Few and Far

Few and Far Women.com

Damn! Just wait until you see the amazing work these women painted on my wall!!!  The graffiti collective Few and Far Women.com finished up their west coast tour yesterday at my house in Colonia Lindavista, Tijuana. The ten artists painted for one week making stops in Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Tijuana.

On April 23, the women concluded their tour in Tijuana, painting a wall provided by Voz Alta Project, a gallery in San Diego’s Barrio Logan.  The wall, on callejon Tercera and Calle M in Colonia Lindavista, surrounds the family home of the owners of Voz Alta.

Miss Reds Rockin' the wall

The art collective got started in June 2011, and already they have been sponsored by Ironlak and participated last year in the prestigious Art Basel-Miami.  Artist and organizer Meme brought the women together, and sent a proposal to Ironlak last year.  Meme now runs the collective’s website, and organizes more events and projects for the artists.  “I have to think a year in advance,” Meme told me.

The collective keeps growing, but is a unique group of all women artists from far-flung regions of the U.S.  Women hailing from San Francisco, San Diego, Miami, Seattle, Oakland, now work together on big group projects, kickin’ it and challenging each other to do more and better.

The whole neighborhood turned out to watch as ten women artists took to the wall beginning at 10 AM on Monday morning.  On Sunday, my friend Chilo told our neighbor Don Rafael about the project, but nobody could imagine how big this was going to be.

When you told me,  “Some people are coming to paint this wall,” says Don Rafael, “I didn’t think it was going to be the next day!”  Half a dozen people came by during the day to invite the artists to come and paint their walls, and the local graffitero kids stood watch for hours, admiration mixed with a tinge of envy.

Happy neighbors

“Hay que cuidarla,” advised artist Gloria Muriel. “You have to take care of it now.”  Like many local neighborhood people, Don Rafael appreciates the beauty and life the art gives to the street, but worries that the local kids might tag the wall.

“Los graffiteros, espero que no se desmayen,” says Don Rafa. “Vamos a ver que pasa.” The graffiteros, I hope they aren’t discouraged by this!  We will see how long this lasts.

Don Rafa proudly showed me the lights he installed last month in the alley, and guesses that the illumination will protect the space.

And the panorama photo of this project is stunning–this is an amazing wall.

Panoramic image of the wall

But for now, seeing the happy smiles of moms, and kids and teenagers just makes my day!

CLICK HERE for my photos on FLICKR  

For more information on the artists, see FewandFarWomen.com 

And for the individual artist’s sites, see Gloria Muriel