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Book cover image:
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Book Summary:
In Magic
Windows - Ventanas mágicas by Carmen Lomas Garza, her family and their
traditions come alive in papel picado or cut-paper art. In this traditional
folk art form Lomas Garza captures special family moments as seen in her piece
titled “Offering for Antonio Lomas.” This one image is made from ten sections that
are tied together and measures five feet by eight feet. The artwork gives the
viewer the impression of looking out the window at Lomas Garza’s grandfather as
he waters his vegetable garden. As one continues to look out the window one
sees a cat sitting on the fence and a horned toad in the vegetables. Being that
the art is solely made out of paper is astonishing and almost unbelievable, but
Lomas Garza also includes memories that inspired this piece in the margins of
the page. Family beliefs, customs, and rituals are also depicted in her papel
picado works. “Dance for the Day of the Dead”, “Paper Flowers”, and “Little
Tortillas for Mother” are done with such clarity it is hard to believe the
images are made solely out of paper and not another medium. Lomas Garza
includes animals in her book because of their special meaning to her heritage.
Again all of the pictures include a narrative of their meaning to her life and
her heritage or ancestors. One work of art title “Dance and Painting” even
features the artist’s hands painting on a skirt of a Mexican jarabe tapatío dancer. It is hard to
fathom the artist is working uniquely in paper cutouts.
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APA Reference of Book:
Garza,
C. L. (1999). Magic windows (D. Schecter, Ed.). San Francisco, CA:
Children's Book Press.
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Impressions:
As I picked up this book I wondered why
I would even pick it up. There was an animal of sorts looking out from behind
big leaves and other greenery, and it was done in navy and yellow. Odd color combination
I thought. What could possibly be magical and what windows? When I opened the
book the first paragraph did not catch my attention until Lomas Garza wrote
that the images were created out of paper and a craft knife. Now I could view
the windows and see into her world. At first view it does not seem possible
that the images are purely paper. How do they (the images) stay together? Well
Lomas Garza explains it in her narrative in the book’s margins. In “Nopal
Cactus” the delicate spines of each cactus hold the piece together.
Incomprehensible! How could this be possible I wondered? I had to look very
closely to see that each nopal frond was linked to the next by either a spine
or a crease in the dirt in the desert. Amazing! This was my only reaction at
first. Her next piece in the book was “Offering for Antonio Lomas” a
representation of her grandfather in his garden. I too had a grandfather who
had a garden. I would also help him water his garden and that was the best time
with my grandpa, Mi Dad. I just loved spending time with him talking and
connecting. I remember the baby carrots were the best. This is the first image
that I needed a tissue with. As I continued to read the book it brought back
memories of my family going to the gravesites of our departed and cleaning and
painting their tombstones for The Day of the Dead (tissue number two). “Little
Tortillas for Mother” brought a smile to my face at just seeing the papel
picado. It seemed like I could actually smell my grandmother’s tortillas and see
her rolling them out on the counter. Lomas Garza refers to her mother making
tortillas as “an act of love … (mesmerizing) that it seemed like the rest of
the world fell away (1999). No one could have embodied the sentiment better
(tissue number three). As the book continues Lomas Garza tells her story but it
is our story too. Her experiences are our experiences. The book does not seem
like a picture book with only 32 pages; it felt like a whole lifetime of
memories and poignant in the rendering of those memories.
As one views the artistic works, one
has to look very closely as to not miss the tiger in the foliage, the women in
the flowers, the deer in the corn, and the message of love, life, and family in
the papel picado. Carmen Lomas Garza’s Magic
Windows is a surprise in art and truly magical.
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Professional Review:
A
collection of full-page reproductions of Lomas Garza's papel picado, cut-paper
art, accompanied by short explanatory narratives in Spanish and English. The
intricate cutouts have bold, thick lines and severe angles and the artist uses
delicate connectors, such as cactus spines and corn silk, to hold the images
together. Most of the cutouts are done with black paper, although a few are cut
from yellow or blue paper, and all of them feature a generous use of negative
space through which monochromatic backgrounds of yellows, blues, pinks,
oranges, and greens are revealed. Many of the pictures present scenes of the
Mexican-American artist's childhood and family, such as a close-up of her
grandfather's hands cutting a nopal cactus. The remainder are scenes of Mexican
flora and fauna, such as two hummingbirds drinking nectar from cactus flowers.
A brief description accompanies each scene. Although the cutouts successfully
demonstrate Lomas Garza's considerable artistic skill, the presentation is not
entirely effective. The reproductions appear flat, making them look more like
computer-generated art than fragile paper cutouts. The book can best be used
and most fully appreciated in conjunction with a hands-on introduction to the
art form.
Agosto, D. E. (1999). Preschool to
Grade 4: Nonfiction. School Library Journal, 45(7), 87.
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Library Uses:
Before the use in the library: The
librarian would have already read Carmen Lomas Garza’s book Making Magic Windows and practice making
papel picado.
In the region of Texas where my school
is located, we do celebrate Day of the Dead with the students. We often build
alters with pictures of our loved ones, mementos of their lives, and food
offerings they would have enjoyed. In the library this book would be read aloud
to students and be a wonderful lead into making their own papel picado.
This project could either be making
papel picado to decorate around the alter or if the students want a more
intricate picture, they could use paint and one solid color of paper to get almost
the same effect as Lomas Garza’s work. A narrative would then be added to
discuss the life scene of their loved one.
