ART BAZAAR FOR WORKER SOLIDarity
GLORIA SANCHEZ
How are you? How have you been coping with this pandemic/ quarantine?
I am an essential worker as a sign artist at Trader Joe’s, so I have continued working within the public sphere. It has been very tiring mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually in so many ways, so maintaining a set of rituals is very important to me. I give myself proper time to rest, read, take baths, drink tea, go for walks by the ocean, practice prayer and meditation with my ancestors, and cleanse myself with various medicines. I have also recently started basic gardening with succulents gifted by a friend as a way to stay connected and grounded with the earth.
What are you working on right now?
I am working on a couple different installation works, a tapestry weaving, as well as cyanotype printing, which is new to me. I am also reacquainting myself with dying fabrics.
Do you ever get stuck in your practice? how do you unstuck?
Whenever I get stuck in my practice, I take time to step away and focus more on research that will inform what I am working on and interested in at the moment. I read fictional and non-fictional books. I’m currently finishing up ‘Ceremony’ by Leslie Marmon Silko, and I frequently revisit ‘The Four Agreements’ by Don Miguel Ruiz for mind medicine.
What made you wanna get involved in Art Bazaar for Worker Solidarity?
I am always down to give back and organize from the grassroots up with my community. I have been involved in different forms of activism since my teens such as: anti-war, feminism, food justice, environmental justice, prison abolition, and immigrant rights. In particular, when we first started discussing this project, I instantly thought about my friend and customer who is an elderly woman from Guatemala. She cleans houses for rich people, keeps enough for her rent and food, and sends the rest of the money to her family back home. She also collects bottles and cans to cash in for extra money for herself. She is such a hustler and hard, honest worker. When she was hit by a car earlier this year, she was not able to work and I did not see her for months. I would love to raise money to help her out. As a senior, I wish she didn’t have to struggle at her age and physical state.
What are some cartoons you liked as a child?
The Simpsons, Little Lulu, Top Cat, The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show, Rocko’s Modern Life, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Strawberry Shortcake, The Smurfs, Sailor Moon, and Looney Toons.
Any favorite foods, least favorite foods?
I love pickles, avocado, musubi, chili-cheese fries, pinakbet, and any filipino food my mom cooks. I also have a weakness for filipino sweet bread and Fosters Freeze Reese's twister with chocolate ice cream.
Where are you from and how does it influence your art?
I was born and raised in the Harbor Area of Los Angeles, and I feel like that alone has instilled a resourcefulness that is reflected in my art, as it is a working class community of color. Culturally, I am Xicana and Filipina. Learning about my roots and my family’s histories influences my art in terms of memories, oral tradition, intuition, materials, colors, and symbols from our stories translated into physical, tangible manifestations. More recently, I am interested in learning more about the Tongva Nation, original stewards of so-called Los Angeles. I am researching, learning from Tongva friends and various programming about the culture, some songs, names of village sites and native plants. I have started site specific cyanotype prints made to document plants and other artifacts of the land which I occupy. That series is called “ The Land Remembers,” based on a poem by Cal State Puvungna (CSULB) American Indian Studies Professor, Craig Stone.
Have you ever sustained any art related injuries? Tell us about it!
In school, I once staple gunned my hand while stretching a canvas at 2 in the morning. Those were the days! Other than that, I have lost multiple precious earrings while plein-air painting in the Angeles National Forest. Those were an injury in a material sense. A loss of something I cherished.
How do you envision the art world post-pandemic?
I think time is of the essence, and Artists have the opportunity to help the world envision a different way of thinking, being, living, and coexisting together within the greater context of our home called Turtle Island, Coatlicue, Pachamama, Earth. I would hope to see more community based art, transformative art and healing workshops, and Art as Social Practice. I wish for artists to develop different approaches to positively affect the communities they are living and breathing in, as well as to use their privilege to help others by bringing attention to marginalized issues. I’m enjoying all these virtual activations, lectures, artist talks, workshops, and organizing being done online. I feel it is effective in its accessibility for those who may not otherwise be able to attend things in person. I hope this aspect continues. It is like one big experiment to see what methods and approaches work best, and it challenges us all in a good way to keep brainstorming endless possibilities and solutions.
