words with real bishes: ramona

welcome to words with real bishes - an antidote to the famous for being famous and orange as the new black.  this week i celebrate ramona, paper mache artist, painter, and educator. she is also a first generation xicana. her work gives life!  if you're a real bish of color and have something to say, please email me here and let's chat. because you, baby are a star!  note: mama lisa is my teacher name and honorable designation. 

hola, hermana!

hola, mama lisa! 

mslisa: el primero algun, tell me how we met?

ramona: we met at encompass academy in east oakland. we immediately connected i think because we looked like the students there. we also both share a conscious and holistic approach to education as women of color.

mslisa: y amamos junot diaz! where were you born?

ramona: i was born in guanajuato, mexico. i came here with my parents when i was 13 years old.

mslisa: tell me about your experience?

ramona:  my parents were migrant farm workers. they came here to find work. it was a culture shock for me at first. i was not expecting such a hectic pace and the language barrier was difficult. i didn't feel very welcome.

mslisa: why didn't you feel welcome?

ramona : well, i was only 13 and i was going through puberty, so that was awkward already. and all these strangers around me. i definitely felt like an outsider.

mslisa; where did you and your parents settle in california?

ramona: we settled in sacramento where we already had family. that comes from a migrant tradition of going where you will have support. you know, it's weird - i don't think of sacramento as my home as i do guanajuato, but if i have a home in the US it's here.

mslisa: did you accomplish getting your education here?

(c) ramona garcia 

ramona: yes. i took english as a second language classes as a kid. i sort of became a nerd. i worked really hard in school and then i got accepted to UC Berkeley.

mslisa: what did you study at Berkeley?

ramona: i have a degree in art and education.

mslisa: you had a double major?

ramona: yes. it was through art that i was able to overcome a lot of my anxiety coming to the states. i also wanted to teach through art. it empowered me and i want to empower other people of color.

mslisa: so tell me about the context of your work?

(c) moon series  / ramona garcia 

ramona: i feel my work has really changed in the last couple of years. i've become more interested in different mediums. i'm currently working on making healing dolls. these are traditional dolls from guanajuato made from paper mache. the craft has indigenous roots, but that's changed with mechanization and plastic toys. so the artisans in guanajuato are having a hard time finding a market to sell them,

(c) ramona garcia

(c) moon series / ramona garcia 

(c) moon series / ramona garcia 

(c) moon series / ramona garcia 

mslisa: what do you intend to do with the dolls you've made?

ramona: well, primarily for me it's a form of cultural preservation; to keep the art alive.

mslisa: are you still teaching?

ramona: yes. i teach workshops for women on making the dolls. i would like to do more. i think this doll has a lot of potential not only in teaching about the folk art of guanajuato, but also for healing purposes.

mslisa: can you explain more about the healing uses of the doll?

ramona: it gave me healing to make them, so i want to pass that on to other people, particularly women of color because we deal with a lot of shit. i also think, in a metaphorical way, they have the potential to open people up.

mslisa: do you plan to go to graduate school at some point?

ramona: yes. i'm looking for an art therapy program. i think that would blend well into the work that i'm doing.

mslisa: what motivates you as an educator?

ramona: well, i've worked with children in schools who were dealing with a lot. the schools and programs didn't always meet their needs culturally. art can not only be a tool of expression, but can also be healing and tap into a higher level of awareness in a child;  (to understand) who we are and where we come from.

mslisa: you had an exhibition recently, tell me about that?

ramona: yes, i was in a show at sol collective. it's the only space we have in sacramento. the exhibition was called revisiting home : portraits of belonging and identity. it was interesting to me to reflect on my childhood and first coming to the states. my pieces were mostly self-portraits.

mslisa: what mediums did you use?

ramona: i use acrylic, watercolors, and paper mache.

mslisa : i'd seen images from the show you shared on facebook. i wanted to buy one! it's such a brilliant piece. it was a self-portrait of you topless with the moon. can you give me some more context about that?

moon series (c) ramona garcia

ramona: that one really brings together things i was dealing with - a response to all these images of white westernized beauty and barbie dolls and my current self.  the full moon is very feminine and it has all these cycles. for me, even if the moon does not seem full all the time, you know the whole is still there, even if you only see pieces of it during certain cycles. that self-portrait represents that for me.

mslisa: tell me more about what you've learned making the dolls?

ramona: when i went back to mexico i asked the artisans i was working with about the indigenous connection to the dolls.  most of them told me the craft came from spain. but, at the museum of anthropology in mexico city they have the exact same dolls on exhibition, only made from ceramic by the aztecas. they are called la muneca teotihuacan or the teotihuacan doll.

mslisa: can you tell me where the artesanos are from?

ramona: they're from celaya, a town in guanajuato. the art of paper mache is very vibrant there. i work closely with one artisan, her name is juana.

mslisa: you are such an extraordinary young woman. muchas gracias para hablar con mio! 

ramona: igualmente, mama lisa! 

ramona con juana, una artesana en celaya
guanajuanto, mexico