Art Piece: Day of the Dead at Escondido Public Library
The Inspiration:
When researching for another assignment in which I was asked to find a place that engages with the refugee community of San Diego I chose the Escondido Public Library. I chose the Escondido Public Library because it provides a number of services to the public it serves for free. The Library has opportunities for local artists to see their books on the shelves, offers reading and English classes, free computer access, connection to legal services, books in multiple languages, and community events that highlight certain groups in the community. One of these events was the Day of the Dead booth which was up the whole month of November. The table was full of photos, notes to the dead, candles, and other small tokens for their loved ones. This table stood out to me because it was a safe space for members to leave their pictures and words to their deceased loved ones. This is just one example of the type of things the Escondido Public Library offers its community to support the diverse community and encourage connection. Not every library provides such a wide range of free activities and services to its community, so it was nice to see how involved the Escondido Public Library in in engaging its whole community.
My Process:
I am not an artist by any means, however, I choose to attempt to do this booth justice. It is such a colorful and beautiful reminder of what a diverse place San Diego is. When I started to draw this piece I was using a picture I had taken but the more time I spent drawing the more the drawing developed. Drawing this beautiful booth was a very relaxing experience. I also did a little bit of research on the Day of the Dead before I began drawing and found numerous things that I incorporated into the drawing. Drawing this booth connected me with the love and care the family members who placed those pictures and tokens there felt.
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