For 13 years, the Chicano Humanities and Arts Council has celebrated hearts, February’s most enduring symbol (not counting crusty frozen snow) with its Milagros del Corazon auction.
Artists and would-be artists from all walks of life decorate a wooden heart that CHAC distributes about a month prior to the auction, which was held last week. The returned, decorated hearts range from stunning sculptures and dioramas to a handful of well-intended creations that best illustrate the axiom about how much better it is to give than to receive.
The event is CHAC’s biggest fundraiser, annually bringing about $10,000 after the hearts (starting at about $10 each) and donated artwork have been auctioned.
Here are a few of the hearts auctioned at last week’s Milagros del Corazon show.
Florian Maldonado’s stylized Frida Kahlo heart
Christy Mundy’s “Hearts on Fire,” with painstakingly beaded flames licking at tiny hearts
Paul Potts’ “Deep Forest Love,” a shiny black silhouette of two birds
Mel Aman’s “Everything,” a heart stenciled “Handle With Care” on one side, and “Fragile” on the other
Susan Oliver’s “House of Love,” a colorful, tiny birdhouse that used the wooden heart for its base
Paul Potts’ “You Send me to the Moon” heart-shaped clock, with a clockwork that sends a tiny rocket around and around in space
Rob Yancy’s “Sacred Heart of Mary,” a multilayered heart redder and glossier than Mae West’s lipstick
Nikki Raschbacher’s “Heart Felt,” a pink felt-covered heart atop a red felt-covered heart, embossed with beads
Thompson William’s painting of a native American man beating a drum
Steve Rozic’s whimsical painting of a cheery girl surrounded by flowers
Filipe Martinez’s thorn-crowned heart embraced by an oval branch
Frank Zamora’s “Corazon de Jesus,” another thorn-pierced heart that suggests the artist’s considerable skills as a santero, a woodcarver who specializes in creating saints
