The creative process

"As an artist to work at a school it does not do you any good, but when you're in a studio or shop that's where the learning happens. That's where I learned, because that's where I saw how things were supposed to be done."

She looks for her bag and with great enthusiasm she shows it to me, "I say wow... I knew I was able to do this." and she said,"I made them and sold them at stores."

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While we continued to enjoy our Mexican bakery and coffee, she also begins to speak about her artistic influences.

Who do you admire? "Modern artist because I can visually identify with their work a lot better, and find their work beautiful, which one of them would be Gustav Klimt the painter but whose most recognized work of arts were mostly integrated with fashion designs and different decorations in his painting, and the other one being French printmaker Toulouse Lautrec late 1800's. He painted posters for the Moulin Rouge, his graphic works, a pioneer in lithography. Also Munch's The Scream, the image on the cover of Youth in Ecstasy, Cuauhtémoc Sánchez novella."

The artist also explained that Merkin Dream "Does my hard drive turn you on? "Is the music that inspired "Scrap Book" of Lola Krauss, whose work is also difficult to classify, "but maybe can be described like pleasant and complex just like a dream."

"Throughout history art has also been commercialized and sometimes used as a marketing tool that guides an opinion or certain thoughts. Now in days when you pass by Tijuana's cathedral you will usually see a neon cross, and the priest will never really ask you to bring an altar piece of biblical scenes, but just out the doors you will always see vendors selling "off- set images". This is the type of environment an artist used to work in the old days, where paintings were mostly of religious figures, kings and aristocrats. Now it's a whole different type environment, where a lot of new digital graphic technology is involved in the arts and has redefined it. You get into a website and say, this is damn good."

Where is Lola Krauss headed to?

"So far all I know is that I will continue to do the things I enjoy, and looking for other spaces that I can use as galleries to exhibit my work that hopefully will bring me some financial retribution. I want to travel and have not done so because of school and other reasons, but I have thought of going to Asia, South America or Europe.I want to learn new things and see different cultures." She says all of this with a smile.

An hour later now the interview is over, and with a thank you and a good luck hand shake. Lola loses herself in the crowd towards the parking lot of Plaza Rio and gives one last smile.

Do not forget to look for and learn about Lola Krauss, before what usually tends to happen, that the next time you see or hear about her it will only be through magazines, television or the internet.

The interview was originally done in Spanish, was translated and edited for concision and clarity.

Eduardo.Flores@sandiegored.com