ON THE COVER : Boquillas by TOM CURRY
Tom grew up in Coleman , Texas , a small town near Abilene . After graduating from North Texas University in 1969 , he was drafted into the army and stationed in Stuttgart , Germany . As a soldier he travelled extensively in Europe before returning home to Texas . In 1975 he moved to Austin , where his career as an illustrator began . In 1993 , he moved to Alpine , Texas to concentrate on personal paintings , sculptures and murals . He also produced editorial cartoons for the Big Bend Gazette , The Week , CNN and Politico .
Creation , an international graphic art magazine , has described Tom ’ s work as “ conceptual , with a humorous twist that often voices social concerns .” The paintings are acrylic on canvas or hardboard . Many are in private collections and shown in galleries and museums including the prestigious Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge , MA and the Society of Illustrators Museum in New York .
Since 1975 , Tom has accumulated awards as an illustrator from American Illustration , Communication Arts , The New York Art Director ’ s Club , Graphis , The Society of Illustrators , and Print . He has created works for clients such as Time , Newsweek , Mother Jones , Rolling Stone , Esquire , Atlantic Monthly , New York Times , Washington Post , Texas Monthly and the New York City Opera .
Communication Arts ( US ), Creation ( Japan ), Graphika ( Brazil ), The Artist ( US ) and numerous newspapers have written articles on his work . He is included in several historical books on illustration ; most recently , 50 Years of Illustration , published in 2014 by Laurence King Publishing , London , England . Tom has illustrated six books for children , Snail and Buffalo , The Bootmaker and the Elves , Comes a Wind , A Fine St . Patrick ’ s Day , Galileo ’ s Universe and Buckamoo Girls , selected by Time Magazine as one of the 10 best children ’ s books for 2008 .
As of November 17 , 2021 , the crossing at Boquillas is finally open in Big Bend National Park . Visitors with a passport may visit the village and enjoy its famous hospitality . Please be mindful of the lack of medical care available to the village and observe best practices and social distancing when visiting Boquillas .
Cenizo Notes by Danielle Gallo , Editor
Some might think that I leave my Christmas tree up well past the New Year because I ’ m lazy . In actuality , it ’ s because I cling to its ancient symbolism to get me through the worst part of the winter .
I grew up in a land of snow and ice , dirty slushy roads and the occasional May blizzard . Somehow , Big Bend winters are harder for me : brown and desultory , wind-swept , the sunsets all lemon-yellow . The dry air coupled with my sweaters make me feel like a college volunteer in a sociology experiment — everything I touch shocks me , until I ’ m jumpy and cringe at the sight of my car door . My hair floats around my head in an irritating halo .
Many cultures , including ancient Romans , Egyptians and Celts , brought evergreen plants into their homes around the winter solstice . The shortest day and longest night of the year , as the northern hemisphere strains away from the sun at the furthermost tilt of its axis , is a moment rife with symbolism and religious imagery that spans many cultures and thousands of years .
I wonder how the ritual of bringing evergreens into the home at this moment was viewed . Was it a festivity , for those knowledgeable and faithful enough to understand that this is as bad as it gets ? A celebration of the return of spring ? Or was it more a talisman to ward off a perpetual winter , a spell without which the sun might choose not to return ? Were those sprigs and saplings dragged inside out of faith in the order of things , or out of fear of the whims of the gods ?
We plant our Christmas trees in the yard before the weather gets too warm . But I leave them up as long as I can , as a reminder that February can ’ t possibly last forever . Underground , new seeds are quietly readying themselves to burst forth into the warm sun , blanketing the desert in green .
WINTER EDITION • JANUARY-MARCH 2022
CENIZO JOURNAL STAFF
PUBLISHER Riley Stephens publisher @ cenizojournal . com
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Danielle Gallo editor @ cenizojournal . com
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Shawna Graves shawna @ cenizojournal . com
SUBSCRIPTIONS Print subscriptions will be mailed for $ 29 annually .
Send payment via check or credit card to Cenizo Journal , PO Box 1824 , Alpine , Texas 79831 or call 432-614-4074 ext 801 . Subscribe online at CenizoJournal . com .
SUBMISSION
DESIGN / PRODUCTION Ceci Marquez
We ’ d like to feature your work in the Cenizo Journal . Contact Danielle Gallo at editor @ cenizojournal . com for submission information or mail to PO Box 227 , Marathon , Texas 79842 .
Cenizo Journal is published four times per year . © 2022 Cenizo Journal . Copyright of all art and images contained within are retained by the image owner and are used with permission .
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