Art in Unlikely Medium Gives Esteem to Young Mothers

Eighteen-year-old Jeanette Santos cradles her baby daughter. Three-month-old Amanda is wearing a diaper, and her mother has recently turned another one into a work of art.

Santos is one of 27 teenage mothers or mothers-to-be who have been exploring their creativity in a program staffed by students from the Cal State Northridge art department.

The result is an exhibit this week on the campus of work in an unusual medium--cloth diapers dyed with Kool-Aid.

Making art out of diapers was the inspiration of Debbi Joseph, a graduate student in fine arts. Staff of the county’s program for pregnant minors at the New Directions continuation school in Van Nuys had requested an arts project for its pregnant girls and new mothers. And Joseph, whose specialty is textiles, immediately thought of the textile dearest to the heart of new mothers--the diaper.

“Then I thought we should dye them with something that’s also associated with motherhood--Kool-Aid,” Joseph said.

The result, strung across a clothesline in the campus’ North Gallery, is a series of banner-like works. Abstract and floral patterns predominate. The young women created a quilt from some of their fanciful diapers as well, which also features their needlework.

Besides decorating each diaper with Kool-Aid, tea and the vegetable dyes usually used to color Easter eggs, the young women pinned tags to each of their artworks expressing their hopes for themselves and their babies.

Joseph said: “You’ve got to stick these hopes and dreams on something: We chose diapers.”

Most of the young mothers are Latinas, and Joseph felt the little tags safety-pinned to the colorful diapers echoed the Latino tradition of milagros, or “miracles.” These are objects put on altars that represent the prayers and wishes of the individual.

Kimberly Bedoya, 16, who lives in Van Nuys, is the mother of Nelly, 8 months old. Kimberly has pinned a dozen wishes on her diaper artwork, including “Education--for both of us” and “Marriage--for me.”

Kimberly enjoyed the project, but said her preferred medium is photography. Needless to say, Nelly is Kimberly’s favorite subject. And, as to diapers, for more mundane purposes, Kimberly prefers disposable to cloth.

Several of the teenage mothers noted that having children of their own has made them newly aware of the importance of education.

Deborah Hernandez, 16, who lives in North Hills, said she wants to be a role model for her 2-month-old son, Jose Antonio Tarango.

“I have to go to school every day,” she said. “I have to think about his future.”

“Hope” was one of the wishes Deborah pinned to her artwork.

Jill Myers is the girls’ teacher at the New Directions facility.

She said one of the results of the project was a boost in their self-esteem.

“Instead of having an I-can’t attitude, they have an I-can attitude,” she said. “This has been a tremendous gift.”

As part of the program, the young women visited the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.

“None of them had been to an art museum before,” said Barbara Freeman, a graduate student in ceramics and a teacher in the program. “It was very exciting to take them to a museum and watch their eyes, experiencing this craziness at MOCA.”

The young women were also introduced to the work of such outstanding Latina artists as painter Frida Kahlo, photographer Lola Alvarez Bravo and sculptor Marina Nunez del Prado.

The 16-week program, now coming to an end, was funded by the Los Angeles County Arts Commission and the Valley Cultural Center.

The teachers said the program allowed the young women to discover their own creativity and gave them an opportunity to work collaboratively.

Suzanne Hackett, executive director of the Valley Cultural Center, pointed out that the program had cost just $2,500.

“You can do a lot with a little,” Hackett said. “Twenty-seven lives--they’ll never forget it.”

“Neither will we,” teacher Freeman added.