PILAR ACEVEDO
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Mindful Self-Reflection Through Art

2/20/2021

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A series of small, quick , “mindful” self-reflective work completed during the pandemic—an epoch, which I consider the most challenging of my life for many of the same reasons that others do also—many of us experienced fear, isolation, confusion, anger, sadness, and loss.

These works were completed from late November 2020 to March 2021. I updated the post as I completed a new piece.

I am better off for having done this “art therapy” and now, I can move forward.
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Heal Yourself, Daughter

2/17/2021

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This is a poem by Maria Sabina Magdalena Garcia, a healer. I had no idea who she was until a saw a painting of her by a very talented artist, Javier Chavira. It was years ago, but it is my understanding that it is still part of the National Museum of Mexican Art's permanent collection in Chicago. It is an extraordinary painting titled Maria Sabina: I am Woman of Light--a must see in person.

artsandculture.google.com/asset/maria-sabina-i-am-woman-of-light-javier-chavira/eAG6Ap2RlulXpA?hl=en

Cúrate mijita, con la luz del sol y los rayos de la luna.
Con el sonido del río y la cascada.
Con el vaivén del mar y el aleteo de las aves.                               
Cúrate mijita, con las hojas de la menta y la hierbabuena, con el neem y el eucalipto.                   
Endúlzate con lavanda, romero y manzanilla. 
Abrázate con el grano de cacao y un toque de canela. 
Ponle amor al té en lugar de azúcar y tómalo mirando las estrellas.              
Cúrate mijita, con los besos que te da el viento y los abrazos de la lluvia.                     
Hazte fuerte con los pies descalzos en la tierra y con todo lo que de ella nace.                                    
Vuélvete cada día más lista haciendo caso a tu intuición, mirando el mundo con el ojito de tu frente.         
Salta, baila, canta, para que vivas más feliz.                      
Cúrate mijita, con amor bonito, y recuerda siempre: 
¡Tú eres la medicina... !

Heal yourself daughter, with the light of the sun and the rays of the moon,
With the sound of the river and the waterfall.
With the swaying of the sea and the fluttering of birds.

Heal yourself daughter, with the mint leaves and peppermint, with neem and eucalyptus.
Sweeten yourself with lavender, rosemary, and chamomile.
Hug yourself with the cocoa bean and a touch of cinnamon.
Put love in tea instead of sugar and drink it looking at the stars.
Heal yourself daughter, with kisses that the wind gives you and hugs from the rain.

Make yourself strong with your bare feet on the earth and everything that comes from it.
Become smarter every day, paying attention to your intuition, looking at the world with the eye of your forehead.
Jump, dance, sing, so that you live happier.
Heal yourself daughter, with beautiful love and always remember:

You are the medicine...!

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Thinking Again with "Clear Love"

11/22/2020

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It has been almost three months since his passing and I find that the grief remains, although in a different form. Thus, I am reminded of something I heard in the movie called Possession, which was based on the novel of the same name and written by A.S. Byatt.

​What I heard describes 
my present sentiments perfectly--they are the words written in a letter by Christabel LaMotte to her estranged lover, Randolph Henry Ash just before his passing (both characters are fictional poets in the novel).
I think of you again with clear love...
Did we not
--did you not flame, and I catch fire?
Was not the love that we found, worth the tempest that it brewed?
​I feel it was.
​I know it was.
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Honoring a Life

9/1/2020

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Today I honor the memory of someone who recently left this earth and is resting in peace. Although I miss him profoundly, I find comfort in sweet memories of him and in his words. He often boasted that there was NOTHING I could ever say or do to make him stop loving me and although I never told him, I felt the same way about him.

He was a talented storyteller and poet and I want to share two poems that he wrote as a gift for me many years ago. The
 two poems not in quotes were written by me--the first one in response to one of his poems and the second one, I wrote years later on his birthday after dreaming of him.

​As I read his poems just now, it seems that our roles have been reversed and so, I feel the absence of his presence; I pine and ache. My poems remain apropos because I do indeed pray that he continue to haunt my dreams.
Missing You
In the absence of your presence,
faith and trust secures your throne
love not space is of the essence
you are here–though you are gone.
Nay you say.
Then so be it–but give a smile to expose your jest.
I pray that you will one day see it
that which to me is manifest--


Untitled
This morning for want of you, I pined and ached--

this afternoon, I endured the plight of the morning.
Tonight, should there not be the slightest allusion to me in your dreams,
tomorrow shall be as empty as today,
when I neither see, nor hear from you, Pilar.

Written in the mid to late 70s.

Haunting

You haunt my dreams
when the moon is full,
and my heart receptive.
You hover above my body and
kiss my mouth like a hummingbird
sucking nectar from a flower.
Oh, haunt me again
for your lips are of honey,
sweet and thick–
your whispers like the wind,
rustling through the leaves in a forest
on a hot summer day.
Oh haunt me again–
I pray.

Soul Tie
07/08/1990 (Written on his birthday)
How is it;
why,
after so many years
you can still reach deep
into my subconscious
and appear to me
in my dreams?
With vividness
unmatched by reality,
you touch me.
I taste
​I feel
the sweetness,
the fullness of your lips,
the gentle force of your thighs--
your curves and hollows.
Your eyes
tell our story
and our souls lock
eternally satiated
and serene.
My eyes close
​and I await
another dream...

Obsession
Like incessant hunger pangs
thoughts of you do not leave me.
They throb within my being and
gnaw away at my soul--
slowly consuming who I was before.


Untitled and undated
My hope is that this be mutual obsession
that incessantly tugs at my heart at night
and not merely self-obsession that deludes me
and drives me to this state of mind at daylight.
Or could it be that you conjure me up
simply to create in me this endless preoccupation
for what purpose I do not know.
Might you be a sorcerer or
is my soul just unwilling to ever let go?
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What's Goin' On?

7/18/2020

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Well, not much in art, unfortunately for me. I've been working my "regular job" and have been quite busy. It is not art-related, but it pays the bills and I certainly draw inspiration from encounters and stories as well. I am grateful that while my job was indeed affected by COVID-19, I was able to continue working during the onset of COVID.

I had been saving my vacation to go to England for a group exhibit to which I was invited, but that is not happening for a while due to COVID. Consequently, my vacation will be used to make some art and I must say, I really need to–I have gone far too long without some visual creativity. Those of you who know me and my work, also know that I do collage not only because I love the medium, but because it lends itself to the fantastical and this allows my imagination to run freely.

Here's a small collage I created today for fun, to tap into my imagination, and hopefully get some creativity flowing :)
Picture
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Exquisite Corpse...

1/25/2020

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An update on the previous post. Unfortunately, I didn't get a great response, but I shall look at the positive side:
  1. I received a few responses—thank you to those who took the time to do so.
  2. I now know how it can work "better" or more efficiently.
  3. It has me wondering how I can do this visually.
  4. I got more traffic to my site since I posted to twitter as soon as I posted this :)
  5. It didn't fall completely flat ;)
  6. I was inspired to write this:

    Prone to elaborate rituals–
    a perfectly fastidious disease,
    she clasps her hands tightly,
    then whispers, "one, two, three".
    Bowing her head in deliberate
    silence;

    and crossing her mouth three times,
    she releases her petition upward
    with spirals of frankincense, pleas,
    and please, please, please."

That said, this is what I ended up with after posting my first line, "She engaged in elaborate rituals".

She engaged in elaborate rituals.
That filled her with great remorse.
Sobriety grew from remorse.
​
Her speech became disjointed, tangled as she extricated herself from daily necessities.
Which (in essence) were sporadic dichotomies of futility!

I did not change anything—it is what it is and collaboration was the purpose and in that collaboration—I have found someone, just one person with whom to collaborate. My first contribution to that collaboration is the first violet line:

Leaving him to his own devices
​
only added to her woes.
Her reluctant acquiescence always entices
his enigmatic emulation of "macho".


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Exquisite Corpse, Anyone?

1/20/2020

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I have been contemplating a digital "exquisite corpse" of sorts for quite some time. If you are unfamiliar with "exquisite corpse", briefly, it is a game originally called "Le cadavre exquis boira le vin nouveau", (The exquisite corpse shall drink new wine). It was played by the surrealists, André Breton, Marcel Duchamp, and Yves Tanguy among others, as a form of diversion. It is a game in which participants collaborate in a creation that is collectively assembled using images or words, in this case, we will use words—specifically, sentences. In the spirit of the exquisite corpse drinking new wine, I will write the first line. As the next collaborator, click on "comments" and complete the form. Your name and email WILL NOT BE SHARED. As comments come in, I will post and delete the comment. All contributions will be shared in the order in which they are received until the collective creation is complete. It will be deemed complete when contributions cease.

Here is the first line:
She engaged in elaborate rituals.

That filled her with great remorse.
Sobriety grew from remorse.
​
Her speech became disjointed, tangled as she extricated herself from daily necessities.
Which (in essence) were sporadic dichotomies of futility!
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La Vida, la Muerte y el Amor

10/29/2019

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(Life, Death and Love)
November 1st through November 15th, 2019
CRAFT(s) Gallery & Mercantile
572 South Fourth Street
​Louisville, Kentucky 40202
502.584.SOFO (7636)


Explore the Mexican cultural tradition of celebrated loved ones lost. CRAFT(s) Gallery will exhibit the works of eighteen artists whose work is often influenced by Dia de los Muertos.

This group exhibition will feature the work of Pilar Acevedo, Dobree Adams, Steve Armstrong, Jody Baum, John Cobb, Brian Cunningham, Bunny Cunningham, Wayne Ferguson, Diane Kahlo, Kathleen Lolley, Joe McGee, Jacque Parsley, Penny Sisto, Harlan Strummer, Paige Ream Thomas, Jeral Tidwell, Sarah Tidwell, and Lillian Welch.

Inspired by the Mexican holiday, Día de Muertos these artists have been invited to create works that remember loved ones who have died and celebrate their spiritual journey. Many of the participating artists have explored the themes of life and death before and express through a variety of mediums including paintings, silkscreen prints, bone jewelry, mixed media, ceramics and papier-mâché.

*South 4th Street Day of the Dead celebration; Friday, NOVEMBER 1st from 5-10pm.
(FIRST FRIDAY HOP)


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Video: The Multimedia Works of Contemporary Spanish American Women Artists and Writers

9/23/2018

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I am very grateful and honored to have been invited by Dr. Jane Lavery and Dr. Sarah Bowskill to participate in their research project. I apologize for taking so long to post these videos—nevertheless, here are English and Spanish versions explaining their project. They were created for Dr. Jane Lavery of Southampton University, Southampton, England and Dr. Sarah Bowskill of Queens University, Belfast, Ireland for their research project on the Multimedia Works of Contemporary Spanish American Women Artists and Writers.

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Dia de Muertos: A Spiritual Legacy

9/1/2018

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