Dr. Smiti Nathan

Transcript

Smiti: Welcome to Curiosity Meets the Past, a podcast for curious minds who love learning about the past. My name is Dr. Smiti Nathan, and I’m an archaeologist and your host.

In this episode, I’m speaking with Laura Fajín Riveiro, a multimedia artist originally from Galicia, Spain. I first met Laura years ago when I started taking art classes. She was actually my first art teacher as an adult.

Over the years, we became good friends, and I’ve always been drawn to how she weaves both texture and memory into her work.

In our conversation, she reflects on what it means to grow up in a house full of stories and how certain artifacts from her past continue to shape her art today. She starts us off by taking us to her family’s multi-generational home in rural Galicia.

Laura: My family was mostly raised in one household. This house is a very big structure located in the countryside of Galicia, where I’m originally from in Spain. It’s a beautiful Galician-style house built by my grandfather and full of rooms, different rooms, places to hide, places to discover. It’s a place where I could explore. So I felt like, an explorer, an archaeologist in a way.

Right. And I actually unearthed a bunch of things that had been buried by accident at some point, tools for the farm, et cetera, so I always love that. It’s a house full of stories, oral tradition is quite big in my family, through my aunt,s particularly.

And so I spent my, my childhood there, uh, listening to them, learning about them, learning about my family’s history. It’s a very safe space for me, and I could, develop my imagination in so many directions there.

My favorite place in the house for sure. The attic. Should I talk about the attic?

Smiti: Please do. Go for it.

Laura: So very scary attic. Awful lightning. It’s just one window on each end, and the house is quite wide. So, this is a space where probably many kids would be scared of going to, but I, it was like going into a cave and a cave full of treasures. There are these big wooden boxes where my family kept their linens and I, I found that to be very special because back in the day, my family’s home was like a place for the neighbors to gather and they grew linen, the plants, and so they would make their own linen, bedsheets, et cetera. And so they are there, and I appreciated that as a child.

There are other artifacts, old furniture, and I love all those items because people from previous generations use them. They touch them. There’s a lot of value in them. They were, they are sturdy. There are even elements from other homes in the village that maybe eventually were left behind the people from the homes went to the city, et cetera. So it’s a lovely space. I don’t know why I was always so attracted to it, but I think it’s because it’s quiet. And as a kid, even nowadays, I’m an introvert. So I like that quiet, explore exploring experience, I guess

Smiti: Yeah That’s amazing. And I have to ask, what is something you found as you were exploring that still sticks with you?

Laura: I found something quite scary at the time. There’s a, a church, the area is catholic, so there’s these wooden boxes with windows and inside of them they kept statues of saints and virgins, things like that. And I was never a fan of that, so that was one of the weirdest, scariest things. It doesn’t have to be, but they were old and features are a little funny

Smiti: Can you describe the features of the sculpture that you found that particularly made it it’s scary for you as child.

Laura: Yeah. So very rigid, body. Maybe the colors, too. A little faded in a way. Very stoic features, I guess too. Like a very blank look in the face of the statues. And that one was maybe disturbing. And they are still there. We are not allowed to take them out. out and that’s okay with me, honestly. Yeah, honestly

Smiti: Fair enough. So while the statues aren’t leaving or the sculptures 

Laura: Yes. 

Smiti: Maybe for good reason. What things do you take away from your grandmother’s house that influences your art?

Laura: Many of the houses in Galicia are made of, stone, uh, granite, and that’s something that I incorporate in my art when I did a, a series of houses from, a neighborhood in my hometown that are very old, made with granite. So you can see that there,

The colors inside of my grandma’s house, many of them are very inspiring. Like there’s this, is it I think, cerulean blue. I loved it.

And then growing up, because I went to art school, my mom would frame my drawings and put them in the top corridor of the house.

My grandma was fine with that. So I love to see my drawings from childhood there, combined with things that my grandma made that were framed by my mom to preserve them.

Smiti: I’m wondering if you can walk us through one of the paintings I see here today that’s from your childhood.

Laura: So, um, when I was I I think I was, about four following the advice of a teacher from school. My mom, enrolled me in art lessons, and that changed my life. This is one of the first pieces that I made. Again, my mom brought it to me from Spain recently, and I framed it. It has some elements that you can, that relate to what I do now, uh, picture book illustration mainly.

But you can see there’s a house. So the whole idea of homes, that’s very much part of the work I do there’s this element of this little mouse. Sleeping in a very, safe I don’t know environment, very, soft colors. And it even says. “Ratino dorminte” which in Galician language means the sleeping mouse or little mouse.

Many of the things you can see that I used to see at my grandpapa, grandma’s like this, jug you said? With a plate. The closet, the furniture, all things that I saw there. And that made me really happy, I guess. I wanted to do things like this things that were soft and sweet and calming for a child, I guess. this,

Smiti: That’s awesome. And you know, as a parent to a now 6-year-old, there’s so much artwork that comes home and it’s just a good reminder to keep some of those things. Yes, absolutely. And I know because we’re friends that your mom is a huge influence in your life in general. Mm-hmm. And I’m curious if you can talk a bit about her role in developing your artistic identity.

Laura: So my mom, was a primary school teacher. A very hardworking woman her whole life. Very curious, and she always valued developing my artistic skills, my intellect as well. She was a very hands-on mom in a way, and I appreciate that. So with moments, she was told Laura seems to be showing an interest in art. She enrolled me in this class she paid for my classes up until I was was 13. So from four to 13, it was the best experience I had, and she was always, and still is, very supportive of me even when I decided to come to the US to do my masters in illustration at at MICA, said, I will support you, if you need, me. I, she didn’t have to, but but she said, I will support you because even at my age, she wants to make my life better. And that means a lot. It’s very important.

Yeah, and she’s also super creative herself. She’s super skilled in sewing, and in drawing, and in painting, she makes books too and I sometimes I now teach her things like, more specific techniques or printmaking.

Smiti: Yeah, that’s beautiful. Yeah, and when you’re talking about your childhood here, art seems to have been a very positive part of your childhood, and you have this remnant there in that painting. But also when we think of our childhood, it’s kind of the memories we have too. So you also have a recent piece of arc that draws upon a memory from childhood and how we remember So would you like to walk us through that one?

Laura: Yeah. So uh, this one it’s in a way representing me at the age of maybe eight, nine. I’m from Santiago de Compostela, which is, uh, kind of a small town. I would walk everywhere. My mom always encouraged me to be independent. This image, it represents me in a way going to art school. In a very rainy day, which is very common in in Galicia, in Santiago de Compostela.

It’s always raining. That’s our climate, uh, weather. And so you see here, this girl all stress, the umbrella is flying away, covered in. Drops of rain, and thinking I’m going to get wet. I’m going to be soaking wet when I make it to the school.

And then I also included these stones, which are very common in my hometown, the use of, granite for, the ground in the older, older part of the town. So there are many elements from my hometown,

The feelings I have of, stress having to go to school. It will get late sometimes. so I, wanted to convey that maybe it’s not the most, I don’t know, encouraging drawing, but it’s a reality and I remember my home by looking at it. Yeah.

Smiti: Thank you so much for sharing that And in terms of a recent piece of work, can you walk us through a recent project where you are directly engaging with the past, whether it’s from your hometown or your family and how the past shows up, and maybe the texture, the colors, the materials you’re using?

Laura: Yeah. This is a star book, so if you, if you open it and then You You fold the jacket of the book, it makes a star.

And so this book, I made three copies of it and it has three layers. The background, the middle section, and then the front. I made it in black and white because growing up as a kid, I thought that the past was in black and white.

I thought my mom’s childhood was black and white, and that color started when I was born. Very self-centered, but I think it’s a common thought for many kids. Yeah, so a lot of forest in these images. We have one here and there’s a little girl inside climbing a tree, which is something that I used to spend a lot of time doing. In the village. Then this one also has natural elements, but also a child putting their arm in a jar of honey. My family also made honey.

This is trapping insects to observe them. That’s me all the time. Back then, I don’t do it anymore, but I would release them afterwards. I wouldn’t let them stay in the jar.

And this reflects another beautiful thing of my region, which is the beaches in the coastline, beautiful spaces. And I would spend my summers with my cousins playing in the water.

And then finally, the most special one, I have this portrait with my grandfather who as me and some people in my family migrated when he was 21 abroad. He went from Spain to Cuba in 1922.

My grandpa was very old when I was born. He would do this a lot with his fingers.

Smiti: Like twiddle his fingers. 

Laura: Yeah, twiddle his fingers. And this is a very special work of art for me, and I call it work of art because I’m very proud of it. Because I was able to recreate my grandfather’s face very accurately. I don’t have many pictures of him as an older person, And that one, getting it right woke up my mind again. And I thought, that’s him that’s the way he looked. So now if I’m feeling a little, I’m gonna say a Galician word. If I feel morriña, which is homesickness, it’s more than that. But it translates to morriña to  homesickness. I open this book and I peruse through it, and I, I see him and, and it encourages me because he was in Cuba for a decade working and yeah,

Smiti: Thank you so much for sharing that.

Laura: Thank you

Smiti: And I’m wondering. When people are navigating their own family histories and how it plays into their present, do you have any advice or suggestions or how do you make sense of that?

Laura: So I bring a lot of things from Spain I place them around the house. I’m planning to have a wall of pictures similar to what they show in Harry Potter in one of the houses. they have this family tree with all the pictures from the family. And I wanna do that because I want to see the faces and I want, if I ever have children, I want them to know which person was and follow what my family does, which is telling stories to the newer, gen, younger generations so they know where they come from originally, of course, i’m integrated in this country, but i’m also part of a, another country and. And I need to cultivate and protect that as well. Something that I carry with me. It’s my second language collision and I it’s important for me to preserve it.

Smiti: Thank you for sharing that. And I’m wondering, what do you hope listeners take away about engaging with the past through artistic creation?

Laura: It’s important for me to go back and draw inspiration from your growth from different moments in your life. So it’s therapeutic because you can process information in a different way. It’s used in in therapies, to help people. it’s important to delve in that a little bit and value yourself history as a, as a human being and put it in your work. To this play I think the most authentic art for me is the one that shows something new. And we are all new. There’s a a lot in us that needs to be well, that can be shown if you want to, not needs to be, but can be shown and that’s what makes. Human created art so special that it’s hidden right now, but it can be taken into the outside and maybe impact somebody, change somebody’s mind, inspire somebody. So I think it’s important to develop and to listen to yourself a lot and do what you want. Yeah.

Smiti: One of my biggest takeaways from this conversation was seeing Laura’s perspective on how engaging with the past can both foster familial connection and artistic inspiration.

If you’d like to learn more about Laura’s work, you can visit her website. You’ll find the link in the show notes along with the link to a full transcript of this episode.

And if you’re curious to dig deeper and learn how Laura’s cat, Quino, has become one of her major artistic muses. She shares that and more in a Patreon exclusive video.

Our Patreon is free to join and gives you access to all of our extra content if you’d like to support the podcast monetarily, that’s always appreciated too. Thanks so much for listening and cultivating your curiosity with us.

We’ll see you soon.

Credits

Laura Riveiro:: Guest

Noor Hanania: Theme Music Creator

Laura Riveiro: Podcast Cover Art Creator

Smiti Nathan: Host, Video Editor

Patreon Supporters

Thank you to our paid Patreon members for supporting the creation of this episode:

Nancy Fulton, James D., Giancarlo Annese, Thomas Martin, Stuart A. Griffin, Tagg, Ann Brookens, Diana Madden

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