Washington State

Putting on My Friends – Vanessa L. Torres

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One in a series: These lovely folks inspire me to be the artist that I am. We are all small business owners, creatives, and makers. Spend your hard earned money with any of us instead of the big companies! It means a lot when you #shopsmall #shoplocal. Please spread the love and help us all with our dreams! Visit their websites and make a purchase, follow, comment, or share their info. It costs nothing to put-on-a-friend. XOXO

VANESSA L. TORRES, YA author

Vanessa and I were housemates and business partners a long time ago. When I graduated art school I wanted to run a business. She had this cute tote bag she thought we could use as inspiration for our own bag line. That is when “Dos Chicas” handbags were born! She would take the oilcloth to her work at the fire station and hand cut what she could in between emergency calls. Then she brought them home and I would sew the cut pieces together. We had our products on buyolympia for a long time before they moved their business to Portland, Oregon.

She inspired me with her determination to be a writer when she would carve out few precious moments with her busy schedule. When she was writing her first screen play, she used one of my mannerisms for one of her characters. I was tickled my knee slapping made it into her art. I really wanted to highlight her because I understand what it is to work for decades on your craft, quietly, hoping someday your dreams come true. Hers definitely have. Estoy muy orgullosa de ti!! I am so proud of you!! XOXO

Pre-order Vanessa’s new book, “On the Wings of la Noche”. Click her name above to head over to her website.

Author Vanessa Torres with a jean jacket, smiling at the camera in an alley in Olympia, Washington

Lil’ Lit

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Small book. Tiny handwriting. What does it say?

Haiku and small poems about my daily bus ride to Olympia. Over the last 4 years I’ve logged thousands of miles up and down I-5 and hundreds and hundreds of trips.

Here are some in process photos of the making of “The Commute-Tacoma, Olympia”:

I took photos on the bus and had to make some design decisions.

Inspired by an artist book made with a clam shell, I decided to use this shape.

I cut up the most current schedule for my pages and box.

As I am making, all the while I’m thinking about the smells, sounds, rhythmic rocking, and views out the window that I see over and over again. How can I capture it within such a small work, and one I want to fit into a small box?

Things I want to highlight in words. I love words. I love to pepper my work with them.

How can I put this thing together? Do I want to make it permanent?

Now it is a flower, not a starfish. Still organic, not quite sure how it fits with the bus, yet.

 

This book was created for the 2017 Puget Sound Book Artists Exhibit, Northwest Musings. Come see this book and many other beauties through through July at the Collins Library, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma. <3

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