2013 has been a very important year in my life. I had so many plans for this year with my work, so many dreams to fulfill. My first goal was to go to BMAC in Philadelphia to see it first hand because I wanted to see if I will do this show in 2014. My plans to show my work in bigger shows were very important but everything changed in April 5, 2013. I was diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer and all my plans had to wait because I needed to take care of my health first.
Even though it was a scary journey, I have learned so much from it and it has given me so much in a positive way. I am blessed to have been able to go through it with the love and support of my family and friends, life has a wonderful way of letting you know that there are more important things in your life than you think.
This year also was full of beautiful surprises, I was able to see Bob Ebendorf again before my surgery and to spend some time with wonderful people was the best buster I could have. My book was finally announced and it will be published in February of 2014, I can not wait to have it in my hands!!! My father in law came to visit us from Argentina and was here during my surgery and recovery. We enjoyed having him with us a lot. I also received the visit from my parents, I was so happy to see them. All the love and support from family and friends from far away has been overwhelming, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart!
Yes, I will not be able to do the big shows in 2014 but I will have more time to be ready for them. I am happy to finally been able to do Fiesta Arts Fair here in my town in April, getting ready for this show will keep me busy.
I am blessed and thankful for everything that happen to me during this incredible year!! I am ready for 2014!
As you all may know, all my work is inspired by my culture and traditions from Mexico. This year I started to draw more ideas for designs inspired in the Papel Picado style from Mexico and had the wonderful opportunity to be able to share my love for this style with people by creating my own templates with my designs.
I have 7 designs for you to choose from or maybe you may like them all. You will have lots of fun creating jewelry with them and adding extra details if you want to. Metal Clay Supply is selling them here: Lorena Angulo's Papel Picado templates.
August is my birthday month, I will be turning 44 this year and after my whole journey with my Thyroid cancer I can honestly tell you; I will be more than happy to celebrate my 44 years !
I am finally coming back into my studio to make my work again, its been so long since I was able to create something and I am enjoying every minute I can spend here.
My journey through out this whole ordeal has been difficult and scare at times but I never lost my smile and positivism, yes I did have my moments but who does not have them? I had so many plans for my work and where I wanted to move on with it, so many plans.......but life made me put a stop on them until I can get better. Having to put my plans away does not mean I am not making them a reality, it just means I have more time to get ready for all of them.
This experience has transformed me in different ways, all of them positive ones, I always take the good and learn from the bad in all my experiences in life and in my work.
Now that I have more energy I am starting to draw some ideas in my journals, I love the feeling of grabbing a pencil and drawing in paper. I have two big sketch journals and love to go back to them and see my ideas since my beginnings.
Most of my work is inspired by my culture from Mexico and the beautiful folk art, this time is no difference. I love to design using the Milagro heart motifs, birds, flowers and skulls and this time I went back to look at my drawings and saw two butterflies I made 2 years ago and I knew what I needed to do. I have always love butterflies and knowing their symbolic meaning made me realized they will be the perfect reflection of my whole Thyroid cancer journey.
Butterflies represent transformation and faith, this is exactly what I had during all these months!
I am finishing my first "Mariposa" piece today, I am happy to finally be able to transmit my feelings with my work again.
I started a wonderful project last year about collecting images of brooches from the side we rarely see, the back side. It was such a wonderful experience to see how different artists approached the back look and mechanism of their brooches.
I started looking around for more pictures, and although it was not an easy task I managed to create a wonderful board on Pinterest named, of course, Behind the Brooch.
One morning while talking with the wonderful Brigitte Martin in the chat room at Crafthaus I mentioned to her about what I was doing on my Pinterest board and how I felt this topic was obscure. She asked me if I would be interested in making an online exhibition about it and I told her that it sounded like a great idea!!
I started organizing the online exhibition and at the same time thanks to my talk with Brigitte, I was also moving forward with a new project; A BOOK!
Brigitte was such a wonderful and positive person and gave me the push I needed to send my proposal to a publisher about my idea, and in less than a week I received a call from Schiffer Publising. They would be happy to publish my book.
Meanwhile I was already selecting the artists that I will feature in my Behind the Brooch online exhibition at Crafthaus. The exhibition was a great opportunity to show a little sample of what my book would be about.
It took me almost a whole year to make this great book, it was the most challenging and wonderful experience I have had in my life as an artist. Having to invite every artist to submit images of their work and having the fantastic opportunity to meet so many incredible artists from around the world and see what they are creating is just something I will never forget.
I want to thank every single one of them for taking their time to submit images and for being so patient with me during this whole journey. I worked many nights all through the morning hours, sending emails, editing and writing all the images' information. It was hard work but I enjoyed every second of it!!!
I can not wait for all of you to see the book and the incredible work I have managed to collect for the project. Every artist brings their own voice and story in each of their pieces you will see throughout the book. I am sure you'll get much inspiration from the images you will see of work from artists making pieces with different materials, not just metals.
This has been a wonderful journey into the stories and ways every artist approaches the making of the back of a brooch as important as the front, and in some cases making the back view the more interesting side to see and discover.
Since I met Bob Eberdorf 3 years ago when he came to teach a workshop at the Southwest School of Art, I felt in love not only with his work but with him as a person. From that moment we have been in contact and he has been a great support for me and my work.
I am so thankful for all his wonderful words and for always being there for me when I need him. My family and I are particularly thankful for his support during a difficult time, he may not know this but his letter was a BIG help during the application process to obtain my permanent residency in this country. He was one of the wonderful people who helped me during this process and as soon as I ask him for help he did not hesitated to give me a hand.
Thank You Bob, you will always be in my heart !!
During these years of communication with Bob, I had the opportunity to meet so many wonderful artists that were his students, one of them is Laura Wood. Bob let me know she was coming my way and I was more than happy to meet this wonderful lady.
Laura worked for a year at the Southwest School of Art and also she started working with another fantastic artists here in San Antonio, Alejandro Sifuentes, at his gallery. Equinox Gallery was a new beautiful place and Laura working with Alejandro was the perfect match. They have accomplished so much and have given the opportunity to so many incredible artists to display their work and have exhibitions. When Laura told me she was planning in having an exhibition for Bob I was more than happy, I could not wait to see him again and have the opportunity to see more of his work in person.
May, 2013
Finally, the moment for his exhibition arrived and I saw him again after 3 years. I organized a casual dinner in my home the day he arrived to the city. Seeing him again was wonderful and finally I was able to thank him in person for all his support.
I invited a small group of people to my home to join us, one of them I knew he will be very happy to see; my wonderful mentor and first metals teacher Claire Holliday.
Claire was Bob's student when she came to this country in the 70's and they have a beautiful connection. Claire is also a very important person in my life because she gave me my wings to start creating my work, she was a wonderful teacher and a great mentor.
Wonderful company: Bob Ebendorf,Claire Holliday, Kathleen Sommers,Alejandro Sifuentes, Laura Wood, Claudia Rush, Nancy Wood, Peggy Potts, Louise O., Tara Locklear and my dear husband Jorge.
The exhibition at Equinox Gallery was the following day of our dinner.
"Keep it in the can" was a fantastic exhibition, Bob worked making this new collection for a year and every single piece is full of detail and sentiment. Having the fortune to be able to see and touch his pieces is something I will never forget. He is a great inspiration to keep creating but also to take our time to be with family and friends and to connect with the art community.
In this beautiful event, we also surprised Bob with " The Bob Ebendrof Commemorative Pin Exhibition" featuring 75 invited artists who created a pin for Bob. I was luck to have been invited to be part of this group of artists by Equinox gallery.
This is the pin I made for Bob.
I am happy to be the owner of one of Bob's pieces finally, my dear husband gave me as a gift one of Bob's brooches and I will wear it with such pride and honor all the time. Thanks Jorge !! ♥
My last day with Bob was during his "Brush of Creativity" workshop the following day of the exhibition. Equinox also organized this workshop in La Villita where the gallery is located. Bob started the day with a slideshow following by a creative day making brushes from different materials and objects.
Being surrounded by so many creative people and having Bob guiding us was just the perfect day for me. I had the chance to be with friends I have not seen for a while and after having a couple of very challenging months and days after my diagnosis of Thyroid Cancer, this was just what I needed to fill my spirit with good energy and great friends.
I made some brushes and end up giving Bob one of them because he liked it and I was more than happy to give it to him. I do not have a picture of my brush because I did not have time to photograph it but I liked it a lot. It was something new for me to be able to put together a piece using a natural seed, part of a small brass brush I had in my studio and a coil I made with copper wire and red coral beads.
After this wonderful weekend full of laughter, friendship, love and art I can honestly say I am more than ready for my future surgery and recovery.
THANK YOU for this great weekend to all of the people who made this possible !!!!!
It was around 11:30 am on Friday, April 5, when I was waiting in my endocrinologist office to talk about the results of my thyroid biopsy. When she got into the office and she did not have the usual smile in her face I knew something was not right; well I knew something was not right when they called me the next day I had my biopsy to tell me they needed to talk with me.
She sat next to me and asked me how I was feeling and I told her I was great. She then continue to tell me she received the results and that she had some bad news to give me, I knew then what it was. She showed me the paperwork and I saw the word, Papillary carcinoma, and I knew right there I have Thyroid cancer. She said, I am sorry Lorena they found cancer and you need to go to surgery very soon to take it out.
I am not going to lie and said I was okay, I was very confused and in shock even though I got the feeling that will be my diagnosis.
I have always been concerned with my thyroid because I noticed it looked enlarged, I always asked my doctors to check my thyroid but they only did a regular blood work and it always came back normal but this time I was not going to accept only a blood work, I asked to have a sonogram to be more sure. Thanks to this they found I have lots of nodules and one of them was more than 2 cm big. Anything that is bigger than 1 cm needs to be check out and they told me I will be having a biopsy.
I know I am blessed because this type of cancer is not as bad as any other type and I have faith it all will be okay after the surgery and future treatment.
I am writing this very personal moment because I have always been a person who likes to share my experiences, good or bad. I am very passionate about my family, my art and my life and I will go through all this with the same passion I have for all the important things in my life.
Am I scare? YES I am
Am I concerned? YES I am
I am only human and it is normal I feel like this, mostly because of my kids and my husband but I know it all will be OKAY.
Thyroid Cancer, I am READY to say Good Bye to you very soon !!!!!
I can not believe I have not been able to post in my blog since November of last year! I was so overwhelmed with different projects that I just did not had the time to come here and share what I was doing.
I missed it too much but now I am BACK and I can not wait to start posting all the adventures I will get myself into this year, 2013.
How are you all been doing? Are you starting this year with new goals?
I am starting this year with lots of blessings in my personal life and with lots of goals and dreams for my work and my life.
Last year was a very excited and challenging year for me and my family and I have to thank so many wonderful people who were always cheering us up and giving us all their support. To each one of you I want to say THANK YOU !
This year also brought us a new member in my family, we decided to adopt a beautiful cat and bring her home with us. Luna has giving us so much happiness and love and we are happy to have her with us.
She loves to come visit me in my studio and sit in the window while I work.
My kids are so happy with her, specially my daughter Veronica.
On the other hand, I am very happy to have my work in the wonderful Mariposa Gallery in Albuquerque, NM. I have always wanted to be able to show my work there and when I had the possibility I was SUPER HAPPY.
So what have you all been doing? I want to wish each one of you a fantastic 2013, with lots of blessings, health and work.
