Laura Molina

Infobox Comics creator


imagesize = 150px
caption =
birthname = Laura Molina
birthdate = birth date and age|1957|12|15
location =Los Angeles
deathdate =
deathplace =
nationality = American
area = Painter
Writer
Penciller
Inker
alias = "The Angriest Woman In The World",
"La Diabla"
notable works = "Naked Dave"
"Cihualyaomiquiz, The Jaguar"
awards =

Laura Molina (born December 15, 1957) is an American artist, musician, and actress from Los Angeles, California. [ [http://amapedia.amazon.com/view/Laura+Molina/id=73762 amapedia: Laura Molina ] ] Laura is perhaps best known for her Naked Dave paintings and being the lead singer/guitarist of the 1980s rock band Tiger Lily. She is also the creator of "Cihualyaomiquiz, The Jaguar", a self-published comic book printed under Molina's own Insurgent Comix imprint. [ [http://amapedia.amazon.com/view/Laura+Molina/id=73762 amapedia: Laura Molina] ] [ [http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/j/jaguarpacas.htm Cihualyaomiquiz, The Jaguar] ]

Biography

Early life

Laura Molina was born in East Los Angeles, California in 1957 and grew up in the suburbs of Los Angeles near Pasadena. Her father is a Tejano. A descendent of San Antonio's Hispanic settlers, "Los Bexareńos". Ranchers and Vaqueros who were made legal United States citizens under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848.

Shortly after completing her secondary education at Arroyo High School in El Monte, California in January, 1976, Laura studied acting and stagecraft with mentors C. Bernard Jackson and George C. Wolfe in a theatrical training program at the Inner-City Cultural Center in Los Angeles. From 1979 to 1981 she studied art and film making in the Character Animation program at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California with 2 annual Disney scholarships and other educational grants. During the 1980s she supporting herself by painting billboards in the traditional technique, oil paint and occasionally working as an animation Inbetweener. Laura furthered her art education by attending non-degree painting courses at the Art Center College of Design in 1994 and continued to study life-drawing with her former "Album Art" co-worker Karl Gnass at the American Animation Institute in North Hollywood in 1995. In the 1990s, she spent 2 years as an Imagineer for The Walt Disney Company. She worked prolifically as a scenic artist and animatronic figure-finisher in motion pictures, television and theme parks until 2005.

Art career

Molina's distinct style is very much influenced by art associated with the Chicano Movement of the 1960s, Mexican culture, especially Frida Kahlo, 20th century Mexican Calendar artist, Jesus Helguera [ [http://www.paintingsplus.com/IBS/SimpleCat/Shelf/ASP/Hierarchy/0105.html Jesus Helguera] ] and the British Pre-Raphaelites. Her projects have included the Naked Dave series of paintings and a self-published comic book, "Cihualyaomiquiz, The Jaguar". [ [http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Studio/1190/lineup.html PACAS Cartoonist Directory] ] She was an Artist-in-Residence at Self Help Graphics & Art from 1993 through 1995 and participated in the Screen Print Atelier in 2003 & 2006.

Exhibitions that included Laura Molina's work:

*"Amigo Racism: Mickey Mouse Meets the Taco Bell Chihuahua", Galeria de la Raza, San Francisco, 2000
*"Chicano Art for Our Millennium", Mesa Southwest Museum, Arizona, 2004
*"Latino Artists of Los Angeles- Defining Self and Inspiration" [ [http://millardsheetsgallery.org/fp/foundations/MillardSheets/exhibition2005sm.asp The Millard Sheets Center for the Arts ] ] , Millard Sheets Gallery, Los Angeles, 2005
Collections that include Laura Molina's work:
* Hispanic Research Center, Arizona State University
* Los Angeles County Museum of Art
* Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego
* California Ethnic and Multicultural Archives, University of California, Santa Barbara [http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:HOfxL_oJo88J:cemaweb.library.ucsb.edu/shg_app_supplement.html+jaguar,+%22Laura+MOlina%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us]

Music career

In the early 1980s, Molina founded the New Wave band Tiger Lily, named after a burlesque dancer of the same name once portrayed by Lucille Ball. [ [http://www.nakeddave.com/TigerLily.html Tiger Lily, 1980's All Girl Band ] ] [ [http://imdb.com/title/tt0032376/ Dance, Girl, Dance (1940) ] ] It was an all-female group consisting of five members and played steadily throughout Los Angeles, eventually being signed on by Rhino Records for an all-girl band compilation entitled "The Girls Can't Help It". Unfortunately, the group disbanded following their final live-performance in July 1984. Molina would later record with Bob Casale of Devo [ [http://www.devo-obsesso.com/html/7in-pgs/related/7-lauramolina.html ::7inch - Laura Molina:: ] ] .

Naked Dave

Naked Dave is a series of paintings inspired by her relationship with illustrator and Rocketeer creator, Dave Stevens. [ [http://fishflavoredbaseballbat.blogspot.com/2006/10/caw-concluded-dave-stevens.html Fish-Flavored Baseball Bat: CAW Concluded: Dave Stevens ] ] A five month long sexual relationship between the artists ended in early December, 1978 after she miscarried their child at 11 weeks. [ [http://www.deuceofclubs.com/write/molina.htm Laura Molina: Not Just The World's Angriest Woman ] ] . Molina started the series in 1993 after an attempted reconciliation initiated by Stevens, failed to settle things between them. [ [http://www.nakeddave.com/Letter.html A letter from Dave Stevens, 1992 ] ]

ee also

*Professional Amigos of Comic Art Society

References

Further reading

* Gary D. Keller (2002) : "Contemporary Chicano and Chicano Art", Volume II, Bilingual Press/Review ISBN 1931010110 ;

External links

* [http://www.lauramolina.com Official site]
* [http://www.myspace.com/lauramolina Official MySpace]
* [http://www.nakeddave.com Naked Dave.com]
* [http://imdb.com/name/nm0596728/ Laura Molina at IMDB.com]