Module 3: Magic Windows

· Book cover image:

· 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.

· APA Reference of Book:

Garza, C. L. (1999). Magic windows (D. Schecter, Ed.). San Francisco, CA: Children's Book Press.

· 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.

· 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.

· 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.