The Flying Luchadores and Decorative Trim were the first pieces I made, working on them simultaneously while packing and moving to my new studio. The chandelier was a piece I acquired while on a house-painting gig, and I was able to spray it in my empty former studio before returning the key... perfect timing! The process of making the Decorative Trim was one of my favorite parts of the whole project: labor-intensive in a meditative way, fabric-like in it's decoration. I plan to incorporate more of this look in a future piece.
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The Restroom Luchadores were made at the request of Danny, who took a liking to the comical figures found throughout the Decorative Trim. They never fail to bring a smile to customers' faces, and provide a great selfie-op!​
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Flying Luchador 2. Copyright 2015 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. Suspended life-size painted plywood. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Flying Luchador 1. Copyright 2015 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. Suspended life-size painted plywood. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Paper template. This guy plays lead in my band... Copyright 2015 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Cut from plywood. Copyright 2015 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Cutting the stenciled design. A loose interpretation of style and motifs borrowed from popular Mexican street artist Nuezz, and others. I wanted to create the look of a body-tattoo/costume on the figures. Spirals may symbolize the journey of life, as well as strength. Copyright 2015 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Cutting the stenciled design. The luchador was first painted with several coats of black acrylic gloss enamel, then completely taped-over with masking tape. Key elements of the design were sketched-in first, then the rest were "ad-libbed" with my trusty X-acto knife. Copyright 2015 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Cutting the stenciled design. The Sacred Heart of Jesus is a revered symbol in the Mexican culture signifying Jesus' compassion for humanity. Copyright 2015 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Painting the stenciled design. Several very thin coats of flat white paint were then rolled over cut-out areas. Copyright 2015 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Painting the stenciled design. Copyright 2015 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Cutting the stenciled design. In Mexican culture and folk art, the Sun is a positive symbol of life. Copyright 2015 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Flying Luchadores 1 & 2. Copyright 2015 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
The mask. I went through many, many different variations of masks... the simplest one was best. Copyright 2015 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Completed. That glitter mask is A-OK! Copyright 2015 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Installation. After painting the walls, I moved the paper templates around to determine best position for hanging the wooden luchadors. Yellow area was carried over from other side of partition and would soon be flowers. Copyright 2015 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Installation. Yellow areas of facing walls were masked-off for stenciling. Copyright 2015 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Installation. Stenciled flowers ready for embellishment. Copyright 2015 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
A chandelier got a fresh coat of gloss black Krylon... Once hung, I added red crystals & a luchador bottle opener. Copyright 2015 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Installation. Sweet! Copyright 2015 teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Artist Teresa Bosko in the studio during the making of Luchadores 1 & 2. "Well, it's kinda like a luchador mask..." Copyright 2015 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
A curvy, scalloped design to lend a folksy, happy feel to the interior design. Copyright 2015 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Cut & sanded trim pieces ready for art! I really like the pattern created by arranging them this way... will definitely be doing something in the future... Copyright 2015 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Each section of trim was painted with 2-3 coats of interior latex satin paint. Copyright 2015 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
I originally started with hand-cut plastic stencils I had made, but found that they weren't efficient: paint clogged-up fine details & cleaning them was too time consuming. Copyright 2015 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
3 thin coats of semi-gloss paint were needed for good coverage. Copyright 2015 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Several projects going on at once, while moving to a new studio & a new residence... Aye-Aye-Aye! Copyright 2015 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Hand-cut stencil. Trim design was inspired by the Mexican fabrics made by the women of the Otomi tribe. Copyright 2015 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Because the stencils proved to be such a pain, I masked-off and cut each trim piece by hand. Crisper lines and more freedom in the design process. Copyright 2015 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria.
Masking & cutting. I wanted to add a feminine element with the trim pattern to compliment the macho-ness of the luchador theme. Copyright 2015 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Pulling the tape to reveal the pattern. Copyright 2015 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Along with the traditional motifs found in the Otomi fabrics, I added imagery that reflected the Luchador/Sci-Fi/Surf theme of the restaurant. Copyright 2015 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Finished & ready for install! Making this trim was one of my favorite parts of this project. Copyright 2015 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Each section was designed to flow into the next; there is a definite rhythmic pattern throughout the perimeter of the restaurant. Copyright Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
An inspiring lady luchador. Copyright 2015 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Trim motifs made life-size. Copyright 2015 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Restroom Luchadores: I got you, babe... Copyright 2015 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Restroom Luchadores. Copyright 2015 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.