After working with the Nomadic Labyrinth project for several months, I have started using the left over small scraps of recycled carpet to create drawings and installations in my new studio. I find carpet to be a great an flexible material that complements perfectly with my charcoal and other line drawings.

It's always surprising to rediscover the value of discarded materials by putting them in a different context.  I have always been interested in questioning the boundaries of drawing and incorporating more permanent materials to create lines and traces. I am interested in using recycled material like carpet and rugs not only for their flexibility, durability and easy transportation but to explore space and themes of re-use. 

The images below belong to the first of a series of large scale drawing made directly on the wall. Dimensions are 10' x 12' approximately.

I have always been curious about working with silk. One of my new projects is working on a hair drawing and a design to be printed on 100% silk. I am planing on making a limited edition of hair scarves. Last week I was at Kala Art Institute making a few tests and the results are quite optimistic. I printed my first sketches directly on the silk and I am now researching on how to make the silk washable. I found a formula online to pre-coat the fabric and make it durable and I will experiment with it in the coming week. I hope to have the scarves ready for the next Open Studios in San Francisco Mission District, in April 2014. 

A few photos below of the first test.

After 7 years as an Art Explosion artist, I am moving to a new studio space in 1890 Bryant Street Studios. Located in the historic Best Foods building in the Mission District, this landmark building is home to creative business, designers, painters, printmakers, jewelers, photographers and ceramists. I will miss the artist community in Art Explosion and I look forward to grow in my art practice in 1890 Bryant Street Studios.

A new studio means a new beginning and for this reason I am doing an Art Sale of some of the work I created over the last 5 years (Yes, I still have a few Hair pieces available!)

Come by and help me say good bye to my old studio!

ART SALE
Art Explosion
2425 17th St @ Potrero
San Francisco, 94110

Sunday, February 9th, 11am - 5pm
(or by appointment Friday 7th and Saturday 9th)
415-312-2421
pazdelacalzada@yahoo.com

Below is a preview of some of the work that will be for sale.

Today early in the morning, my collaborator artist Eliza Barrios and I used the newspaper stands in front of the Vanguard Properties main office in the Mission District to deliver a message about home eviction and loss. 

Daily Slots is a collaborative art project started in the summer of 2010. Since then Eliza and I have been using the windows of the newspaper stand structures to deliver messages that call attention to the economy and the un-sustainable of capitalistic culture.

Learn more about Daily Slots here

Presented by the Manresa Galley, The Nomadic Labyrinth will be displayed in Gleeson Plaza at University of San Francisco campus from Sept 6th - 18th. 

This interactive installation made with recycled carpet remnants is inspired in an Arabic floral pattern that is been transformed into a unicursal path design. I found interesting the juxtaposition of two different cultural patterns to create a movable, meditative environment where carpet from archetypical western places like the Ritz Carlton meet an inventive Arabesque.

The Nomadic Labyrinth is a traveling art project. It will be displayed in other venues in the Bay Area during 2013 and 1014. It reflects my vision of creating art that is playfully in dialogue with urban space, and it takes this work one step further by exploring the relationship between art and spirituality, daily life and ritual.

Images of the labyrinth at USF including the Peace and Reflection Walk on Sept 11th, 6 - 8PM
Photos by Michael Rauner

The last stages of the Nomadic Labyrinth have been very busy and exciting. I got to use Joe Goode Performance Company space in the Mission to lay out the paper cut patterns and make any possible adjustments. Michael Rauner captured these moments with his distinct touch. 

After adjusting the paper patterns and transferring them to the carpet and cutting the pieces out, I needed to find a large space where for a few days I could assemble the final labyrinth and attach the velcro to join the pieces together. I was very lucky to be able to work at McRosky Mattress on Market St, where I had the opportunity meet Robin and Robert, the owners of this wonderful family owned business, and the rest of the crew. 

My artist friend Lisa Ruth Elliot helped me put all this puzzle together and it was great to have her on board.

The Nomadic Labyrinth will have its debut at Gleeson Plaza, University of San Francisco and Saint Ignatius Church. Save the date!

The Nomadic Labyrinth
Manresa Gallery at Saint Ignatius Church
Installation Sept 6th - 18th

Labyrinth Walk Celebrating Peace and Reflexion
Complete with an Interfaith Blessing by Fr John Coleman
Wednesday September 11th, 6 - 8 pm

Gleeson Plaza is on the USF Campus, between St. Ignatius Church & USF library

Photo: Mock up of the Labyrinth by Saint Ignatius Church

Learn more about:
Joe Goode Performance Group 
McRoskey Mattress 
Michael Rauner
LisaRuth Elliott

My collaborator Eliza Barrios and I are showing our Daily Slots, an ongoing public art intervention, in the show called UNTITLED at the Mission Cultural Center. Using the newspaper stands along Market St and around City Hall, Eliza and I have created messages that question the media and the use of public/private space.

UNTITLED
Mission Cultural Center for LatinoAugust 14 - September 21, 2013.

Opening Reception
August 14, 7:13 pm 

Talk by the artists
September 18, 7pm, free 

Learn more about our Daily Slots here

New images of the process of designing and building a large scale walkable nomadic labyrinth. Final design, collection of carpets and transfer of the sketch onto the paper.

Thanks Flooring Solutions and Conklin Bros for your kind donations!

Eviction, displacement and gentrification are topics that are affecting the lives of Mission District residents and specially the Latino population. As part of MAPP (Mission Arts and Performance Project) writer and friend Adriana Camarena and I organized a procession through the streets of the Mission District, lamenting the loss of cultural diversity and the displacement of working class families due to the tech boom and housing bubble.

In an opening ceremony we invoked the Spirit of the Mission to walk with us through the Mission District. Altars were set up and interventions and readings were performed at the eviction sites.

One of the reason why I am building these Carpet Labyrinths is to bring them to the public space and reach to the community. A portable labyrinth that can easily be put together for the use and enjoyment of the public. Either in a street, in a plaza or in the courtyard of a church, a labyrinth helps build community and create a container for ritual. Walking a labyrinth can be a form of body prayer, a pilgrimage or a deep meditation tool. 

Below there are some ideas of how to integrate an art project into a spiritual public space and at the same time serve as a tool for transformation. At Grace Cathedral, Saint Ignatius Church and Saint Mary the Assumption in San Francisco.