News
Page 8
Street Roots • July 1-7, 2016
Street Roots • July 1 -7, 2016
News
Page 9
Walls of beauty, wall of h e a lin g
teaching that place and color may divide
us, but we are all related and live within
eysus is a graphic artist on the rise the same circle.
In the top portion, animals, butterflies,
in Portland, a soft-spoken,
buildings and people represent life as the
thoughtful young man with a story
to tell. In 2007, while at Lane Middle kids see it. The four ancestral spirit
figures of North, South, East and West
School, he helped paint a mural with
anchor the picture, each 15 feet high,
Rodolfo “Rudy” Serna, a local artist who
supporting with outstretched arms the
befriended him.
world above them. The piece is so large,
Over time, a teacher-student
relationship emerged and Heysus began to its colors so saturated that it can be
glimpsed from Interstate 205 South on
see his mentor as a role model, one who
stuck with him during his time of changing the west side of Foster Road. Like all of
Rudy’s murals, this one is a mirror of the
high schools and the resultant temporary
community; culturally diverse kids worked
homelessness.
together to select the images, including
Although Heysus was unaware at the
fierce animals, Pacific Northwest scenery,
time, Rudy was laying the groundwork for
bridges, people, flowers, and symbols of
Heysus’ future
their culture and Portland.
artistic
"The greatest challenge of the day is: how
to bring about a revolution of the heart.
“My cultural background gives the
development.
Now 21, Heysus youth confidence,” he said. “My being a
(his professional brown person gets the kids to tell me
stories about their Uves, or what happens
name) has
at home, or a boy in pain because his
gained
b ro th e r w as d ep o rted .”
recognition for
Rudy’s goal is to build a trusting
his cartoon and
relationship with at-risk kids, maybe the
screen-printing
a revolution which has to start
first one in their life.
arts, and he
with each one of us."
But first Rudy has to find them, and he
mounted his
Dorothy Day
does so through social media, community
own art show
agencies, nonprofit groups, pubUc schools,
on March 30 at
housing meetings and professional
Roseland
trainings.
Theater in Portland.
Mural making is a process. Rudy begins
Rudy Serna, a 41-year-old Mexican-
by submitting a proposal for a project to a
American, has dedicated his life to
community partner. Then he secures
traumatized youths, those who have been
funding, and meets with the youths at
scarred by abuse, addictions, dislocation
their school gym or community center. He
and gangs. Strong threads of his own
sings a traditional Lakota song to thank
childhood poverty, alienation and chaos
the youths for joining him, and then tells a
are woven into Rudy’s work of healing
story about totems or spirit helpers,
through community building and the arts.
emphasizing humility and sacrifice.
With snapping black eyes, a long ponytail
While designing and painting the mural,
and paint-splattered clothes, Rudy is a
Rudy carves out a space for marginalized
powerful figure who naturally attracts kids
youngsters, where conversations about life
outside the mainstream culture. More
and pain are safe and mutual trust begins.
than 20 of his murals grace the interiors
and exteriors of public schools, community One reason for his success is constant role
sites and public buildings in Portland,
modeling: If he can do it, they can too.
Through the medium of painting, teens
along with two schools in Vancouver,
can risk confiding disturbing or shocking
Wash.
things, some of them unbelievable, he
I met with Heysus in Lents at the
said. Some older boys arrived in Portland
Wattles Boys & Girls Club mural that he
helped create. Completed in late 2015 as a after a harrowing trip from Central
America and painted their own faces into
collaboration that included four nonprofit
a grim picture of boys at a crossroads.
groups and 65 young artist partners, the
mural stretches 90 by 25 feet This bold
Rarely do kids ever paint self-portraits, he
said.
painting is typical of Rudy’s style:
Rudy said a grisly, mean-looking bear
traditional indigenous and spiritual
may stand in for a memory or thought that
symbols mix with everyday images.
the youth needs to express. On the mural
Primary colors are applied using the
impressionistic techniques of stippling, or
inside Northeast Portland’s Rigler School,
a menacing black and deep purple panther
small dots, and hatch marks. This
is poised to pounce on the viewer. This is
particular mural depicts the Four
Directions, thè indigenous philosophical
the school’s mascot, but for the mural, the
B Y PEN ELO PE LICHATOWICH
kids wanted more: a strong and powerful
animal, reflecting how they felt
Over the weeks of creating a mural, in
addition to nurturing relationships, he
teaches the kids the basics of building a
scaffold, mixing colors and handling various
brushes. Their completed mural culminates
with a festive unveiling for the entire
community. Ultimately, kids develop an
intense pride of joint ownership; it’s their
mural. Rudy emphasized the point,
suggesting that the youths take credit as a
group because the project gives them an
empowering new sense of belonging.
In his own formative years, Rudy
encountered two men, a comic book artist
and an art teacher, who took some interest
in his talent, but mostly he was self-taught.
He had neither an advocate nor a mentor.
As a teen, the autobiographical “Hunger of
Memory: The Education of Richard
Rodriguez” influenced him. In it, Rodriguez
writes of living in a house with few rooms,
and the need to find a small corner in which
C O N T R IB U T IN G W R IT E R
H
;
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i
I-
t
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to w rite an d escap e th e chaos of h is life.
Rudy Serna, 41,
teaches kids the
basics o f creating
murals, as well as
nurturing
relationships. His
mural a t Wattles
Boys & Girls Club
stretches 90 by 25
feet and mixes
traditional
indigenous and
spiritual symbols -
such as the four
ancestral spirit
figures o f North,
South, East and
West - with
Earthly images -
such as animals,
butterflies and
buildings.
STREET ROOTS PHOTO
Visual art was Rudy’s escape from a similar
life, providing shelter from the negativity
surrounding him.
Sitting in my living room, Rudy tells
about his childhood in a segregated
Mexican neighborhood in Chicago, the
metro area with the fifth-largest Latino
population in the U.S.
“Growing up there, I feel like I personally
faced a lot of the issues that the families
and populations that I serve are
experiencing,” Rudy said. “And so I feel
like it is the foundation for the work I am
doing now with a lot of predominantly
Latino families that are impoverished, gang
affected, dealing with legal issues. It’s a lot
of the same stuff my family grew up with.”
Emotions are close to the surface when he
talks about the most wounded kids.
Rudy finally got out of his Chicago barrio
by joining the Marines, where he served
from 1992 until 1996. In 1999, when he
arrived in Portland, he felt he’d hit rock
bottom and was seeking stability and faith.
About 10 years ago, he was introduced to
the Lakota community, under the
leadership of John Bravehawk, whom he
calls his adoptive father. This group has
become his spiritual anchor. He helps at
sweat lodge ceremonies and generally
serves as a spiritual servant of the people.
Mentored by elders, this relationship has
strengthened Rudy’s ties to his Mexican
roots, which influence and enrich his work.
His interest in murals began back in
inner-city Chicago, where he did graffiti
cleanup on a large scale with other graffiti
artists,' and gained momentum in Portland
as word of mouth and more projects
established his reputation. He is proud of
his personal accomplishments: medals from
his service in the Marines during the first
Gulf War, a bachelor’s degree in art from
Portland State University and the Skidmore
Prize, which he received in 2008 for his
contribution to nonprofit organizations that
directly benefit Portland. He has two sons -
Mateo in Portland and Andres in Hilo,
Hawaii.
These days, Rudy works with diverse
community partners who identify at-risk
boys and girls and also sponsor his work.
These include the Latino Network, the
Aztec Dancers, the Multnomah County
Department of Community Justice, p:ear,
the Regional Arts and Culture Council, the
Mackenzie River
Gathering
The Revolutions o f the Heart series
Foundation, and
originates from a workshop taught by
Portland Parks
Martha Gies, whose students are profiling
and Recreation.
people in the community who inspire us.
In his bread- '
The title comes from Dorothy Day: “The
and-butter job
w ith th e
greatest challenge of the day is: how to bring
about a revolution o f the heart, a revolution
nonprofit Latino
which has to start with each one o f us.”
Network, Rudy is (Loaves and Fishes: The Inspiring Story o f
a social worker,
the Catholic Worker Movement.)
case manager
and resource
specialist. He
works with legal
and immigration issues, in finding ways to
get the lights back on for his clients, and
with the entire range of poverty-related
hurdles he knows too well. Lately, the
Network took over the fiscal sponsorship of
Rudy’s art projects by co-applying for grant
funds. The new sponsorship has freed him
up to begin mentoring gang-affected teens
of all races, as well as boys housed in
Portland’s Donald E. Long Detention
Center for youths.
“These kids are raw and need intensive
intervention,” he said. “The ones who have
experienced horrible things basically shut
you out and have this non-expression, a
blasé kind of smile that is so telling.”
He recently received news that the
Multnomah County Department of Justice
has given permission for him to set up a
traditional sweat lodge once a month at the
detention center. Biweekly activities such as
mural arts and Aztec dancing will also be
made available to the youths.
“My work is spiritual,” Rudy said, “based
on a foundation of love.”
Rudy knows he will not have an impact
on all kids. He simply wants the chance.
Penelope f. Lichatowich is a Northeast
Portland resident and proud grandm a to
Mateo Serna, R udy’s 7year-old son.