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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (May 9, 2015)
LIFESTYLES :((.(1'0$< B efore listening to artist Annie Margarita tell her story, consider buckling your seatbelt. Margarita’s life has been a rolling adventure, a journey that has blurred the borders of artistic genres and has taken her on some decidedly unartistic side trips. The tale of how the painter and leatherworker landed in Pendleton takes some time to tell, so she settled onto a couch Tuesday in the shop’s “art viewing and wine tasting room,” got comfortable and started at the beginning. “I was born an artist,” she said. “There was no getting around it.” She remembers doing pen and ink drawings as a girl, learning how to shade mountains in the third grade. Her mother-in-law taught her acrylic painting after Margarita married at age 18. She didn’t consider her art an avocation. “Everyone said artists starve,” she recalled. So, she studied anthropology, Japanese and design in college. After divorcing at age 23, wanting a new direction, she joined the Marines as a diesel mechanic. “I tested at 98.5 percent in a mechanical aptitude test,” she said. “It was 400 men and me in mechanics school.” She repaired Hummers DQG¿YHWRQWUXFNVDW&DPS &RXUWQH\LQ2NLQDZD-DSDQ Later, she trained in imagery intelligence and served in a photo reconnaissance unit doing LPDJHU\LQWHUSUHWDWLRQDW&KHUU\ 3RLQW1RUWK&DUROLQD'XULQJKHU Marine years, her artistic abilities simmered on a back burner, but occasionally bubbled up. “People found out I was an artist,” she said. “Everyone wanted t-shirts for their companies. I designed guys’ tattoos. I painted murals.” After two enlistments with the Marines, Margarita said enough was enough. “When I got out in 1993, I decided I was an artist,” she said. She took an unorthodox path. 2YHUWKHQH[WFRXSOHGHFDGHV she repaired and airbrushed huge mechanical dinosaurs at SeaWorld’s Monster Marsh and KHOSHGFUHDWHVFHQHVIRU'LVQH\ World’s Animal Kingdom, the Journey to Atlantis ride at SeaWorld and the Islands of Adventure at Universal Studios. She worked as lead artist at the /LVERQ2FHDQDULXPDTXDULXPLQ Portugal. &UDYLQJKHU¿QHDUWVURRWVVKH GLGDVWLQWDWWKH&DIp7XWX7DQJR DQ2UODQGRUHVWDXUDQWWKDWIHDWXUHV about 50 resident artists who do live painting during dinner. Artists received meals and exposure in lieu of pay. “I painted for food,” she said with a grin. That experience probably helped her in 2005 when she competed in the international Trompe L’oeil competition in Lodi, Italy. Each of the 72 artists would have 25 hours to paint a scene involving water. Margarita painted two raccoons tipping over a jar of water containing a frog. She took fourth place. The artist started her own company in 1999 and did interior design, painted murals and did plaster work at museums, private homes and businesses. Eventually, she bought a DFUHUDQFKLQ&RORUDGRDQG FDXJKWWKHÀ\¿VKLQJEXJ6KH OHDUQHGWRFDVWDQGWLHÀLHVDQG EXLOG¿VKLQJURGV:KHQVKH needed a case for one of her creations, she built one out of leather. That evolved into a line RIURGDQGUHHOFDVHVÀ\ZDOOHWV DQGRWKHUKXQWLQJDQG¿VKLQJ accessories. In 2013, she took a break, selling her sports car, buying a IRRW¿IWKZKHHODQGKHDGLQJ RII³WR¿QGZKDW,ZDQWHGWRGR´ Last November, Margarita arrived in Pendleton to take a class from Utah saddle maker Gordon Andrus at the Pendleton Leather Show. Afterwards, she explored Main Street. “I had breakfast at the Rainbow,” she said. “I met Red DW5HG¶V&ORWKLQJ+HLQWURGXFHG me to (saddle maker) Monte 1C Artist rides life’s waves 'LHVHOPHFKDQLFVÀ\¿VKLQJDQGWKH-RXUQH\WR$WODQWLV By KATHY ANEY • East Oregonian Staff photo by E.J. Harris Artist Annie Margarita paints a salmon on a piece of leather that will be made into a fishing pole case Wednesday at her shop in Pendleton. Staff photo by E.J. Harris Artist Martha Francis places a handbag in a display case while preparing Annie Margarita Maker Gallery for its grand opening last week in Pendleton. Leather artist Annie Mar- garita sews an end piece onto a leather fishing pole case Wednesday at her shop in Pendleton. Staff photo by E.J. Harris “They say if you do what you love, it’s not work. It’s true. Every single day is a gift. I love my life.” — Annie Margarita Beckman.” The two hit it off. Beckman had room in his shop for Margarita, so she stuck around a while, doing leather work. She opened her own shop, the Annie Margarita Maker Gallery, at 141 S. Main Street. “I decided to stay,” she said. “I fell in love with Pendleton. The people in Pendleton are fabulous.” 7KHVHGD\V\RXFDQ¿QG Margarita at her bench, working on leather pieces, her collection of punches, knives, bevel tools and awls within close reach, country, Southern rock, Phantom RIWKH2SHUD±DQ\WKLQJEXW UDS±GULIWLQJIURPWKHVSHDNHUV Her Australian shepherd, Kit, stays close. Her style is her own. 2QHWHFKQLTXHLQYROYHVSDLQWLQJ acrylic paint onto leather. “I don’t do traditional,” she said. “I love traditional, but I’m personally more into having a XQLTXHORRN,¶PWKHRQO\RQHLQ the world who does my style.” The shop is open Thursday through Saturday, or by special DSSRLQWPHQW,QVLGH\RX¶OO¿QG OHDWKHU¿VKLQJDQGKXQWLQJ Staff photo by E.J. Harris More than one hundred leather working tools sit on the work bench at Annie Margarita’s shop in Pendleton. DFFHVVRULHVVXFKDVKROVWHUVULÀH sheathes and game slings) and KDQGEDJV2QWKHZDOOVZLOOKDQJ paintings by Margarita and others. The shop will also feature a line of leather work by Margarita’s roommate, Martha Francis. Francis said Margarita amazes her. “She’s got great energy,” Francis said. “She’s got clear goals. She knows exactly what she wants and attacks it to make it happen.” Saddle maker Monte Beckman expects success from Margarita. “She does nice work,” he said. “I’m really glad she decided to stay around.” Life is sweet these days for Margarita. The artist starts her mornings by strolling on the River Walk with Kit and then heads for the shop. “They say if you do what you love, it’s not work,” she said. “It’s true. Every single day is a gift. I love my life.” For a look at some of Margarita’s work, go to anniemargarita.com or FlyGirlLeather.com. ——— Contact Kathy Aney at kaney@ eastoregonian.com or call 541-966-0810.
