Post by the Scribe on Aug 3, 2012 17:46:36 GMT -5
Aguayo painted this likeness of singer and Tucson native Linda Ronstadt. Aguayo has painted other notable Tucsonans such as Raúl Grijalva and Eduardo "Lalo" Guerrero, known as the "father of Chicano music."
Creating figurines is her passion
Northwest-side resident makes characters that reflect her Nordic roots and Southern Arizona home
June 07, 2012 12:00 am • Gerald M. Gay Arizona Daily Star(0) CommentsJune Aguayo's northwest Tucson home is brimming with colorful wooden folk art.
Small statues depicting Yaqui deer dancers and Vikings with horned helmets share shelf space with mariachi musicians in traditional attire and mischievous Swedish gnomes.
Aguayo hand-painted all of them.
She's created hundreds of characters reflecting her Southern Arizona home, as well as her Nordic roots, since moving to Tucson in 1985.
Her creations have made her a mainstay on the local arts-and-crafts circuit.
You can find her every October exhibiting her characters at the annual Tucson Meet Yourself event downtown.
She also sells her works at cultural events held in Tucson throughout the year.
Her biggest sellers: six-inch tall statues of Swedish men and women dressed in clothing from different provinces.
"The Lapland people have costumes that are very distinctive depending on where you are from," said Aguayo, 86. "If your grandparents came from a certain province, you buy that particular set."
Aguayo's grandfather hailed from Dalarna, Sweden, but Aguayo was born in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
She started as a painter in her teens. It was a talent she took with her to Illinois, then Southern California.
When she moved to Tucson with her husband, Rafael Aguayo, more than two decades ago, she wanted to try something different.
Aguayo thought making and selling small wooden statues would be a good way to make some extra money.
"There was a lot more crafting here than there was in California," she said.
Southern Arizona also happened to inspire her.
In addition to the Nordic fare, Aguayo has created pieces resembling Norteño musicians, iconic Mexican revolutionaries and well-known Tucsonans, including Linda Ronstadt, congressman Raúl Grijalva and Eduardo "Lalo" Guerrero, known as the "father of Chicano music."
"I was so fascinated with all of Tucson when we moved here," Aguayo said. "I still am."
While she has the equipment to create the wooden frames on which she paints, Aguayo leaves that up to others.
Her go-to woodworker, Maurice Bergh, stops by whenever she needs his services, about once every couple of months.
Bergh and his wife, Edith Bergh, met Aguayo at a craft show nearly 7 years ago.
He keeps his cost low for Aguayo, charging about $1 per piece.
"She is an interesting woman," said Maurice Bergh, who is 84. "She does nice work. We are just happy to contribute to her success."
Aguayo said her most challenging projects are the special commissions.
Aguayo has created several custom statues over the years for people who have come across her work at craft fairs and cultural exhibits.
"They usually bring me images of themselves or of their friends or family," she said.
Her most prized figures are those of her five sons and her daughter that are prominently placed on a shelf in her bedroom.
She calls her sons "my old men." Nearly all of them are in their 60s.
"Sometimes I don't do the job people expect," she said. "My daughter doesn't like hers. She put them in a box in the garage."
Aguayo doesn't plan on painting much longer because she has health issues - she wears a brace on her right arm to help with severe carpal tunnel, and thick, black-rimmed trifocal glasses to help her vision.
In February, she lost her husband Rafael, who she felt was her greatest supporter, to colon cancer.
Add a sluggish economy into the mix and Aguayo feels that, at her age, the return is not worth the effort.
"People don't have the money for dust catchers these days," she said.
But friends such as Bergh refuse to believe that Aguayo will ever give up her passion.
"I'm not sure she is ever going to quit," he said. "I had to change my retirement age from 85 to 95 to keep up with her."
Aguayo even has trouble convincing herself.
"The trouble with quitting is, what would I do all day?" she asked. "I am a Gemini. It is impossible for Geminis to sit still."
More info
Call 297-8638 for more information on June Aguayo's work.
azstarnet.com/news/local/northwest/creating-figurines-is-her-passion/article_9aeb154f-7234-5756-b727-0d74d84eeae8.html