Kathy Cano-Murillo: Crafty Gal Extraordinaire

by Jan

Kathy Cano-Murillo is living the craftygal dream. Not only does she run a fabulously funky Chicano folk art business with her husband, she writes a crafting column for the Arizona Republic (where she also covers the entertainment beat). Writing and crafting for a living–what could be better? Just as you'd expect, a conversation with Kathy is full of juicy tidbits; from tips for marketing your craftwork to tales of celebrity interviews gone awry.

Kathy and her husband Patrick have been creating and painting their colorful original artwork for twelve years, and it's available for purchase in shops and galleries across the country, as well as from their Los Mestizos website.

Kathy is also brimming with "Kitschy Kraft" ideas. Her online instructions include everything from CD disco balls to painted floor cloths and "phunky photo soaps". She shares these ideas with her Arizona fans in her newspaper column and on local television, and she was kind enough to show craftygal readers how to make placemat purses in this month's Table.

And Kathy's celebrity interviews simply cannot be beat. How cool is it to have a chance to talk Kate Pierson of the B52s and Tammy Faye Bakker-Messner, two ladies known for their crafty appearances, as well as slew of other famous folks. She recently interviewed Richard Simmons and the accompanying audio clip is not to be missed. So curl up and enjoy our visit with this month's guest on the craftygal porch.

cg: How did you first become interested in crafting and get started with your work?

KCM: At the time, [my husband] Patrick and I were friends. He had a reggae band and I was his manager. While he was singing on stage, I was dancing with the crowd. Now that I look back, I think he must have had a crush on me then because he suggested that I make things to sell at a booth by the stage instead of dancing the night away. I started with watercolor paper earrings and it grew from there!

cg:You mention on your site that you were looking for a way to pay the bills when you started Los Mestizos. What was it that made you believe you could make a go of it with crafts?

KCM: At the time, we were newly married, and both of us were artists who cringed at the thought of leaving each other each day to go to a 9 to 5. We thought, "We just got married because we love each other and now we have to leave each other every day?" So we wanted to stay true to our relationship and we decided to put all our efforts into building a form of income that we could work on together. We've made some sacrifices, I'm sure we both could have landed cushy high paying jobs but we didn't want to develop separate lives.

cg: What inspires your designs for Los Mestizos?

KCM: My inspirations come from the colorful aspects of my Mexican-American roots. Until I was 22 or so I had never even tasted Mexican food. My parents never really pressed our culture on us as kids, thinking we would have an easier life if we didn't have any type of accents or slang words mixed into our life style or vocabulary. But when I met my husband, he introduced me to what I had missed out on. From that point on, all I wanted to do was learn more and more about what I missed out on. So my art is the result of what I found, with my own little twist to it.

craftygal: What motivates you creatively?

Kathy Murillo: The main thing that motivates me is time. I love it when I have blocks of empty time when I know I can just sit down and work on a new idea or project for as long as I want. Usually that time comes only late at night when everyone is in bed. All I can say is thank God for digital cable--all those channels keep me entertained while I'm working on things.

cg: What's the best advice you've ever been given regarding your creative endeavors?

KCM: It's funny, because most people who we look up too are a bit surprised we've come this far. I guess I always go back to my dad and mom who told me that anything is possible to do, as long as you find and use all the right resources!

cg: What challenges have you faced in your work?

KCM: Challenges have been when some people ask us to do stereotypical Southwestern designs on their orders like howling coyotes or the sleeping Mexican man with the big sombrero. Or the worst is pastel colors. We do our best to accommodate all requests but sometimes we have to decline. It sounds so corny, but each piece is made out of excitement and love for the art. I would feel like a sell out if I did a pastel cactus just for a buck!

cg: What would you say is your key to success?

KCM: I think it is staying on top of the marketing. Every month I work hard on sending our press releases to magazines or product samples to new retail stores to get more orders. I donate pieces to community events like silent auctions, etc. to get our name out and to expose our work to new audiences. I call local TV stations and offer to go on the air to show their audiences how to do a craft. All that work really pays off in the long run. You can make beautiful things but if no on sees them, it's a crime!

cg: In our interviews, we often find that people get their start by looking at someone else's work and thinking 'I could do that.' How do you feel about using other people's work for inspiration?

KCM: I do that a lot, but how I do it is take a small portion of an idea, then develop it thru another angle of my own. I've seen people who attempt to duplicate my EXACT style her in Arizona, then try to sell them, but it doesn't work. You have to gather inspirations from anything and everything and add your own touch to it to make it your own. There are so many different variations of the same concept of craft ideas, I think there is enough imagination to go around!

cg: What craft don't you do that you would like to?

KCM: I've never been into scrapbooking, that Friendly Plastic stuff or needlepoint, but maybe sometime I'll dabble in it!

cg: Does music play any role in your creative process?

KCM: Well, [my husband] does artwork that fits with the theme of his reggae band [The Rastafarmers]. I help by designing his website. That's a whole other creative process.

cg: You've mentioned that your husband's in a band. Do you play or sing yourself? How do you like being a "band wife"?

KCM: I wish I could sing, but that's one trait that didn't come with my package... However maybe I could have been a singer. I used to love to sing, but one year in 7th grade I was the only one in my whole class that didn't get picked for the choir. For the audition my teacher made me sing an Olivia Newton John song that was so out of my range. I felt so cheated and I became inhibited forever when it comes to singing. I loved the movie "Almost Famous"! I'm not a band wife; I'm a band-aid! I don't think the guys in the group consider me a band wife, they always invite me to hang out with them, and they never do that with the other wives!!

cg: How did you land your cool newspaper gig with the Arizona Republic?

KCM: At the time we had 300 stores that we were supplying art to and Patrick's band was playing 4 nights a week. We had just had our second baby and I was going nuts being in the house. Everything was either baby or orders, baby or orders. I told Patrick that I needed a part time job; I needed to be around people! I began as a newspaper shredder, and I applied for a clerk job in features. I thought no way would they hire me, but what the heck (refer to my mom and dad's philosophy)? I went in for my interview and the editor had one of my flowerpots on her desk! I impressed [the editor] with my knowledge of entertainment ([thanks to] all the cable I watch around the clock while painting) and she hired me as a file clerk. When they launched The Rep [an entertainment supplement], I was the first one they hired on full time. So my part time job turned into full time!

cg: What was your favorite celebrity interview?

KCM: Dennis Quaid. I had car trouble the time of our interview and he was so nice about it. I even talked to Meg Ryan on the phone (now I'm mad at herthough!). Joan Rivers was fun too. Kevin Spacey was kinda short with me, John Cusack was cool, and so was Jimmy Smits. I recently interview Mickey Rooney and he was very grouchy!

cg: What was your worst experience with a celebrity interview?

KCM: The Mickey Rooney one. He was supposed to talk about his work in "Lady and the Tramp 2," but all he wanted to talk about was his wife Jan (she was a sweetie!), when the public relations lady informed him that he needed to talk about only the movie, he became angry with me. We couldn't even run the story!

cg: What's your favorite children's book?

KCM: Los Tres Cerdos (The Three Pigs) by Bobbi Salinas. It's hilarious, it a Mexican pop culture version of the classic tale. The pigs' names are Nacho, Tito and Miguel and they are into Frida Kahlo and Elvis and Zarapes.

cg: Sugar or salt?

KCM: Both!!!

cg: Country and Western or Hip Hop?

KCM: More like latin acid jazz!!!

cg: Which Simpsons character would you rather be stuck in an elevator with: Patty and Selma (they count as one choice), Mayor Quimby, or the Comic Book Store Guy?

KCM: Patty and Selma because I'm a big hair woman too and I'd love to know their secrets!!

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