Well, I've been out of touch for awhile. Not unusual for moi... but for the last few months I've been dealing with breast cancer surgery and treatment. The good news is that I'm doing fine. Truly fine. All things considered, I've felt energetic and well, all through the surgery, and so far three bouts of chemo--only minor symptoms so far, absolutely zero barfing. 

But I believe that the reason I feel so good is that I've been carried along through it all by the love and care of friends, family, and the amazing community of San Miguel. There really are no words to express the cushion of care that is holding me up.

All this support is now coming together in a big way.  Marilo Carral Gallery is hosting a special sale of my photos to help cover the cost of my surgery and treatment.

Friday December 2nd through Sunday December 4th

Everything you need to know is on the web at:
http://www.lulutorbet.com/

It's a unique sale, in that you can choose an image, by number, then the size and framing style. There are also wrought iron tables I've designed that have my photos under glass on top. You can also simply purchase the digital file on a CD, good for one-time use, which you can have framed wherever you live. There will also be framed and unframed images in bins at the gallery.

Marilo Carral Gallery in the Fabrica Aurora Locale 9-A
(first gallery on left at end of center hall)

Gallery Hours: Friday 12-9pm (the December ArtWalk is Friday from 6-9)

Saturday and Sunday 11am-6pm

Work by Marilo Carral and MariJose Marin will be on exhibit in front gallery.

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PEJU WINERY "CARumba!" Opening May 1 1-4 PM

I'm off to California to visit old friends in Marin County, and for an opening of my photos at Peju Winery in Rutherford, in the Napa wine country. It's the first time back since I moved to California in 2005, so I'm as excited about seeing old friends as I am about the opening.

The exhibtion opens on May 1, from 1-4 PM, at Peju Winery, 8466 St. Helena Highway (Route 29), in Rutherford, just north of Napa, and will be up through June 25th.  

I'll be showing large photos from "CARumba!"  images of the dented, scratched, much-repainted cars that ply the streets of San Miguel. (Here's a link to the pix). I hope you'll get a chance to stop by, either on May 1st or during the show's run.

New "Palettable" series at Generator Gallery

Although I'm still obsessed with taking pictures of the tarpaulins in the markets and the dented, re-painted cars of San Miguel, I have a new distraction. One day as I went to clean off months of cumulative mess on the large glass tabletop in my painting studio, I was caught by the compositions formed by the smeared, dribbled paints, the pastel dust and general detritus, and took a few pictures. At home, on my computer, I noticed that the light slanting through the window cast shadows from the paint onto the table beneath. So I was off and running,  putting another layer of glass on top, moving the compositions around on the table, adding writing and spilling water that also cast shadows.

A few photos from this new series, "Palettable,"  will be part of a group show, "Fotolandia," at Generator Gallery in the Fabrica Aurora through the month of June. These images are kind of a test run for what I can feel is going to be another long, obsessive exploration. Whoopee!

Report from Mexico + All Best Wishes for 2011

OK, here are the two big lies about Mexico:

One, there are no drug traffickers in most of Mexico, and I still walk home alone at night with no sense of danger. Two, it's not manana-land. I'm busier here than ever, though the fun quotient is much higher.

It's been a good year. I've had four photo exhibitions, which has been very gratifying and exciting. I think i'm even starting to make a profit with my photos, though I haven't quit my day job. Links to lots of photos can be found in the posts directly below this one.

The publishing business is pretty much history, and so now I write for private clients. At the moment I am editing a novel about Mexican history of the last century, written by a woman whose husband is part of a prominent Mexican family that figured prominently in the reign of Porfirio Diaz and through the Mexican Revolution.

I feel fortunate to live in this diverse, colorful, festive country, fortunate to have so many supportive and lively friends. In 2011 I'll have a show in Napa Valley, and hope to get back to Marin for the opening on April 28th. On August 19, I'll have a show opening at Bellas Artes, the cultural center here in San Miguel. So I guess it won't be the year of living languorously, as I'd fantasized.

Thinking of you and sending much love and best wishes  for a peaceful and pleasurable year for us all.

Lulu (Lolly, Laura)

Pozos Party Photos: !NOW REVOLUTION!

NiCk and Manrey at Galeria6 in Pozos know how to throw a party.  It was a picture perfect day, the installation was superb, the gardens abloom, the crowd lively, food and drink aplenty from our generous hosts. And I sold two photographs. Whoopee!  Here are photos of the opening. 
The show is up through January 2, if you want to spend a leisurely day in the country, visiting the old silver mines, the lavender farm, a long lazy lunch...  



Galeria6  Plaza Principal 6  Mineral de Pozos  

!Now Revolution" exhibition at Galeria 6

Mexico's Bicentennial is being celebrated in many and sundry ways, but perhaps none so wild and wacky as !Now Revolution!, a group showing of five artists at Galeria6 in nearby (to San Miguel) Pozos, a growing new arts community. Lena Bartula's got cross-dressed revolutionary heroes; Anado McLaughlin's installation has ten thousand Buddhas doing something or other; Ezshwan Winding says her torched encaustics are "about the underbelly." Jim Pasant's  (who will also do DJ duty at the opening as Notorious J.I.M) is showing photos of Mexican street graffiti. And me?  Banners, fireworks, and things that explode (images here).

Doesn't this sound like fun?? One way or another, we're all playing with fire....

!NOW REVOLUTION!    

OPENING NOVEMBER 6, 1-6 PM

 Galeria6  Jardin Principal 6  Mineral de Pozos

"AUTOreflejo" at ArtPrint Photo Gallery Opening Sept 10

Well, things are heating up as Mexico's Bicentennial gets underway--parades, fireworks, theater, bullfights, fairs, parties, dancing. It promises to be a long and lively celebration.

I'm adding to the mayhem by having an opening on Friday, September 10, at ArtPrint Photo Gallery, just off the square. It's new work, but more cars (images here)--battered old cars, reflections through closed car windows, the rear-view mirrors of taxis. I have several other series in progress, but I just can't seem to get over these cars. Someday I'll move on, I suppose, but their serendipitous beauty still catches my eye.

Viva Mexico!

Photo Show at Cafe Iberico June and July 2010

I know you've all missed me terribly in the many months since I last posted (not so much?), but as usual I've been far too busy for someone who moved to Mexico so I would have more free time. Don't believe everything you hear about Mexico--the threat of narco-traffickers, the killer swine flu, or that it's a manana culture. I have to admit I've had more time for photography and painting, which has been wonderful, even though it now contributes substantially to my perpetual whirlwind state. Fortunately, I do spend an inordinate amount of time having fun, seeing friends, and being charmed by this great country I live in.

At the moment I have three photography shows in the works. One is up now, at a great new restaurant in San Miguel, Cafe Iberico, which serves authentic Spanish tapas, very good wines, and dazzling desserts in a beautiful setting. I'm showing more large images of scraped, repainted cars (there are always new battered beauties) that look like paintings; dashboard dolls; and a couple shots from a new series, "Smithereens," of things that explode in San Miguel: Judas figures, fireworks, pinatas. The show is up through the end of July.

In September, I'll have a show of new work at ArtPrint Gallery, which opens on September 10 in time for Mexico's bicentennial celebrations, and will run through October. Next year I'll be having a show at San Miguel's cultural center, Bellas Artes. Details in due course.

I hope you Sanmiguelenses will have a chance to stop in and see the show at Cafe Iberico at Mesones 101. And I hope to find a little more free time to post all the great quotes and funny videos I've been collecting for you.

"Rabbits, Riddles, and Scribbles" Opens October 31

Another opening, another show. The Day of the Dead festivities are warming up here in San Miguel, and the Fabrica Aurora, with it's many shops and galleries, is throwing a huge fiesta on Saturday night, the 31st, with live music and decorated altars honoring the dead, cocktails and dancing "Catrina" figures--the whole nine yards.

As part of the festivities, I'll be showing a mixed bag of paintings at Generator Gallery's opening. By which I mean a few fingerpaintings; a couple of paintings in which rabbits figure prominently (don't ask; I don't know the answer myself); and a couple of pieces inspired by the old Doo Wop songs I've been listening to while I work.

I've been so busy these last months that I've barely had time to spend in the studio, and I miss it. One more opening to go, in December at the Queretaro Museum, and book deadlines to meet before year's end, but I have high hopes of long, happy hours of painting in the new year.

Viva Mexico! Come Visit!

Mexico has been taking it on the chin lately. The tourist industry has been devastated by the swine flu scare, the reports of narcotrafficking violence, the return of so many workers who were forced to return from the U.S. by anti-immigration pressures. For those of us who live here and love this country, it's been upsetting to watch, because we know how distorted the news reports are, not to mention many people's image of Mexico. Every day, I am reminded of how fortunate I am to be here. I love the kind people, the rich culture. I have never felt unsafe; in fact, I feel protected. I walk home by myself late at night, eat the food and drink the water.

Mexico has an excellent public health care system and, when the aporkalypse struck, put into place the measures that all first-world countries are prepared to deploy in the face of a viral threat. To date there have been 87 swine flu deaths. Not a single case was reported in my home state of Guanajuato. Interesting article on Mexico's economy here.

“I think the whole world should be saying, ‘Gracias, amigos,’ to the Mexicans for the tremendous sacrifice they have made. That may have stopped what otherwise would have been a serious pandemic."
-- Laurie Garrett, senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations and the author of “The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance ” (Penguin, 1995), NY Times, May 4, 2009

Narcotrafficking is a serious problem here, but like major crime everywhere, it lives underground, and is mostly concentrated in three border towns of Mexico--where the narcotraffickers have just-across-the-border access to the huge selection of guns they can't buy here, and where they can easily ship their contraband to their U.S. clientele. Murders in Mexico are 98% drug related. As in high-crime U.S. cities, most people go about their business barely aware of the shady world beneath the surface.

Meanwhile, the economy is booming. The Mexican stock market gained 130% over the last five years. Mexico has a cash surplus, newly discovered oil fields, an influx of foreign capital building major new manufacturing facilities, a reliable water supply, a burgeoning environmental/organic movement, and exceptional medical and dental care that is far less costly and more efficient than in the States. What's not to like? Mexico is the world's #1 retirement destination. There are over two million U.S and Canadian property owners here. Another six million are expected in the next fifteen years.

So come to Mexico! Relax, enjoy yourself. It's gorgeous, it's festive, it's safe and inexpensive.
Hmmmm....all those deported workers. I wonder who's going to pick the U.S. apple crop next year?

"Art in Garden" opening

Friday, June 3 is the "official" re-opening of the Generator Gallery, during the monthly ArtWalk at Fabrica Aurora here in San Miguel. I'll be showing a series of large photographs of Candelaria, the huge annual plant and flower fair, and a group of small acrylic finger-paintings.

I'm learning that preparing for these shows is a lot of work--framing, enlarging photos, labels, hanging, publicity. At midnight last night I was printing and cutting up wallet-size photos of the work I'm showing and making them into refrigerator magnets--and wondering where I went wrong.

I'm trying to plan ahead, and pretty much know what I'm going to show through the rest of this year. What I want to do next are some BIG finger-paintings, working flat on my worktable with lots of open pots of paint, spray bottles of water, music in the background, a glass of tequila by my side.....Oops, I must be dreaming... I've got a deadline to meet on the book I'm ghostwriting....

True Tomatoes

I was born and raised in New Jersey, and spent childhood summers with a pile o’ tomatoes and a salt shaker, eating my fill. I vividly remember being in south Jersey with my first husband, Bruce Torbet, working on a civil rights documentary called “Mississippi Summer,” on the day of the first moon landing. I spent the day up to my ears in a cornfield (unplanned pun), eating the sweet raw corn between takes (I was the sound recordist). I had been an avid follower of the space program, so in anticipation of watching the moon landing, we stopped at a farm stand and bought a humongous bag of tomatoes, and a whole container of Morton’s salt. That night I sat propped up in the motel bed with my tomatoes and salt, happy as could be, although I had a suspicion the landing had been shot in a loft on Greene Street in Soho (remember the flag that was wired to look as though it was flying in the breeze?). What a wonderful day!

First-rate tomatoes have come and gone in my life. In many places where I've traveled they were stupendous, but even in California they didn’t measure up to New Jersey standards, and in winter—forget about it. Here in San Miguel, for all that I love the place, the tomatoes look appealing, but are lacking in taste, as though reconstituted from some combination of sawdust and tomato paste. But lo and behold, thanks to the burgeoning, green/environmental movement here in town, there is a new organic gourmet store in my humble neighborhood, Vía Orgánica, and the tomatoes are wonderful. So again I have bags of fabulous tomatoes and a big salt shaker, and I am as happy as can be…. Viva Vía Orgánica!

Day of the Locos

This is a fiesta-mad town, and yesterday was one of the maddest, and one of my favorites-- El Dia de los Locos--the Day of the Crazies. See photos here. This only-in-San Miguel parade culminates eight days of celebrations, fireworks, and devotions that honor St. Anthony of Padua, the patron of mariners and fishermen, expectant mothers. animals, American Indians, and travelers, among other beneficiaries of his benificence.

Over ten thousand people, organized by neighborhood and community associations, parade through the streets in extravagant, inventive costumes of every description, each group led by a vividly festooned truck with it's own sound system, each group dancing and cavorting to its own rhythms. This year Disney movie characters were a main theme. Lots of men dressed as women. Hmmmm... Tens of thousands of other people line the long parade route (some hang off balconies and rooftops) holding upside-down umbrellas to catch the candy flung by the paraders. Kids ride atop their parents' shoulders. Vendors hawk tamales and corn, cold drinks and balloons. It's kind of like a good-natured Mardi Gras, wild and enthusiastic, but without the booze.