Two “They Had No Time to Say Goodbye” workshops, an exhibition, and my ongoing painting class.
Pepita Redhair was 27 years old when she disappeared from Albuquerque in March 2020. Her case has still not been resolved. This oil painting was painted by a member of our “They Had No Time to Say Goodbye” collective, Sandi Ludescher. It is one of several depicting actual missing and murdered Indigenous women whose families have given us permission to share their images through local lawyer and activist, Darlene Gomez. Scroll down to learn more about “They Had No Time to Say Goodbye”
Summer has arrived! It’s heavenly to see trees and plants in full bloom, including my little “Crepe Myrtle” tree (Pride of India in Southern Africa — where I first encountered it). Although we experience blessedly cool nights throughout the High Desert during the summer, days are blisteringly hot. I’m reminded of an expression my mother, quoting her Scottish grandmother, used to say, “Only the mad dog of an Englishman goes out in the midday sun.” Besides going to the gym, some of the things I’m doing to avoid being outside in the heat are teaching “They Had No Time to Say Goodbye” workshops about the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW); holding paint-get-togethers in my studio (where I also teach painting); and attending art exhibitions. We are fortunate to have so many art galleries in the Albuquerque and Santa Fe vicinity!
Summertime scenes in Albuquerque, New Mexico
On Friday, June the 26th, we held a “They Had No Time to Say Goodbye” workshop at The Groove Artspace in downtown Albuquerque. It was the most successful one yet! We followed the usual format by starting off with the video made during an exhibition of “They Had No Time to Say Goodbye” in Guadalajara, Mexico, in early 2024. (Our project has expanded exponentially since then!) This was followed by a discussion of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Crisis. After a brief demonstration on portrait drawing, each participant worked on an image of an Indigenous woman that she had selected online. Next, they etched their X-rays at the windows or, for those with mobility limitations, at a light box. This time there was an additional element: Linda Piper read her “They Had No Time to Say Goodbye” poem. Many of us had tears in our eyes by the time she was done reading it. Below is her poem, as it appeared in the inaugural edition of Horizon Review, an annual arts publication that featured our “They Had No Time to Say Goodbye” multimedia collaborative art project, and our collective.
Horizon Review has sold out, however they are printing another run, contact them to pre-order your copy. Below is a video from the fabulous Horizon Review launch party on April 26.
A huge thank you to The Groove Artspace for allowing us to use their space for our workshop; and to the Horizon Review staff for helping to publicize our workshop. Also to the workshop participants. Although many of them are not artists, they valiantly etched Indigenous women’s faces on 9” x 8” X-rays. The X-rays, bones illuminated in our exhibitions, are a metaphor for the vulnerability of Indigenous women—a result of the ongoing cultural violence and oppression. Well over 150 artists worldwide have committed to etch X-rays. We now have hundreds of etched X-rays. But we need many more to show the enormity of the MMIW crisis. One participating artist commented that the X-rays “reveal the need for transparency and the complexities of societal neglect [of MMIW] and our blindness to their plight.”
Images 1 & 2: Participants drawing an image of an Indigenous woman on tracing paper. These represent the multitude of anonymous Indigenous Women who go missing without a trace. Images 3 – 5: Participants etching their X-rays. Images 6 & 7: Completed X-rays, by Tristen Lujan (6) and Paige McGlaughlin (7)
If you live in the vicinity, join us for a paint get-together in my Nob Hill, Albuquerque, studio later this month. We will be adding red paint to the X-rays—red being the color of the MMIW movement. The paint get-together is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, July 30th, If you’d like to participate by painting X-rays, or by etching an X-ray, DM me on social media, email me, or contact me here.
The next FREE “They Had No Time to Say Goodbye” workshop will be held on Saturday, August 15, from 2 to 5:15pm at the International Library on Central Avenue in Albuquerque. Contact me to sign up.
If you are one of the people to whom we’ve mailed an X-ray, please finish etching it ASAP and mail it back before Friday, July 24. We will add red paint to the X-rays during the paint get-together (mentioned above) at the end of July. If you’ve changed your mind about etching an X-ray, please mail it back as they are expensive, and hard to come by these days!
Scroll to the end to see instructions for etching an Indigenous woman’s face on an X-ray.
Besides teaching in my studio, I try to find time for my own art; and to submit my work to local exhibitions. Last month I attended the opening of INSPIRATION at the Museum of Encaustic Art in Los Cerrillos, New Mexico. I am absolutely delighted to once again have my work included in a national juried exhibition at this fun and fabulous museum! The exhibition is up through August 9th.
With Beleric Myrobalan, leaf picked in India, mixed media, cold wax on paper.
My weekly painting class continues online and in my studio on Wednesdays from 5pm MT and 7pm ET. Each class lasts two-and-a-half hours. Learn to paint with acrylics, watercolors, oils, or mixed media with a seasoned art teacher. I have taught painting, drawing, sculpture, and art appreciation at a variety of institutions including Ringling College of Art and Design, Eckerd College, Barry University, and the Morean Arts Center, among others. Find out more about me and my work. Email me or contact me here to sign up and for more information. I also offer private lessons.
Image 1: Abstract by Andrea De Souza, acrylic on canvas. Image 2: Poppy by Colette Marie Molyneux, oil on canvas. Image 3: Caribbean Orchid by Barnali Dey, watercolor on paper, work-in-progress.
They Had No Time to Say Goodbye – by Linda Piper
I heard of my friend’s son’s death
A ding went off in my heart
I prayed that nothing would happen to my son
Then I saw the electric billboard of a Native woman and the ding turned to a gash
I felt wet on my blouse
Not from tears but the bleeding of my heart
Then I heard from you my friend that you identified with the mothers
Of missing relations of Indigenous mothers
Then tell your story
You insisted it had to be theirs
Then use their voices
I want no part of appropriation
As I heard their voices
And their pleas
I understood this is my burden as well.
Instructions for Etching an Indigenous Woman’s Face on an X-ray.
Thank you for offering to contribute your time and talent to help make our collaborative multimedia art project, They Had No Time to Say Goodbye, a success by etching an Indigenous woman’s face on an X-ray. We appreciate every contribution to “They Had No Time to Say Goodbye.” Every participant will be acknowledged in our exhibitions.
Before you start, please view the video explaining the project on my website: https://rosemarieprins.com/they-had-no-time-to-say-goodbye/#bwg35/1000
1. Find the face of an Indigenous woman you want to work with. Here’s a link to one option: https://www.shutterstock.com/search/native-american-woman-face (Please don’t use an actual MMIW as we need to respect the grieving family’s privacy.)
2. Draw the face on tracing paper with a dark (4B, 6B or ebony) pencil, or black marker, so it will fit onto the x-ray, final size = 9” x 7 7/8” (Your image MUST be vertical.)
3. Tape the tracing paper to your light box or a window.
4. Tape the x-ray over the tracing paper and, using a pair of dull pointed scissors, Phillips screw driver or dremel tool (for the latter you will need a light box), etch the lines of your drawing onto the X-ray. Press hard.
5. When you have completed the process of etching the lines of the face, remove the x-ray and the tracing paper.
6. IMPORTANT! Flip the x-ray over, and tape the back to the light box or window. Now etch over all the lines you etched on the front so light shines through the marks defining the Indigenous woman.
7. When you think you’ve etched all the lines, hold the x-ray up to the light to be sure all the lines on the front are etched on the back.
Please mail it to me. My address is:
110 Richmond Drive SE, Unit 209, Albuquerque, NM 87106
Should you decide you would rather not participate, please mail the unused x-ray to this address so someone else may use it.
Note: We will add the red color to the X-ray so the color is uniform.