TERESA BOSKO
ARTIST
Detail: See No Evil. Copyright 2016 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Roofing felt luchador templates in-place for marking cut pattern. Copyright 2016 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
The "speak" element was placed in the center due to the symmetrical, framing quality of the elbows. I also wanted to emphasize a reminder to avoid gossip... not always easy! Copyright 2016 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
I played around a lot with the positioning of the hands. It's fascinating how the "body-language" can be changed ever-so-slightly to create a different feeling. Copyright 2016 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Detail: Plywood skeleton hands. Copyright 2016 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Skeleton arms and hands were first drawn on tracing paper, and then transferred to the wood for cutting. Copyright 2016 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
My original thought was to paint the left & right luchador faces directly onto the base panels, but this soon changed... Copyright 2016 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Size of luchador's head was reduced for better emphasis of skeleton, as well as proportion. Copyright 2016 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Definitely needed to reduce head size & use larger ovals as frames... Copyright 2016 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Testing-out colors. I really wanted to get some blue in there, but it just wanted to fight... Copyright 2016 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Perhaps stain the wood for a more natural look...? Copyright 2016 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
A quick paper mask helps me see what to do... Copyright 2016 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Replaced stain with red... yes. Copyright 2106 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
I really liked the all-black framing, but didn't want it to look like "Halloween" hanging on the orange walls of the restaurant... Copyright 2016 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Changing the outer panels to white lightens-up the overall look, and opens-up more design possibilities for me to consider. Copyright 2016 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Starting to emerge... Copyright 2016 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Final template for luchador faces. Copyright 2016 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Playing around with paper templates & other elements to see best color combos. Copyright 2016 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Final center luchador face. Copyright 2016 Teresa Bosko. All rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria, Akron, Ohio.
Luchador faces were masked-off & spray-painted. I went with a more turquoise-y blue, which "vibrates" nicely against the red. It's also in reference to Mexican turquoise jewelry. Copyright 2016 Teresa Bosko. All Rights Reserved. El Gato Taqueria.
EL GATO TAQUERIA
Speak No Evil
Steeped in Mexican symbolism and tradition, Speak No Evil is the most somber of the art made for El Gato, and quite possibly my favorite composition in the group. For this piece, I wanted to focus solely on Mexican Culture, without the addition of Sci-Fi and Surf. Based on the proverb of The Three Monkeys, I also wanted to impart a message, a reminder... perhaps even a mild scolding, not only to others, but to myself as well.
As stated elsewhere, due to its over-saturation in the marketplace, Day of the Dead imagery was something I didn't want to use in the restaurant, but felt it was too integral a part of Mexican Life to completely ignore. So the challenge became how to honor the Dias de los Muertos celebration without adding another sugar-skull to the mix. I also wanted to create a work that would, upon first entering the restaurant, immediately resonate with the viewer, at once familiar, yet different, in its appeal. It is interesting to me how the Luchador faces "read" as skulls, without being skulls. I think the overall composition feels like an altar... Definitely a Spirit-Filled outcome.
Thank You, Sweet Jesus.
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