Today’s Artists of San Miguel: Ancient stories hidden in cloth [] Lena Bartula

Published June 23, 2022

By Natalie Taylor

In her studio, surrounded by her version of the huipil, Lena Bartula tells me she was born in Ft Worth, Texas, and brought up as a good Catholic girl. Even as a little girl she always “made art”—copying from magazines or creating paper dolls. She married young, became a mother, and never went to college.

In 1974 she moved to Oklahoma City, which had a thriving art community and began searching for art instruction in any form. In workshops, classes, and with private instructors she studied portraiture, oils, water colors, and any art technique or medium she could find. Through these courses, and immersion in the arts, she began forming her own ideas of what she wanted to do. She began painting, becoming a “copy master,” and showing them in craft shows. To her great satisfaction, her works sold!

In 1981 she realized that her marriage was done, and she “needed a divorce.” Then came the next challenge; making enough money to raise three children on her own. But it wasn’t just making money, it was a matter of finding a job in the arts that would bring sufficient income. Through a connection, she was able to get an interview at the Oklahoma Museum of Art, and was hired as director.

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San Miguel de Allende’s only weekly bilingual newspaper Atención San Miguel was founded in in 1976, as a social enterprise of La Biblioteca de San Miguel de Allende. Atencion San Miguel and the what-to-do guide, Que Pasa give the widest coverage of news, cultural events and community activities in the vibrant World Heritage listed city of San Miguel de Allende. Published by volunteers of La Biblioteca over the years it has become the largest enterprise of the non-profit organization La Biblioteca de San Miguel de Allende. The newspaper contributes funds for La Biblioteca programs in education and cultural development for the children of San Miguel de Allende. Its mission is to educate, entertain, inform and influence.