August 2023

Transcript (Unedited)

Tom Heath

Welcome back to another exciting episode of Meet the Artist. It’s part of our series that we do at the Tucson Gallery down here at 300 East Congress Street in downtown Tucson across from Hotel Congress in the same block as the Rialto Theater. All kinds of fun stuff happening around us and inside of the gallery itself and occasionally we’re blessed with the presence of our fabulous artists that come in as this event we call Meet the Artist. Their fans show up and then some random strangers that just get the chance to see some cool stuff and leave with a great story. And then while they’re here, we always steal a little bit of their time to do these fabulous podcasts. If you want to listen to any of the other episodes, they’re on our website, the TucsonGallery .com. You can also look at the various artists that we have, work for sale, and there’s a newsletter you can sign up for so that you’ll know when your favorite artist is in the gallery. And had you been signed up for that list, you

Tom Heath

would have been notified that we have Saunda Getraer here today and she is a well -known artist here in town with multiple sort of different projects that she’s working on, but the one that caught her eye was her work on books. But Saunda, welcome.

Saunda Getraer

Well, thank you for having me.

Tom Heath

So you are, are you a Tucson native or how long have you been in Tucson?

Saunda Getraer

Actually this month makes 18 years.

Tom Heath

Okay, so you’ve been here a little while then.

Saunda Getraer

Yes, I have and I love it.

Tom Heath

Where was home before Tucson?

Saunda Getraer

I lived on Long Island, New York.

Tom Heath

Oh, okay. Okay. Maybe tense a little bit of that little accent in there and what got you from Long Island to Tucson? Are you on the run from a law or something? Is that? You found out. Yeah, shoot. We’re not supposed to say that on the air.

Saunda Getraer

Wow. Witness protection program is shot. Anyway, we had an opportunity to move here. We owned half a house and decided we’d give it a year and see how it went. And here we are 18 years later loving it and we’re year round residents and my husband, my dog and I are just thrilled to be here.

Tom Heath

Awesome. And so you had a half a house, but you had half ownership of a whole house though, right? Correct.

Saunda Getraer

So we decided we’d buy out the other half of the house and give up New York and try it.

Tom Heath

You just never know in Tucson. People have half a house and they come out and they’re like, it’s half built. I’ll finish it. I’ll finish it while I’m living there. So it’s nice to know you had a place to land when you got here. So there’s different art forms that you have and we’re going to touch on all of them. But the one that first caught our eye was what, I’m not 100 % trying to describe it, but I call it sculpture with books or book sculpture because you just turn works of art like books into even more incredible works of art. Can you tell us a little bit about like what do you call it and how do you, how’d you come up with this?

Saunda Getraer

Well, I call it book art. And to be honest, my husband came up with it and he started doing it and I looked and I was watching him and I went, okay, so what are you doing? And it was really fascinating because we take only used books that we buy in thrift stores. So we don’t take new books and harm them. And we actually either fold them or cut and fold them to create designs. And they get quite elaborate. And at the gallery right now, if you want to come on down, we’ve got a whole bunch of them on display.

Tom Heath

Yeah. You talk about elaborate, it’s, it’s, I think it’s, if you’re looking at it from a, from the perspective, you’re, you’re staring at like what would be like the, the closed book and the pages then are folded or cut and folded. And they give these designs like sugar skulls and saguaros and cocapelli. It’s like, it’s just hard to imagine that, that that’s just done with mostly folding of paper.

Saunda Getraer

Actually, the ones that are really elaborate are cut with a razor blade. Every cut is made individually, cut, folded, sometimes glued down if necessary so that it holds the pattern. And each page is done individually to create this pattern. And we’ve done all these Southwestern ones. Like you said, the cocapelli, we’ve got cactus, we’ve got roadrunners, we’ve got the University of Arizona A for the students here.

Tom Heath

Did you come up with these designs? You’re like, are you, are you a drawer, drawer or is your husband?

Saunda Getraer

Actually the computer actually will generate the design.

Tom Heath

This is fancy now we’re talking high tech.

Saunda Getraer

Yes. But it’s not like it’s got a picture on it. What it is, is that it can, it has markings that we use our ruler to use this to determine where each fold or cut has to be. Oh my gosh. And it’s got to be absolutely precise because if it’s not, the design doesn’t come out.

Tom Heath

I got you. So you’re like, you start going and you’re like, you know what, this, this was going to be a saguaro and now it’s like a Picasso saguaro. So we’re going to, we’re going to, we’re going to move it this way. Well, it moves actually to the garbage pail when that happens. Now, do you, um, do you select books that have themes that are related to the pictures or is it, or is it just what, what the size of the book that’s most important?

Saunda Getraer

Okay. What happens is it’s the, really the size, the number of pages to create a design. But interestingly enough, um, we had some books on golf, so we were able to create the golfer or the word golf and use the outside of the book for golf. We also did the scales of justice in one of Scott’s, uh, you know, one of his legal thrillers.

Tom Heath

Oh, that’s, that’s really cool.

Saunda Getraer

Yeah. So if it’s appropriate, sometimes we have books that have magnificent, uh, leather bindings. So because of it, we, uh, we’ll leave the outside, but if not, because the book has nothing to do with the design, we finished each book off by taking a fabric that will coordinate with the design, whether it be Western or, um, like the cactus ones will have cactus on them. The roadrunners will have a Southwestern design, uh, flowers. We have, uh, the sunflower.

Tom Heath

So the whole thing becomes, I mean, from, from back to front in, I mean, the whole thing is a work of art. It’s not just like you’ve got some, some papers folded, the entire book is part of, of that art project. And your husband now, he’s got a background in book binding. Is that what I understand? Okay.

Saunda Getraer

He does amazing work as a bookbinder. Marty. Yeah. His name is Marty and he is just amazing. He’ll take old books, old Bibles. He has worked with different school districts, uh, synagogues, churches, everybody that, uh, anybody, uh, needs anything done. He does it.

Tom Heath

Nice. Nice. And then, and I, it’s when people, when people come in and they see the work, it’s, I’ve their first thought is that it was just sort of like, like cut out, but then they, they get into it and they realize, okay, now there’s a cut, but it’s that precision of the folding. How long does it take you to do something like this? I mean, it just seems like that’s so much patience.

Saunda Getraer

None of the projects go from start to finish because they take so many hours to do. We start a little, go to the next thing, go back to it and so on because it is very tedious work. So I always tell people, we don’t get paid by the hour, we just enjoy what we do. And the benefit of this is that every one of these designs, almost every one I should say, started out as a gift. None of these were made to sell them or anything else. And the more we gifted them, the more people around us kept asking, can we buy them? And then we had an article published about us and then somebody asked us, can we sell them? And then the next place and the next place. So it just kind of blossomed.

Tom Heath

Wow. That is, I think some of the artists that we’ve talked to in the gallery, they started in that way that they just wanted an outlet and it was something for close friends and it just grew from there. So that’s, I love that story because it’s, it’s just so genuine and natural that it would flow like that. But let’s talk about some of the other stuff you do though, cause you’re, you do, you have to explain to me what crayon art is, but you do crayon art and you do Japanese meditation stones. Yes. Did you do, was Marty doing those? You’re like, I’m going to do that too. Are those yours?

Saunda Getraer

No, it started out by my going down to New York with my great niece and nephew and we were at a craft fair and somebody was doing something similar to that and they wanted it and mommy said, no. So Aunt Sonda went home and made them.

Tom Heath

So what is crayon art then?

Saunda Getraer

What I do is I’ll take crayons and I take off the wrappers and I melt them down in all different colors and I create either designs or letters and the ones that we have here all say the word love with a heart on it because I think that’s appropriate for everybody. Everybody needs a little love.

Tom Heath

So is it as simple as melting down and combining colors or is, I mean it looks like there’s a, I mean they’re sealed, I mean it looks like there’s more complexity to this.

Saunda Getraer

Well, there’s a little bit of complexity of, you know, I get these different plaques and then I have to sand them down and paint them and prepare all them with a number of coats of paint before I do anything. Then the crayons, as I say, they’re melted down. Sometimes they don’t always come out so perfect and you have to start over again, but I really enjoy them and I’ve just done different designs with them and mostly kids’ names.

Tom Heath

So once again, something for the family and now it’s like, hey, I like that. Can I get one? Can I buy one? And there you go. Now you’ve become famous again with now your crayon art. And then the meditation stones, these, this is not, when you told me you’re bringing meditation stones, I was expecting something small, but these are, again, very, they’re components. They’re put together. They’re complex.

Saunda Getraer

Well, I start with natural cane and I dye the cane all different colors. And once I get them all different colors, I have all these different gemstones that I work with. I have lapis, I have azurite, I have chrysocolla, I have natural coral and copper. And what I do is I kind of get a feel for each of these stones and I kind of match up how I feel about them to the different stones that I’m going to wrap them with, the colors that I’m going to wrap them with so that I bind them so that they’re very special because they have special meaning, how they tie people together and their spirits dwell within them and they’re there to protect people. So it’s got a very spiritual message to the whole idea of having these stones.

Tom Heath

Not just a message, but it’s, it’s spiritual and how they come together because it’s a, you don’t sit down and it’s not necessarily like these colors go together. It’s the, how these feel together.

Saunda Getraer

Exactly.

Tom Heath

It’s really interesting.

Saunda Getraer

And then I have ones that are really special that I picked up in Sedona and some of them are actually put together with bark from a 350 -year -old Ponderosa pine that the forestry service had to save before it fell on a house. So I was able to get some of this bark and put it together. And I have two stories of friends that were in the hospital. So I brought them these stones and I put them by their beds and they were released the next day. Now the doctor said, I don’t know what this hoo -ha is, but I, it’s working.

Tom Heath

But I will tell you, you’ve got the stones priced at like 30 bucks. That’s cheap. No, that’s 35. I’m sorry. No, they’re 35. That’s still cheaper than the, than the doctor bill.

Saunda Getraer

So which is true. And what’s really nice is that I’ve had the benefit of getting all these beautiful stones to put together with them, that it’s real lapis and real coral and real stones that are with these stones so that they make them even more special.

Tom Heath

And what’s the background of this? Did you, do you have, is this something that you experienced or did you learn, like how did you get into this method?

Saunda Getraer

Somebody else taught me how I saw it and I thought this was so neat and I said, would you teach me? And he went, sure. So I went and I was, and I went for a one -on -one class with this person and they were just wonderful. And so I’ve just been doing it and enjoying it ever since.

Tom Heath

So that’s, you’re my kind of artist, like literally, cause you, you, you have a creative side and you have an inquisitive side. And when those collide, that’s where something beautiful comes from it. So I think that’s great. It’s not, not just something that, you know, that, that comes from you organically, which is not a bad thing, but it’s, it’s this inquisitiveness that, and I love that cause that’s how I am. I, the things that I do, the book and the show that I do are because I like to ask questions and, and that’s where it comes from. So you, you are a kindred spirit in that, and you’re also very observant just to notice these things. Right?

Saunda Getraer

Oh, well that, and I think one of the best benefits of me doing my art is being able to gift them to people. I’ve had somebody who had to go back to work after a number of years and had to decorate an office and she was like, what am I going to do? And I said, come on over. And I was able to do, you know, be able to give her so many different forms of art that I had done in the past that she was able to enjoy and hang up and made her feel good. So just the idea that it makes somebody feel good that I can do this for them is wonderful.

Tom Heath

I think that’s great. And I, I’m, I’m, I’m anxious to see what the next project is. Are you working on anything new or is there anything, any teasers out there or are you, you kind of got your hands full with these three, three projects?

Saunda Getraer

Well, the crayon art is new for me, so that’s my newest thing that I’m doing. And I think the stones have been keeping me quite busy lately as well as the books. So I don’t know, but I didn’t know that I was going to be doing these things. So I don’t know what the next thing will be.

Tom Heath

I was going to say, you can’t really plan for the unplanned. It’ll just happen and you’ll know when it happens and you’ll be like, Oh, I want to do this. And you’ll either, you’ll do it or you’ll have someone help you and teach you to do it. And then it’ll be beautiful and wonderful. If you want these, these items in your home, you can head over to the gallery’s website to get a picture of them and kind of see what they look like. But they are available in the gallery. And then how do people find you outside of that? Like do you have social media? Do you do Instagram? What are you, how can people track you down?

Saunda Getraer

Um, on yelp .com they can look at the books at Moisha, M -O -I -S -H -E, The Bookbinder, which incorporates our bookbinding and the book folding as well.

Tom Heath

Okay.

Saunda Getraer

But the other things I don’t have on any social media yet.

Tom Heath

So do you do shows then or how are you getting the word out about these things?

Saunda Getraer

Well, I am at a number of galleries. I’m in some gift shops in some of the hotels here.

Tom Heath

Where are some places? Cause in our gallery we typically have the books. Like if someone wanted to see the stones or the crayon art, where, where, where are places where those are?

Saunda Getraer

Well, absolutely. Art up in Oracle, um, on Catalina right by, uh, Saddlebrook on the other side of the road there. There’s a beautiful art gallery. They have my stones as at all things that I have sell at the, uh, Southern Arizona Arts Guild in La Encantada. There’s a large selection of my books that people can see there. There’s some in, uh, Hacienda del Sol, both the stones and the books. Then we’re going to be shortly in the Hilton, Conquistador. And we are currently in the museum with all things.

Tom Heath

That is fantastic. So I think it’s, it’s, it’s great to get out and see these, you know, we have a limited space. You know, we don’t, if you’ve been to the SOG event, uh, opportunity up in the, at the mall there, that is just a beautiful space. Well laid out, quite a bit bigger than we have.

Saunda Getraer

Yes, quite a bit bigger.

Tom Heath

So it’s, it’s nice though, that we, you know, some of our artists have space there and vice versa. So it’s great that we can share that. Um, cause we, the idea of our gallery is to help the world see how special Tucson is and how amazing the Tucson artists really are. And after being here for 18 years, um, you know, it’s great to see how that has incorporated into your art. And really, you know, when I, when I saw your art, I, I thought there’s a chance you could be a native Tucsonian because all of your art really does pull, uh, that history and culture of Tucson. So I, that’s why I was asking about where you were from.

Saunda Getraer

I do love it here in Tucson and I think maybe that’s what’s reflected in the work.

Tom Heath

Yeah, I think so. Well, Sandra Gutierrez, she is an artist and, uh, all over town. We also feature some of her work at the Tucson gallery, which is at 300 East Congress. We’re in downtown Tucson. Our website is the Tucson gallery .com in case you want to listen to this rebroadcast of this podcast, or if you want to listen to any of our others, uh, there’s a newsletter on there to sign up for all kinds of cool events. We’re coming up on our one year anniversary, so I’m sure we’ll be doing something special for that. Um, and head over there, sign up for the newsletter, find when your artist will be in and come on down, say hi. And, uh, if it’s happens to be a day when we don’t have an artist event, just come on down and buy some other art. Cause I think the artists like that too. So thanks so much for your time today.

Saunda Getraer

Thank you so much for having me.

Tom Heath

Thank you for listening to meet the artist. This is a weekly production by the Tucson gallery located inside of the proper shops at 300 East Congress street in Tucson, Arizona. The mission of the Tucson gallery is to support local artists by providing a space to show their art, a forum to engage with their audience, a virtual presence to connect with global patrons and outlet to earn a fair price and an opportunity to hone their business skills and over to the Tucson gallery .com for more information about our live events, listen to other meet the artist podcasts and check out the wide selection of art gifts and other items created by Tucson’s modern thought provoking and forward thinking artists.

Media

Transcript (Unedited)

Tom Heath

Welcome back to another episode of Meet the Artist, our podcast filmed and recorded out of the Tucson Gallery in downtown Tucson. We’re at 300 East Congress, across from Hotel Congress, and we’re in the same block as the Rialto Theater, and every week we get a different artist to come in and talk about their process, their history, their story, and we share that on our website, thetucsongallery .com. You can check out all of our past episodes of what we call Meet the Artist, and more importantly, you can check out our calendar of events to find out when these artists are gonna be live in the gallery. And live today, we’ve got kind of a special treat, because we have, I think, a first in our gallery, and we’ll talk about that in a moment, but I wanna welcome Val to the show.

Val Garcia

Hi, I’m Val, I’m an artist. I kinda do like abstract, sort of like pop kind of art.

Tom Heath

When did you start painting?

Val Garcia

Actually, it’s a really funny story. I started painting actually, like, I would say a couple years ago, because I just kinda got a small interest about it, and, you know, I do like little doodles and like small drawings on paper, and then it kinda turned into, you know, like canvases, and then it kinda turned into this.

Tom Heath

Ha ha, so you, the reason why this is unique is because, for two reasons. One is, and I don’t normally ask this question to most of our artists, but how old are you?

Val Garcia

I’m 13.

Tom Heath

That makes you our youngest artist, and you have work in our gallery, and you are the youngest to do that. Also, it’s interesting, because you were the model for some of the art that was in our gallery. Your dad did something with you.

Val Garcia

Yeah, I was the kid running from the Pinatas, and I was, I would say around six years old. Can I tell the story? Yeah, tell the story, this is your show, man.

Tom Heath

I just wanna. We’re here to celebrate you. I can ask you questions, you do what you want.

Val Garcia

All right, I was just making sure. I don’t wanna ruin anything.

Tom Heath

No, man, you go for it.

Val Garcia

So, a couple years back, let’s start with my dad. So, my dad was fishing with his family, and there was this like giant, like, bull. Like, this bull was just like across the river, and my dad was so, like, freaked out, he ran back to the van and just hid there, and the whole family was just laughing, because the bull was just getting water and stuff, and then my dad kind of took inspiration from that, and, you know, I’m gonna turn that into art, and my dad took a picture of me, and it took me so many tries to do it, and he actually was saying, if you don’t do it, I’ll get your cousin on this instead. I’ll be like, jeez.

Tom Heath

Tough dad.

Val Garcia

Like, I was like, dang, I’m trying, man, I’m only six. So, I got the perfect pose, and my flip flop, like, flew. It, like, flung, and my dad caught it in, like, the perfect moment. It was like a new moment in that memory, because it felt like I was important, I would say.

Tom Heath

Well, you’re the centerpiece of a very big mural in downtown. Your dad, being Ignacio Garcia, painted the running of the piñatas, and there are two things that are very iconic about that. One of the, of course, the piñatas, but you running with the sandal flying off is, everybody recognizes that. So, you are important.

Val Garcia

I’m very, very grateful to be in this, like, just like this. I am more grateful than I can ever imagine. I, if I could thank everybody who likes my art, who likes my dad’s art, I would.

Tom Heath

That’s too many people, everybody. I mean, and let’s be very clear. I mean, your dad is a talented artist. Oh, yeah. But you’re here by your own merits. Your art is here because you are good, and we appreciate what your dad does, but what you do is different. You know, he does the murals and really fun stuff. Yours is a little bit more abstract.

Val Garcia

I took an abstract to, like, a pop kind of culture, and I thought it was interesting. So, you know the painting, Joy? So, that one was my first one of the collection.

Tom Heath

Can you describe, I’ve seen your five that you have here. Can you describe Joy?

Val Garcia

So, it’s like a blue, black, background, sorry, with like kind of purplish, and like a whole bunch of fun colors that just kind of squiggle on there. And I put my initials on it because I’m very joyful from, you know, like if I looked at myself in the mirror, I think I would be joyful. I think it’s very nice that I get to have like my own personal, like, art selling here.

Tom Heath

Yeah, it’s your own style, it’s your own brand. And I like all five of your pieces that we have have very, very succinct and very upbeat names. You’ve got Joy and Happiness, Satisfaction. What are the other two?

Val Garcia

Excitement and Love.

Tom Heath

Love, yeah. So, they’re all just, they’re wonderful pieces. They have a nice texture to them as well because they’re not just flat. And when you’re painting, what do you, are you thinking about these emotions when you’re painting? Or do you see it when you’re done and go, oh, this looks like happiness, or this looks like love?

Val Garcia

I usually just kind of go with it. Like when I’m painting, I just kind of go whatever’s like in my mind. And like, for example, like when I was painting Love, I actually was painting it, and I was like, oh, this is awful. And when I looked at it from afar, it was like, it really stands out, actually. And you know how it’s dripping? So, you know how like when you say you fall in love, you feel like you’re melting? So, I try to like capture in that moment the best I could. Like if you were really in love with somebody or something, I would try and reenact that through paint.

Tom Heath

That is fantastic. That’s, I love hearing that. And if you’re listening and kind of want to get a feel for these, you can always come down to the gallery or check out online at the TucsonGallery .com. We are getting all of Val’s work up so you can see it. It’s, the originals are available in the gallery. We’ll have some reproductions available as well online in the near future. But you can get a sense of what he is talking about. And I know that you do some other things too. I think the, what was the very first piece you sold was like a sword or something, wasn’t it?

Val Garcia

Yeah, the very, so there was this guy coming in and he wanted to do like a entire like episode about me and my dad. And the guy, I showed the guy like some of my woodwork. And he was like, man, that’s insane. And I was like, you know what? I could sell you my first one for about 150. And like, he was like, do it. And he was like, just paint the handle like orange because his favorite color is orange. And like make the ribbon like a gold. And I was like, for sure.

Tom Heath

There you go, your first commissioned piece. That’s awesome.

Val Garcia

And if you don’t know what a Gundam is, I, it’s like a Japanese model kit of a robot. It’s like Transformers, but it’s like vice versa. But they like don’t transform. And like Gundam came before Transformers. It’s very hard explanation, but I just bought a whole bunch of those. I swear, I’d even do investment, which was a very bad idea. I should have bought in like a, some paint brushes or more paint and stuff.

Tom Heath

Like the, you made art and you bought something that made you happy. You’re going to sell more art. That’s fine. I think it’s fun to splurge a little bit every now and then. Good for you.

Val Garcia

I think that next time I get money, I will definitely invest some, at least like 50 bucks each. I used to have a motorcycle and the reason why I’m starting to get into painting a little bit more is because to have how much money they can sell for. So I’m not like a big money guy, but like I kind of need a little money right now because my motorcycle broke. And I was like, man, I’ve been wanting a go -kart for a while. So I decided, you know what? I’m just going to get a go -kart with like all this painting money as I was like painting the canvases. And yeah.

Tom Heath

There you go. So if you want to help Val here get his go -kart or his motorcycle fix, you can support him by buying a little bit of his art. That’ll work.

Val Garcia

I would be so happy if he did that. Oh my God. I would hug you.

Tom Heath

So you’ve shown your art to some people and I know you’ve gotten different reactions. How does it make you feel when someone looks at that and just gets it and they just, puts a smile on their face?

Val Garcia

It makes me really, really happy that they can understand from my point of view. It just, it makes my day, to be honest. I just love seeing people love my art because my whole entire life I was bullied a lot. I mean, I’m not so much anymore, but most of my life from elementary to a little bit now. And it’s just so grateful for me that people actually come up to me and say, oh, I love your art. And it’s just, it means the world to me. If there’s anything I want more is just for people to love the work because I’m not trying to be selfish or anything.

Tom Heath

No, we create things because they mean something to us and when it means something to someone else, it feels very special.

Val Garcia

It’s just so special to me. Like what you’re just saying, it just means the entire world.

Tom Heath

Yeah, there’s a connection that we get through art and I think that’s why art is so powerful that you and I can look at something and see it completely differently. And when you see it the same way or you connect through it, there’s a power that unlike anything else. I get what you’re saying.

Val Garcia

Yeah, and I actually painted that for people to look through art instead of actually saying the words. So when you look through art instead of words, it’s better to look through it than art because for example, like satisfaction, let’s say you watch a satisfying video or something and you look at that painting and you’re like, oh, that kind of reminded me of that video earlier. So that’s what I’m trying to get people to follow through is I want people to really feel in that moment was my art.

Tom Heath

Awesome, and you were telling me this story, you have to fill me in a little bit, but you were working on a mural recently. Can you tell me more about that?

Val Garcia

This guy had these two huge walls and this very bland door and I was just looking at that. I’m just like, how? How can that just not be painted? And I asked the guy, can I paint that? And he was like, yeah, sure, I would totally love that. And I was like, sweet. And I did it for free because I just, I could not stand that door. I was just like, it’s so dark and like bland.

Tom Heath

Yeah, you need color, you need to bring life to things.

Val Garcia

I needed to touch it up. So I was at my mom’s house that week and I just filled up a whole bunch of random paints and even paints I didn’t even need.

Tom Heath

So when you went over, you have all these paints and there’s two walls and a door. Did you paint all of that or what did you paint?

Val Garcia

So I just painted the door and I just made it look like a nerd, like a nerd style. So there’s these two large rectangular squares that had windows in them. And I was thinking, what if I turn those into glasses? Because it’s really funny. And I made like the two boxes down into like really big, like buck teeth. And like this weird, like cartoonish, like crooked smile. And like he had this fat nose and like oil was dripping down it.

Tom Heath

I love that you used the material. I mean, you built it around the environment. So you didn’t try to change it. You just looked at what was there and you brought the life out of what was there. I think that’s fantastic.

Val Garcia

Yeah, so I made it look like a nerdy robot. Cool.

Tom Heath

And then you got a podcast out of that one, not this one. Someone’s gonna do like a real, you’re gonna make a famous podcast, not just a little thing with me. I’m just practicing, right? You’re just practicing with me.

Val Garcia

Yeah, I’m just practicing. No big deal. Don’t even watch this. Just go somewhere else.

Tom Heath

What’s your other podcast?

Val Garcia

So this other podcast is actually gonna be at Comic -Con and I’m gonna be actually dressed up as somebody. And this guy was saying like, oh, there’s gonna be like three other celebrities there and he wanted me in there. And I’m just like, really? And he was like, yeah. And I don’t know who the celebrities are yet. I haven’t checked, but I should probably go check now after saying this. Reminds me. But I’m very honored to do that because it really means a lot to me.

Tom Heath

Well, at 13, what you’re doing is impressive pretty much at any age, but at 13, it was so much ahead of you given what you talked about, briefly about your past and where you’ve come. Congratulations to you. I’m excited to see where you go, but congratulations on being positive and bringing life and love into the world. So thank you for that.

Val Garcia

Thank you so much. I mean, that meant the world to me, honestly, that really meant a lot because I’ve been struggling a little bit with school and stuff. And when people say that I bring the light into the world, it makes my heart melt, literally. It makes my day.

Tom Heath

Well, Val Garcia, you can check out his work at the Tucson Gallery or at 300 East Congress. We’re also online at the TucsonGallery .com. While you’re there, you can listen to this episode or past episodes of other artists on our media page. And of course, the best thing there, besides the artwork, is to get on the newsletter and find out what’s happening so that you know when the artists are gonna be in the gallery. We’ve got about 30 that we represent. Most of them have done at least one event and as we get into the fall and into 2024, they’re gonna be coming back for a second round. So don’t think you missed them. Just know that they’re coming up, but we’ll see when we get Val back in here. But Val, thanks so much for your time.

Val Garcia

No problem. I was so nervous doing this. I was like, man, I’m glad that I hope I don’t ruin this.

Tom Heath

You knocked it out of the park, man.

Val Garcia

Great job. Yeah, all right. Thank you.

Tom Heath

Thank you for listening to Meet the Artist. This is a weekly production by the Tucson Gallery located inside of the proper shops at 300 East Conger Street in Tucson, Arizona. The mission of the Tucson Gallery is to support local artists by providing a space to show their art, a forum to engage with their audience, a virtual presence to connect with global patrons, an outlet to earn a fair price, and an opportunity to hone their business skills. Head over to thetucsongallery .com for more information about our live events. Listen to other Meet the Artist podcasts and check out the wide selection of art, gifts, and other items created by Tucson’s modern, thought -provoking, and forward -thinking artists.