Teaching Art in Mexico
So, I’m writing a blog post about my journeys in Mexico, and I don’t know how to begin.
It was a dark and stormy night… wait… once upon a time… wait…
In a little town by the deep ocean, not so long ago, lived a lonely gringa who was ready to jump into a new abyss. She had been told the abyss was a dangerous place, especially for women, and no other women she knew had ventured thusly. There was a rock in her stomach.
However, many resources existed to give her the push, the most important being El Fundacion Communitaria del Bajio and The Penland School of Craft. She had been recommended by a friend-of-a-friend due to her experience with Spanish language, bookmaking arts, and teaching children.
So she climbed aboard the bus one particularly starry night, and took the last familiar course she’d take for six months; over the Santa Cruz Mountains to the San Jose airport. Little did she know that she would enter a magical world, where she would awaken at 6 am to the wild heartbeat of Chichimeka drums and fireworks.
What do you think? Can you imagine it?
Well, it’s a true story. I taught bookmaking arts in the Pueblo Magico, Mineral de Pozos, and surrounding communities, for six months. And I arrived shortly before El Señor de los Trabajos, and the drums and fireworks straight blew my mind.
The art program I taught in three area middle schools went something like this;
Day one: painting on paper that will eventually be book covers
Day two: continue painting, and suminagashi
Day three: recycled paper-making
Day four: book cover construction
Day five: weaving paper, collage, envelopes
Day six: sewing in the pages, embellishment
Day seven: drawing and poetry lessons
Day eight: walking adventure, on-location drawing
It seems simple enough, but the program was alchemical. A lot of the kids I worked with had lost parents in border crossing tragedies. I had no idea how dangerous it was, and the kinds of pressures these kids lived with. They were so generous with me and taught me so much. Creative self-expression was important for them, their sense of self, and their ability to imagine and have desires. I was honored to be a part of that. I worked on bookmaking arts with over 240 individuals in those transformative six months.
Leaving Mineral de Pozos was like a beautiful last day of summer camp, with all these sweet amazing kids hugging me and telling me they love me. And I love them too, and I brought ART into their lives!!! It is so profound and such an amazing feeling!
Things I learned
Success and failure
I learned so much about running a community foundation, working with people, having allies, forming ideas and proposals, planning, acting on a wing and a prayer if/when planning fails, being logical, being compassionate, being at the top of your game, forgiving and apologizing, taking accountability, formulating a new and more efficient plan when there is failure… and there WILL be moments of failure. It doesn’t make the project or the people involved failures themselves, including yourself.
I learned a lot about timing, confidence, charisma, and attention to detail. I learned that hot running water is an amazing luxury! Things can be done with very little supervision and turn out good or bad simply because of the people involved. There are lovely, decent people out there who are doing good for the sake of love and joy, and there are also really crooked people out there who will take advantage of any situation. I learned to see the difference a little better, and steer my ship better because of it.
A Foreign Language
I was selected for the role because I knew some Spanish, but my ability to connect in Spanish grew immeasurably during the program. Not only did I learn a foreign language, I learned how to learn a foreign language. I learned how to try, even if I might sound stupid, to ask questions when I don’t understand, and to decide whether it’s a good time to speak or listen. I asked people for patience, I grew to be grateful for the patience I received, and I learned to give my patience whether or not it was being returned at the moment. I continued to believe in my ability to learn a foreign language if I just kept trying, to be there for myself and soothe myself when I felt alone in a foreign land. I learned to see the love consistently offered to me by people who may have a different tongue and culture than me, but who are fundamentally the same as me in their human desire to have happy, connected lives.
People, Community, Myself
This one was the most confusing and changed the way I perceive myself as an American, and even who an American is. I learned to find myself in “other,” while simultaneously celebrating the beauty of their “otherness.” I also found things about myself celebrated that I’ve never even paid too much mind to, because I am also someone else’s “other.”
Upon reflection, the lonely gringa (who was now much less lonely) felt that perhaps travel meant leaving what’s comfortable to discover what’s possible.
My sweet spicy Doña Chucha taught me how to make mole. Which in Spanish means “I love you,” and also maybe “why aren’t you married yet?”