MEDIA
We're in the media!
Enjoy our eclectic mix of articles and interviews about our craft and events we've hosted over the years.
Enjoy our eclectic mix of articles and interviews about our craft and events we've hosted over the years.
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A Mexican Folk Art Fantasy
A pair of collectors are drawn to vibrant and vintage folk art from south of the border. 
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October 10, 2019, by Rebecca L. Rhoades
It all started with a candlestick. Kevin Pawlak and James Goodreau had always admired Mexican artwork—like many Arizonans, they owned a few Day of the Dead pieces. Then one day in the mid-aughts, Goodreau, who worked at a consignment shop, brought home a ceramic candle holder made by Héron Martinez... Kevin Pawlak (in purple) and James Goodreau pose with their dogs, Arturo (left) and Jack. Photo: Tom Spitz, PHX H&G
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Heron Martinez Website
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Kevin Pawlak came upon Martínez’s work quite by accident in Phoenix, AZ, because of a candelabra found in a consignment shop. At once, he became enamored by the dichotomy exhibited -- a brightly colored clay piece with a child-like imagination on one hand, yet also a well thought out balance and execution on the other...
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Border Lore
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December 17, 2012
A yellow china hutch baroquely adorned with hand-carved faces on the doors sealed the fate of James Goodreau and Kevin Pawlak as passionate collectors and curators of vintage Mexican folk arts. Scouting estate sales in search of ideas to decorate their newly merged households, James ran into the oddly beautiful piece of furniture at a Phoenix-area home about ten years ago... |
Sonoran Arts Network
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Galería Senita, Tucson, AZ
by C.J. Shane “Galería Senita is our way of giving back to the community,” says Kevin Pawlak. He and James Goodreau, co-owners of the Southwest’s premier vintage Mexican arts and crafts shop, Arte de la Vida, are opening a new art gallery this month, Galería Senita... |
AZ Daily Star
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May 17, 2018, by Gerald M. Gay
The owners of Arte de la Vida and Galería Senita are seeking local artists to help create a Tucson-themed deck of Lotería cards, the colorful game of chance from Mexico similar to bingo in the U.S. The themes will represent the “places, plants, people, food and history of Tucson”... Photo, left: Some of the 2016 Loteria cards on exhibition at Galería Senita, 41 N. Tucson Blvd. (Courtesy Kevin Pawlak) |
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Sep 24, 2016, by Kathleen Allen
Daniel Martin Diaz wanted the devil. Robin Westenhiser couldn’t believe her luck when she picked the watermelon. And Ron Kovatch just wanted something out of his comfort zone. The Tucson artists are among 40 who have contributed pieces to the Galería Senita’s upcoming Lotería! de Tucson exhibit... Liz Vaughn, left, paints her interpretation of a Bandolon, a stringed instrument, at her home studio in Tucson, for a local gallery having an exhibit with artists' interpretations of the Loteria cards. (Photo: Ron Medvescek/AZ Daily Star) |
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Jul 20, 2014, by Kristen Cook
Arte de la Vida is a bit off the beaten path. The colorful store that specializes in vintage Mexican folk art looks like something that belongs on the border, not off of Broadway in a mixed business complex made up of a hairdresser, law office and appointment-only vintage clothing boutique... James Goodreau, left, and Kevin Pawlak a mixed-media cross that was made by Goodreau. (Photo: Mamta Popat/AZ Daily Star) |
Antique Register
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June 25, 2014, by Kevin M. Pawlak and James Goodreau
Since the late 1920-30s and the arrival of the great highway that linked the Americas, Mexico tourism has grown by leaps and bounds. Border towns prospered with Americans looking for an easy ‘foreign’ experience and shopping in a much more affordable marketplace as the economy in the States was struggling... |
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August 26, 2014 by The Antique Register
Shown on our cover is a beautiful vintage Arbol de la Vida (Tree of Life) from Izucar de Matamoros, Puebla, Mexico, done by the late master Francisco Flores. This colorful art photography was provided by Arte de la Vida in Tucson... |
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October 24, 2013 by C.J. Shane
Tucson shop dedicated to the best in vintage and antique Mexican folk art, is becoming a key destination for local, national and international collectors. Just about anything that falls under the category of Mexican folk art can be found here... |
