Margarita Blanco

“So, Kelly, what is your middle name?”

“Kelly,” I say.

I was named after a nurse/nun who was present for the birth of all my siblings. So when Mom was in labor with me, Sister Margaret Kelly asked my dad what names were under consideration.

“If this baby is a girl we will name her after you.”

Yeah… when I first reveal the fact that my first name is Margaret I get a lot of “Hey Margaret! I’ll have another beer.” “Yo Margaret, the bathroom is out of toilet paper.” “Margaret!” “Margaret?” And then the fun dies off and it's back to “Kelly.”

At Xico Inc. we promote Chicano and Native American culture. Our programs reach out to youth-at-risk or under-served communities. Our events are meant to educate the public at large. Our printmaking workshops give artists the opportunity to print. We get to keep roughly 30% of all prints created which we in turn sell or put up for auction to raise money. We are a 501c3 nonprofit who relies on sales, grants and donations from people like you. ;)

I have attended three printmaking workshops. I stay in the background and try not to interfere. I document the workshops with my photographs that are used in a variety of ways to promote our organization. Our latest one was last weekend.

Saturday was a busy day… we had the cream of the crop with Martin Moreno, Frank Ybarra, Joe Ray and Cristina Cardenas working the plates at Segura Publishing. What a day. Pure joy in watching them create amazing pieces.

On Sunday, we had artists that were new to Xico coming. I arrived at Segura to discover that two of the four artists scheduled to work were not able to be present.

Midway through the day my boss shows up to deliver lunch… looks at me and says… “Kelly… print!”

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was not prepared (just look at the pics below and you will know this to be true) but I make the most of the opportunity. It was such an "in the now" experience. The joy is indescribable.

My first time in years working with an oil-based medium (I am loving lithographers ink.) Although I would prefer to have had some templates prepared to work with I free-hand inked this plate.

Master printer Brent, is wiping down the edges before placing it on the press. After he gave me the quick lesson on how to work with the ink he said, "We are here to serve you. Anything you need, let us know." I almost cried..

Brent slowly pulls the paper from the plate. The folks at Segura Publishing are simply the nicest bunch you could ever hope to work with. Since the plate had a lot of ink left on it Brent suggested I rework the plate and make another print.

This is my reworked plate on the press. I added a little ink and splashed some solvent on the background area to give the print a different character. With monoprinting you never know what you are going to get. It always looks one way on the plate so what it looks like on paper is always a surprise.


I won't be in any shows or promoted by Xico Inc. since I am neither Hispanic nor Native American but Brent asked what my full name was and since my maiden name is White we came up with Margarita Blanco. Today my boss and I joked around with my possible biography.

No one has ever really met Margarita except Brent and Angela, his talented printing assistant. Ruben and Raquel were so intensely creating their own work, they barely remember her. She is the daughter of humble hard-working immigrant parents from El Centro, CA. She is young and pretty (LOL! I added that.)

Maybe... just maybe I will pass... NOT!

What a gift and a great learning experience. I was not happy with my final prints so the lessons learned is what I come away with. One of those lessons is that I will begin to develop my templates, buy some brushes and will bring them just in case another artist comes down with the flu at our next printmaking workshop.

I am blessed.