Listen to the Desert/Oye Al Desierto

Francisco Xavier Mora Paz was born in Mexico City in the year 1952.It seems that he was born drawing. Since as long as he can remember, a pencil or a crayon has been in hand. In 1964, this passion took him to join the Escuela de Pintura al Aire Libre (The Open Air School of Painting), where he spent every Sunday for the next two years drawing from props, models and nature. The year 1968 marked my entrance into El Taller Libre de la Academia Nacional de Bellas Artes (The Open Studio at the National Academy of Fine Arts) San Carlos, where he started his formal education in a traditional and academic fashion. He then met some of the artists that later would influence his life and my work. During his formative years, he was honored with the teachings, guidance and friendship of some of the most influential artists of Mexico: Arturo Estrada, Alfredo Zalce, Francisco Zuniga, Ricardo Martinez de Hoyos, Arturo Garcia Bustos, Rina Lazo, Tomas Zurian, Arnold Belkin, Feliciano Bejar and many others. For this I am very grateful.With 1979 came the opportunity to visit Italy and, joining friends Fernando Barragan and Giovanni Miceli in their Florence studio, he gained first hand experience in their techniques in bronze casting sculpture, dry point and aquatint printmaking, and magnificent Eggplant Parmigiana.In 1980 he came to the United States and, while visiting Milwaukee, he met Robert Burkert, an artist and instructor at UWM (University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee). He invited me to visit UWM's Printmaking Department. From this visit he decided to enroll in one of his introductory classes, a decision which resulted in more prints, more etchings, more stone lithographs, and a greater knowledge and appreciation of the printmaking process.The year 1984 saw his return to Milwaukee, where he currently lives and works. He now divides his life between the U.S. and visits to his homeland, Mexico.Mora, Pat is the author of 'Listen to the Desert/Oye Al Desierto' with ISBN 9780618111442 and ISBN 0618111441.