Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Crosses created out of battered, beautiful wood

Clara Garcia News-Bulletin Staff Writer, cgarcia@news-bulletin.com

Los Lunas Tracking down old and worn wood is just half the fun for an artist who has discovered a way to transform the timber into a work of art.

Annette Cardenas of Los Lunas uses anything thing she can find — from old wooden fence posts to battered barn wood — to create crosses that she hand paints. She says while she realizes that the cross is a religious symbol, it's not why she uses it for her work.

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"I don't really consider my work religious," Cardenas said. "I am spiritual, but I use the cross as a decorative tool. I think all crosses are beautiful."

Cardenas, who moved to Los Lunas from California two years ago with her father, had always been artistic, but it wasn't until earlier this year that she discovered this new way of exploring her imagination. After making jewelry for a number of years, Cardenas began making the hand-painted crosses after having to take a leave of absence from work following an injury.

"I needed income so I thought of painting again," Cardenas said of how she began thinking about the idea. "I started painting about four or five months ago."

As a collector of different crosses over a number of years, Cardenas thought she could utilize her passion, her talents and her skills by creating art from old wood. She says while the work is time consuming and difficult sometimes, it's provided an outlet that she says is calming and motivating at the same time.

From start to finish, Cardenas does everything herself. She finds the wood along the road, she'll ask different people for their old scrap wood and she's even advertised on Craig's List for it.

"I've even left notes on people's doors with my number asking for their old fences," Cardenas said. "Some people want to sell me their wood, but there's enough around that I don't need to buy it."

Cardenas' creativity is something she says was passed down from her father, Steve, a retired sign painter. She says he taught her how to use a saw, how to paint and about the finishes she should use on her pieces. She said they would always go out and find wood panels, and he would use those to make Southwestern furniture.

The process of making Cardenas' wooden crosses begins with taking out all the nails. She'll sometimes have to wash the wood because, most of the time, it's been out in the elements for a number of years.

"I like the old barn wood with the knot holes in it," she said. "I like to use the wood's imperfections, just because I think it gives the pieces a lot of character. I'll also leave the old nail holes in.

"The older the wood the better," she added. "And being able to see these imperfections lets me know and whoever sees these pieces that there is a history in the wood. Who knows where it's been — it's been there for years and years and who knows what it has gone through? There's a story behind it, even though I don't know what it is, it's still there."

Cardenas also likes wood with a lot of grain. After she sands it down, and if she likes the look of the grain of the wood, she'll make the decision to leave the cross natural. Cardenas will paint over the entire cross if she doesn't like the look of the wood or if she just wants a solid colored cross.

She'll first cut the wood to the size she wants and then make the grooves where the two pieces of wood will meet. Then the sanding takes place.

"The sanding takes forever — hours and hours," she says. "It takes me long time, it's probably my least favorite task just because it's so time consuming. I'd actually like to find someone to sand them for me, but I won't because I'm afraid they won't see what I see as far as the aesthetic of the wood."

It's not until she sees that actual cross made that she decides what she wants to paint on it. While most of her work includes flowers, one of her favorites depicts a bright red chile ristra with a painting of a sleeping man on it. She named this cross the "Ristra Siesta."

Like many artists, Cardenas isn't happy when she makes mistakes. She says she'll work on the pieces over and over again until she's comfortable with the finished product. In fact, she won't sell anything with a mistake, no matter how minor.

"It has to look just right," she said.

Cardenas will use a variety of paints, including oil and watercolor, but her favorite type is acrylic. If she leaves the wood natural, she'll stain it and will sometimes even incorporate a crackle effect.

"There is a process that I use, but I don't want to say what it is," she said. "We all have to keep our little secrets every now and then."

From start to finish, it could take Cardenas four to five hours to complete a simple cross, but for those more detailed pieces, she says it could take days to finish. In all, Cardenas has made about 40 crosses in the last four to five months, and no two crosses are the same.

"I'm doing more lately, and I'm incorporated more designs and different types of flowers," she said. "I'm amazed sometimes that people actually want to buy them because I just think that they're so simple — anyone can do it."

Cardenas says she's sold a few of her crosses, but hasn't yet put a plan together to advertise or show her work. She's sold one cross to a shop in Old Town in Albuquerque and a few more at Casa de Abo in Belen, but she hopes that she'll receive some feedback about her art and how best to showcase it.

"I want to go and do the Santa Fe market on a Saturday, but I'm still not sure if I'm good enough yet," Cardenas said. "But I absolutely love what I'm doing, and I hope others will enjoy my work."

Anyone who is interesting in learning more about Cardenas' crosses or who would like to donate wood for her art can contact her by e-mail at akc87031@yahoo.com.

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