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.

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  

Opening Night--Queretaro Museum: "CARumba!" and "LONAmiento"

The opening of my photography show at the Museum of the City of Queretaro on December 16 was a blast. Two busloads of friends came along for the ride. We had wine, popcorn, and chocolates en route. The buses got lost, and we ended up far from the museum. Then we got lost trying to find our way through the streets, so I was almost an hour late to my own opening.

But it was a thrill for me to see such a large show of my work in a museum (a beautiful colonial ex-convent) with so many friends in attendance. There were six openings at the museum that night, so there was a lively crowd. Walking back to bus, we passed through the stunningly decorated squares of the historic center--one with a towering tree, dozens of hand-crafted tin lanterns, and angels; and another that is famous for its devil theme--though the meaning of the flamingos interspersed among the crouching and menacing devils eluded me.

Here are some photos, taken by my pals Roger Brudno and Carol Jackson; and a video of the event shot by the talented alTirado, edited by the ever-patient and savvy Roger Brudno. For me, a night to remember!

Museo de la Ciudad Guerrero 27 Nte Centro Historico Queretaro Tues-Sun 10-6
Show continues through January 31, 2010

Leonore Fleischer

I often tell people that it was Leonore Fleischer who lured me into the writing trade (vintage hippie era photo of Leonore from my book, Clothing Liberation: Out of the Closets and Into the Streets, circa 1973). She dropped by my stand on 6th Avenue in Greenwich Village one auspicious Saturday in 1970, when I was selling off the inventory of my macramé (yeah, wanna make something of it?) jewelry business, which had become a pain in the butt. Six months later she called me, having seen a write-up about my wares in the annual New Yorker “What to Buy for Christmas” article, wanting me to write a book on macramé. I protested vehemently, but she persisted, and over lunch at the Lion’s Head pub, convinced me that she could give me whatever help I needed (I had a graphic design studio at the time, but I was no writer). Well, the short version is that Leonore became my editor, and a very close friend: we are still in touch. I’ll let her tell you the rest of the story. But I want to brag a little bit—in the hope of hustling up some business—by quoting her response to my delivering that first manuscript:

"I read it, I read it over again, in shock. The manuscript was perfect. Perfect. Not a comma out of place, not an adverb wrongly used, not a work misspelled. More, it was as witty and friendly as it was informative. A witty craft book! I sat stunned. There was nothing for me to do, nothing."

Maria Valenzuela

The amazing and endearing Maria Valenzuela only works two afternoons a week at my house, but she manages to clean, do the laundry, iron (and mend my clothes), shop and prepare food to leave in the fridge, pay the bills, tend the garden, and in general oversee whatever needs tending to. She works for other gringos during the week, and cooks for a local caterer. She is the matriarch of a large family--ten grown children, many grandchildren and an extended family--which means there are always unexpected expenses and crises, even deaths from the diabetes and other maladies that plague the local populace.

Clearly our lives are very different--I live alone, I have no children, I'm not religious. Yet we have become close. I am invited to family gatherings--of which there are many, often connected with religious celebrations. I 'sponsor,' as do other family members--one of the Christmas posadas they do for nine straight nights, providing pinatas and prayer (along with a mini-procession of the family's nativity tableau), punch and tamales, for their neighbors and community. For all her responsibilities, Maria has an abiding sense of humor and fun, and we always manage to laugh, even when we are having a difficult time. And we both enjoy our tequila.

I salute Maria Valenzuela, a bright light in my life and in the life of her family and community.

alTirado Photos and Sculpture at Mero Gallery

My friend alTirado, photographer, photojournalist, and videographer, is showing new photographs and figurative clay sculptures at Mero Gallery here in San Miguel. The opening is Friday, June 12, from 7 to 9. The show is titled, “The Third Dimension.” For a preview go here.

“By creating a sense of movement in the photos, alTirado says, “I am attempting to capture a moment in life, an instant in time, with the implication that no image is still, but part of a larger arc which continues into the future. These photos allow the viewer to come to his or her own conclusion about what happens next. The clay sculptures are part of my continuing quest to learn more about what goes on ‘around the corner’ from the two dimensional world of still photography and video.”
alTirado’s books, San Miguel: A Pictorial Story, and Art in San Miguel, which profiles 33 local artists, are on sale in bookstores around town. The show continues through August.