By Brian Argabright
There are some who believe that true art comes from either pain or joy. Local artist Adriana Ibarra channels both into her works.
Ibarra, the soul behind Thistle & Ink, is a 2010 graduate of Del Rio High School. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Angelo State University and it was while she was in college that her passion for art grew. She minored in art, focusing on print making, and learned the intricacies of screen printing and lithography.
But her education was enhanced with a simple gesture from a family member.
“It all started with a Christmas gift from my brother. He gave me several sketchbooks and paint and for the first time I felt like I was able to do something without constraint. While I was in school it always felt like they wanted us to make (art) look like it was something. That didn’t appeal to me.”
Ibarra said she was inspired by artists like Jean-Michel Basquait in that her art doesn’t resemble traditional pieces. Instead, the squiggly lines and exaggerated features are her vision of what is “beautiful” in a world where beauty is often dictated by others.
Ibarra explained more of her style in her biography. “Their charming faces and gapped teeth reminded me that I could be free in my expressions and make something beautiful. I didn’t need to achieve the perfection of straight lines and model features,” Ibarra wrote. “Facial features we deem as quirky or less than desirable could serve a more meaningful purpose; to bring joy in their imperfection.”
“My drawings have bags under their eyes and exaggerated lips along with squiggly lines in their construction but for me that makes them whimsical and relatable,” Ibarra added.
Her art was largely inspired and influenced by a turbulent 2020. Personal loss combined with the uncertainty of the times wore on the young artist, but it was her art that helped her express what she was feeling and what many others around her were feeling.
“I lovingly call my art ‘trash art.’ It’s a hot mess, but in a good way,” Ibarra said with a smile. “Why try to make pretty things when that’s not how we’re really feeling. I understand that my art may not be everybody’s taste. The faces have a wonky eye or buckteeth, and I’m okay with that. The year 2020 hasn’t been pretty for me. For a while, I really felt why should I make pretty things when life’s not pretty.”
However, Ibarra said things have gotten considerably better, and her art has been key to that.
Each of her pieces is unique. She said it takes six to 10 hours to complete just one, and each one is healing to her in its own way. She also focuses on keeping the pieces small, about 9 inches by 12 inches, so can be accessible and easily enjoyed by the people she gifts them to or the people who buy her pieces.
“Initially I didn’t create art to sell. I was trying to create permanence in the wake of loss of those dear to me,” Ibarra said.
Earlier this month Ibarra set up at Mesquite Creek Outfitters as part of a pop-up shop. As she chatted with customers and interested parties, her husband Caleb sat nearby ready to lend a hand where needed.
Ibarra said she’s still experimenting with her art and hopes to unveil new creations soon, but for now, she said she likes what she’s doing and the enjoyment others find in her work.
“At first even I didn’t get it. I always thought art was made to look pretty, that it had to be constantly pretty to be ‘artful.’ Now I’ve learned that art, no matter how it looks, is still beautiful. It’s still art. Just because it doesn’t look like what we see it as doesn’t make it any less beautiful,” Ibarra said.
