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ART JOURNAL- ENTRY #4


 

SUBJECT MATTER: MEXICAN BOUQUET

Mexican paper flowers in an earthenware pitcher.
It's said that the Spanish brought tissue paper from China to Mexico and that that introduction was the initial starting point for paper flowers being used for weddings, quinceaneras, and other ceremonial activities. But, in reality, no one knows for sure where and/or when the tradition actually started. 
Earthenware in Mexico began during the Purron period (2300-1500 BCE) when they moved from stoneware to clayware. To put this into perspective, in pre-colonial America, pottery was being made over a thousand years before pottery in pre-colonial Mexico. The earliest known pottery in the U.S territory (in what is now known as Savanah, Georgia, United States) was being made by Native Indians in approximately 3500 BCE. 



DIPICTION OF SUBJECT MATTER

I used vibrant, gaudy colors for the stemless, floating flower heads and I used earthy, clay-like colors for the solid, blocklike, geometric, earthenware pitcher in this image. The heavy earthenware sets the pitcher in the foundations of the earth by appearing like a brick-upon-brick temple that carries life sustaining water while hosting mystical, floating flower heads. 



PERSONAL DRAW OF DATA FROM THE SUBJECT MATTER

Mexican paper flowers have always kind of captured my attention. I don't own any and, to my recollection, I've never made any. As a matter of fact, I've never even been to a community or family event that showcased them. However, I've always identified with them as an inherent part of my culture  and have also always been super glad they're there- even if in the far away distance.

I think paper flowers capture my attention because they echo how I am in every day life, I guess you could say. If I can't afford something I want, I make it. For example, I wanted a work table, so, I made one. I wanted a loom to make rag rugs, so, I made one. When Mexicans need flowers and flowers are out of reach, they just make them. I like that. I like that these flowers harken to the ability to break the barriers of access to resources and goods by simply saying, by the very simple nature of there existence, "Take what you do have and create what you need". There's no pretention in that, there's no 'beat the Jones out of their green, grassy knoll' in that, it's all just, 'needs being met with creativity's unabashed hand'. What's not to love about that? Nothing, there's nothing not to love about that. 

The flowers in this image are stemless, they don't need to suck up water to live a temporary existence that extinguishes after a week. However, paper does need atmospheric moisture so it doesn't dry out and crumble to dust. So, they actually do need water, just like we need living water to sustain our spiritual life in Christianity- it's an elemental microcosm in a macrocosm of symbolic representation, I guess you could say. 

This image brings my attention to my need for cultural grounding and to some of the environmental conditions necessary to maintain a good balance- a good balance of physical grounding and spiritual connection; a united, holistic balance in an ever evolving state of existence.
 


Browse and purchase Mexican Bouquet kitsch at: MEXICAN BOUQUET KITSCH

Browse Mexican Bouquet kitsch at AKO's Zazzle store: ZAZZLE- MEXICAN BOUQUET KITSCH

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