To capture my grandmother's spirit is an impossibility, but I thought I'd try. I was fascinated with her elegant sense of style and fiery personality. She was a strong woman who still gives me strength when I need it, even though she's been gone for over a decade now. Her story is just a small one and very common, but to me it's huge and full of life. She left her unhappy marriage in 1942 emigrate to the U.S. for a better life. It took her four years, ten years until she was able to get her two sons. One, of course, was my father. He told me painful stories of waiting for her by the window, heartbroken. Ten years and no word. But from this pain came a new life and a new future, when she finally did return for them.
She was a young woman in her twenties when she started her journey. Argentine Tango was taking over the world and on every radio it drifted over the city streets. I enjoy thinking about her in those times. I imagine her hitching a ride on the back of Che's motorcycle as they travelled North to Mexico together. I imagine her staying with Frida and Diego and discussing politics and art until the late hours...How she modeled for them...I wanted to paint these ideas, so I started as a kind of tribute, "Julia's Journeys."
There was an interesting historical event going on in Guatemala at this time which included a school time friend of my grandmother's, Jacobo Arbenz; The October Revolution and the 10 Years of Spring that followed. This new series of paintings and drawings tells this story. I hope you enjoy The October Revolution and Julia's Journeys.
~Lark Calderon-Gomez
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