-: what am i doing?!?!?

Everything has to start somewhere. The beginning seems like the best place but it was so long ago that maybe it is better to focus on one thing. Crab claw as it was originally called seemed like the best part out many years of work not because of the quality, aesthetic substance or social references but because crab claw has a history rich in the experiences that bond people together, plus at times I am crab claw and he is i. Many years passed before crab claw was conceived, so this may take some time, but the story will be told.

The story started at MOMA in NY with a Jackson Pollock. Less that a year later i made a couple of attempts at painting (see the last post) and i still have them so they have some value, maybe just emotional. It took the laughter of an entire six grade class and the lack of control of the Nun in charge to seal the painting deal. Fresh from Puerto Rico into the parochial school and it was all foreign to me; the language, the culture and the people (i do not assimilate well). Add to all this, the constant feeling of “not belonging” that many children get, and you have a potential outcast. It was September 1973 and time for “show and tell” at the American school. With two very special paintings in hand i went to school with the hopes of sharing my discoveries with the class and they found the work hilarious. Where do I run to? How do I hide? Can anyone please take me back to Puerto Rico? The day we left the island I held onto the gate at our home and my parents had to pry my fingers from the bars so we would not miss our plane. Why did they do this to me? Why did we leave home for this?

It took years for me to paint again. Drawing was something I always did but painting did not come back until college. There was a couple of exceptions to the painting hiatus. A car on plywood and a flower and they both belong to Mom for they were gifts to her. They may show on this site soon enough. As for what else happened between six grade and college, well i have to visit my parents and rummage the boxes of stuff to see what they kept. Some of it may lead to some clues as to where crab claw came from but it may be a while before i can do that so we shall go on to college.