learn more. Our experience began at Biosphere #2. We spoke to many different scientists about their work and our group was given a tour of the biosphere. The thing about the Biosphere is that you have to think of it as a living thing you are able to walk through and semi control. It’s a very cool experiment.

After our 4 days at the Biosphere we headed down to Cuenca Los Ojos in the Chiricahua Mountains. We stayed at the Coronado Ranch, an amazing place. Valer Austin has many acres of land both on the U.S. and Mexican side of the border. She invited us to see what she has done to raise the water table and reestablish native grasses on her land by building simple rock dams called gabions. We also had a chance to see how the border not only keeps people from their natural migration but also keeps animals from their natural migration. Being on the Coronado Ranch and meeting with Valer was a very inspiring experience. We had the opportunity to see what one person can do to make a huge change for the better.

I learned a lot from this experience. With this new knowledge I would like to use my skills as an artist to share it with others. I feel that if people knew more about how climate change is effecting our environment they would be willing to make the necessary changes. The first project I have in mind is to create a painting of the Mexican Free Tail bat. It lives in Tucson six months out of the year and helps our local farmers control the bug population. It also eats mosquitoes and is a delight to have as a summer resident. I would then love to make my painting into a large-scale mural that the people of Tucson can appreciate and learn from. This is the project I would like to do as a direct result of my Rillito River Project, Art Lab, experience.

I remember listening and watching the news announce SB-1070 and the effects it had on the community. It made me think of the time that i worked as a tow truck driver here in Tucson. The company I worked for had a contract with Border patrol, and it was my job to pick up seized vehicles of deported immigrants. Nine times out of ten I would see laundry, work tools and personal items in the cars. This new law was going to most likely increase these seizures and it just broke my heart thinking about it. 
I couldn't believe that there would be a law in place in Arizona that would give police officers the right to stop anyone who may be suspected of being in the United States Illegally. Soon after the announcement of SB 1070, many community organizations began protesting. Border Action Network asked local artists in Tucson to create artwork that reflected how they felt about this new law. Every artists was given a piece of recycled wood to create their piece of art that would be displayed and auctioned at PopCycle Shop in Tucson. 
I was in my studio sketching and wondering how I would get my point across through my art. I was so upset about SB-1070, how it would affect innocent people and families. How would I illustrate an Illegal immigrant, skin color? racial profiling? Just like a lightning bolt, the idea came to mind. A family in luchador masks! Their masks and clothing represent the culture and hard work.
The piece was auctioned off and won by a local writer, Nico Ratoff. I posted a photo of the art piece on Facebook and Self Help Graphics had seen it.

A few months later, Self Help Graphics invited me to Los Angeles to print a limited edition of 16x 20 serigraphs of the image. I hope that this piece can help communicate how wrong this law is to our community.

Self Help Graphics selected me to be apart of the 2012 Jornalero Papers. The Jornalero Papers gathered the voices of 10 artists who live/lived the experience of being a day laborer in America to take part in a special printmaking atelier.

I created a limited edition serigraph during the Jornalero Papers called Arizona Highway.


In creating Arizona Highway I was reminded of the time in my life when I worked as a foreman on a construction site and during this time I worked with many hard working jornaleros. I rode the transit system in Los Angeles everyday to the job site and during my rides, I was no different than the jornaleros, the domestic help, the wanderers, the abuelos, and the youth of our future all riding the public limousine. Arizona Highway is my attempt of putting us all on the bus, so that we can all better understand the situations on immigration and culture here in Arizona. 

  Los Abuelos (the grandparents) were the first to immigrate to the U.S. or the first to live here when it was Mexico. They represent the foundation of the family.

The scene looking out of the front of the bus is of Aviation Hwy in Tucson. I used this to speak to the locals, in order for them to realize that these issues are happening in their home town. The Homie represents the wander. The I.C.E Agent is faceless because he/she can be from any decent and easily blend in with crowds looking just like you or me right before they ask for documentation of your citizenship.

 The Student wants the right to the knowledge she deserves. She is also holding one of the books that was recently banned in Tucson, AZ.

The shadowed character wearing the angels hat is the new representation of the sleeping Mexican; the result of a death while crossing the border through the Sonoran Desert. The construction worker is the hard working day laborer who doesn't have a steady job but who is always on the move looking for the opportunity to work while also having to look over his shoulder in fear of being deported. The poster on the wall is another one of the banned books in Tucson. On my way to create this serigraph in Los Angeles I ran into the author of The Devil's Highway, Luis Alberto Urrea at the airport and was able to share my image with him.

This section with the border crosser and the sign at the church was inspired by a trip to New Mexico where I met day laborers looking for work but who staying posted in front of a church looking for sanctuary. The message on the Virgin Mary is a telling to all of the true distance that these human beings have to travel and endure to work a menial job here in the United States.

Here is the domestic laborer, who is also a  mother. These mothers are hired to raise and tend to the families of others, while still being responsible for their own families. The child, while knowing the possibilities of being racial profiled, being detained, separated from family and deported still wants to make a positive difference in the world.

Thank you Self Help Graphics for being the foundation where artists can speak from their hearts! I created 56 limited edition serigraphs of Arizona Highway and they are available for purchase through Self Help Graphics & Arts, or directly through me.

Self Help Graphics Atelier LIII

The Jornalero (Day Laborer) Papers

Self Help Graphics & Art
1300 East 1st Street
Boyle Heights CA 90033

Curated by Self Help Graphics & Art's Program Manger, Joel Garcia, The Jornalero Papers gathered the voices of 10 artists who live/lived the experience of being a day laborer in America to take part in a special printmaking atelier. The subject of each of the limited edition fine art serigraphs explore the artist's dreams of opportunity, met with the realities of oppression, abuse, and physical pain; as well as their experiences of empowerment through organizing and creating networks of opportunity in between the lines of society.

  

Through a series of dialogues conducted virtually via Skype, the artists came together, shared their experience, knowledge, ideas and perspectives to help develop the content of what you will experience through Self Help Graphics & Art's LIII Atelier--The Jornalero Papers. 

  

Artists include: Joel Garcia (Los Angeles, CA, Curator), Noel Vargas Hernandez, Hugo Martinez (Los Angeles, CA), Jose Luis Barrero (Los Angeles, CA), Alfredo Burgos (Los Angeles, CA), Ricardo Santibañez (Los Angeles, CA), Mel Dominguez (Tucson, AZ). Jose Gonzalez (Portland, OR), Irwin Sanchez (New York, NY), and Xavier Tavera (Minneapolis, MN),

Panel discussion with The Jornalero Papers artists. Mel Dominguez present via Skype

On Tuesday, May 1st, 2012 immediately following May Day Actions, Self Help Graphics & Arts hosted the Preview Exhibition of The Jornalero Papers with performances and Panel Discussion.

Following a preview of the work, a panel discussion moderated by Founder and Director of Centro Communicacion Communitaria, Marco Amador, engage artists/jornaleros as well as organizers from Puente AZ and the Macehualli Work Center and the Martin Luther King Worker Center in Portland, OR in a dialogue about current issues and life experiences.

The evening will also include the following special performances:
-Opening Ceremony (Traditional Zapotec Dance) with Noel Vargas Hernandez
-Presentation & Performance by Teatro Jornalero Sin Fronteras with Teatro Jornalero Sin Fronteras' Program Director, Lorena Moran and Artistic Director Juan J. Mangandi.

images and text courtesy of Self Help Graphic & Arts 2012
 

With the $500 grant I was given at Eat Dinner, Fund an Artist, I purchased all the supplies needed for a series of workshops I held in August, 2011 with the boys from the Pima Prevention Program, Sin Puertas.

Working with these boys at times was a little difficult because each of them had personal situations and issues. However, I was able to relate to them through my experiences as a graffiti artist who grew up in East Los Angeles. I focused on teaching them how to freestyle paint on recycled wood and plexiglass. It seemed to help build trust and respect with them as I shared my personal stories of how I got started and let them know how my start in art was similar to theirs. The workshops started slowly because some of the boys didn't know how to draw but I continued to encourage them to let their guards down so they could see what was inside the paint.

One of the pieces created with one of the boys (let's call him John as reference) really came together as the weeks went by. He had first painted several colors on a piece of old wood within the first 15 minutes during the first class and said he was done. I pushed him to keep working on the piece, but he kept telling me it was finished. I asked him focus with me on the drying paint, and I pointed out a few shapes I could see and I outlined a figure. He and some of the other boys were really excited, because they hadn't thought about looking for shapes in the paint that could help bring a lot more to the painting. With the added inspiration of looking deeper into what they had already painted, they were eager to add more to each of their paintings.

I brought in some recycled plexiglass pieces into the following class and asked the boys to use some of their graffiti talents on them. Most of them painted their names in various graffiti fonts on the plexiglass. They enjoyed this even though their counselors did not allow any gang or crew affiliations to be written, just their names. After class I set their paintings along a wall so that I could let them dry as I cleaned and packed everything up for the day. As I kept walking past the paintings and plexiglass pieces, I was very drawn to the pieces created by John. I decided that I would surprise him at the next class by bringing in his two pieces of art merged into one! So that's just what I did, I connected the pieces with some long screws to make it look a little 3-dimensional.
I was so excited to see the look on John's face at class, but his counselor broke the news to me that he has gotten himself into trouble and was sent to Juvenal detention. Although I was unable to show John his piece of artwork, I shared it with the other boys in the class and they were so very excited to see how a little imagination merged the two pieces into really cool artwork! I also shared with them that I had posted a photo of the piece on my Facebook page and received several great comments about it in hopes that they would hear my message that a life of trouble isn't so necessary, and that focusing energy on artwork or any other positive interest can leave to wonderful things in life. My work with these boys was inspiring for me, and I hope to be able to continue to work with the youth in our community!!

I'm very excited to report that I've been nominated for the Tucson Pima Arts Council's 2012 "Emerging Artist" Lumie Award! It came as a complete surprise and I feel so blessed to be nominated. Emerging Artist This award will be presented to an emerging artist for her or his outstanding innovation in a chosen field of art.

The Tucson Pima Arts Council invited residents of Pima County to nominate their favorite local artist, arts educator, arts organization, and arts-supporting local business for a 2012 Lumie Award. The Tucson Pima Arts and Business Awards, affectionately known as the “Lumies,” recognize outstanding contributions to the arts by Pima County residents whose work nurtures our community, our economy, and Pima County’s unique identity.  The Awards began in 2001 as the Mayor’s Arts Awards under the leadership of Beth Walkup. In 2005, it was renamed the Tucson Pima Arts and Business Awards to emphasize the relationship between the arts, artists, and local commerce.

The Awards ceremony will be on Friday, June 15, 2012 at the El Casino Ballroom. If you'd like to join me and Melissa at the event, Tickets for the general public can be purchased at http://lumies2012.eventbrite.com

The June 10, 2011 event "Eat Dinner, Fund an Artist" was the brain child of David Aguirre, Director of Dinnerware Artspace. I know this was almost a year ago now, but this is the beginning of a wonderful journey I had last year and it wouldn't make sense to leave it out.

The concept for the event was to invite the community to donate $10-$20 to enjoy a wonderful meal made by Monsoon Kitchen and listen to seven local artists give a five minute presentation on a project they would like to accomplish.

The morning of the event I was having second thoughts about participating. I kept thinking that I would forget everything I wanted to say as soon as I stood on stage, or that my project wasn't good enough to win the funding. The anxiety was worse as the day went on, but my partner Melissa broke the anxiety by saying "what do you have to lose?" Walking into the great space on Toole Ave I recognized several of the artists and community patrons in the audience. I figured then that I needed to be myself go around and say hi to everyone and to meet the new faces in the crowd.

One by one the other artists began to go on stage and give their pitch. So the moment came for me. I got on stage and told the community that I wanted to teach a "storytelling" workshop.

After all of the presentations, everyone in the audience was handed a ballot and we all anxiously awaited the tally. I tried to walk around and continue talking to people to pass the time and to try to distract myself. After about 10 minutes, David Aguirre took the stage to announce the winner. It was ME!! I won a $500 grant to go towards my Storytelling workshop....

I painted "Trensas" with acrylic and oil pastels on a 20x24 old wooden cabinet door in 2010 when I lived in a wild warehouse loft on 22nd/S. 6th in Tucson. I was inspired by Frida Kahlo's painting "The Two Fridas" Frida's painting "records the emotions surrounding her separation and martial crisis  in 1939" One of the Frida's represents herself still in love with Diego, while the other expresses her pain of no longer being in love with Diego.

My painting "Trensas" signifies the relationship with my partner, Melissa. The main thought of my painting is of how connected we both are and how we share the same heart.
The heart in my painting represents love and passion and the cigarette that the "Frida"in the foreground is holding represents the quickness of life. The vase of flowers represents the ever revolving cycle, abundance and disintegration of life. The checkerboard floor is meant to remind you of the game of life. The Trensas (braids) that are being created represents the order that my partner Melissa brings to my life. The figure in the back that resembles Diego Rivera also represents me.
We had decided to not sell the painting and about nine months later we bought our first home, settled in and began painting and decorating. While hanging up Trensas on the living room wall we noticed that the arch, window, and even flowers were all living in our new home exactly the way I painted it in Trensas.