Amor y Amistad Day of Love & Friendship

As a Chicana I celebrate holidays and traditions bi-culturally. In Mexico and a few other Latin American countries Saint Valentine's Day is know as Dia de amor y amistad (Day of love and friendship). Its a time to let your Beloveds know you care. Its not uncommon for it to be a day of acts of appreciation for friends. 

Cultural Worker's Dream Pillow © Sabrina Zarco 2014

Embroidered symbols and the words 

Love, Peace, Justice, Freedom, Change, Equality,

 Action, Power, Unity, Voice, Vision and Art

So on this day of speaking out loud the names of those we love and treasure in friendship I choose to honor and send big love to

- my teachers, mentors, and path finders on this Good Red Road.

- my Beloveds,  the ones who share my daily life with love, commitment, and passion. Not always an easy task.

- my children I am honored you call my Mom

- my Autism family for your special way of seeing and experiencing the world keep strong in our self advocacy work.

- all my Beloveds I call sisters and brothers and family who have crossed my path on this journey, blessings. 

- the four legged and winged ones you add so much to my life.

 - you cultural workers, social justice workers who keep the stories alive and keep fighting the hard fight for dignity and justice. 

 - the true change makers who walk daily challenging bigotry at every turn.

- my artist family, creative brothers and sisters who tell the stories that need to be told in cloth, on walls or canvas, in spoken word or song, in gardens, kitchens, and classrooms.

So Happy day of Love to all of you and thank you for your gifts of inspiration and living by example. 

May the places you visit in Spirit and body today be welcoming to you and yours and know that you are loved!

For Paul C. Gorski in love and solidarity

 For many of us doing cultural work, social justice work, movement work, community education and organizing we know we walk in the footsteps of those that came before us. And if we do our work well we pave new paths for those that follow. I am honored to share with you a very special work for a very special brother friend Paul C. Gorski.
If you do not know about this gentle amazing man take some time to explore and share his work. For starters go here http://www.edchange.org/who.html

Several years ago I coordinated a conference and asked him if he would share his wisdom. On a small budget he generously donated more than we could expect and touched many lives the three days we spent together. Especially mine. I had gown weary doing the work each year not feeling appreciated or seeing any kind of movement in the community. Sometimes change work moves slower than a snail's pace.Thats when Paul shared in his gentle way that things were moving and I was working in the right direction. He gave me insight to his life and challenges in only the way another warrior in the journey can do. I thank you for my renewed spirit and vision to move forward with my work.

We spoke many times and unknowingly we had deep connections and intersections to those that inspired us to do the work. I was honored he shared this wonderful woman with me, his Grandmother.

As a thank you for time energy and giving of his spirit I created this work in memory of his inspiration. May this art gift serve to remind you Paul that you are never alone in this work. We carry those that came before with us on this journey as we walk along side one another and make fierce new paths for those that follow. You inspire me and excite me and am blessed to call you inspiration, friend, and brother. I love you.

This is repurposed fabric and buttons, hand embriodery, photo image transfer, and inktense pencils.
© Sabrina Zarco 2014

Mandy Carter and Bayard Rustin

Sometimes when you create the ripple effects are beyond what you can ever dream. I am blessed and honored to say that the Bayard Rustin work is now in the collection of Mandy Carter. 

Once the work was complete I shared it online and received a great response. I created it for a social justice exhibit in Little Rock. My long time friend Pam Mc Michael of the Highlander Center said she had to have the work as a gift for Mandy Carter another long time friend. You see Mandy has worked tirelessly for many years on educating the community about the amazing work and life of Bayard Rustin. I was thrilled at the idea. I was even more thrilled to hear that Pam offered the idea to a group of community members who know Mandy. They all wanted to be a part of the gift and as a community purchased the work. As an artist that makes my living on exhibiting and selling work this to me was the most beautiful way to honor and celebrate a fellow activist. A community gift to honor a community leader. It is so powerful when we stand in solidarity to do the work and even more important when we stand with one another to celebrate!

I look forward to Mandy's visit to my home this summer as she takes a long overdue step back from work and just share in community. May you remember to take time to celebrate with your community the work that you do to make it a better place for all.

Bayard Rustin and Champions of Justice events in Little Rock

Here is the new work I created for the Bayard Rustin Champions of Justice events in Little Rock next week. This is the final piece for my exhibit on social justice. I am honored to be a part of this event and look forward to seeing my Little Rock family again.

This work is 47" wide and 40 " high. Its various rainbow patchwork pieces representing a variety of issues and social justice work. This renaissance man appreciated the arts and work made by the hands of marginalized folks. I placed the Presidential Medal of Freedom on his chest. His partner Walter Naegle will receive it from President Obama later this month. 

I look forward to seeing some of you at the events. The evening reception is listed below. On Thursday, November 14 I will be at the Little Rock Central High School National Park Site to share the exhibit with students and community. Then on Saturday, November 16 I will be exhibiting at Philander Smith College where there will be a viewing of the film Brother Outsider the Life of Bayard Rustin and a facilitated discussion with Mandy Carter.

More detail photos of the work below.

Social Justice Art in Little Rock

I'm back in the studio working all hours. The festivals were fun and a lot of work but now its time to get back to my first love the marriage of art and activism. I am honored to be a part of an event in a city where I spent 10 years working as a cultural worker. This event in particular is close to my heart. It involves the organization I co founded and many folks dear to me. I look forward to the celebrations and reunions and sharing my art. I will share my latest work soon but for now its back to the studio.