Patricia Rodriguez

Patricia Rodriguez (born 1944) is a prominent Chicana artist and educator. Rodriguez grew up in Marfa, Texas and moved to San Francisco to later pursue an art degree at Merritt College and this is where she learned about the Mexican American Liberation Art Front (MALA-F) and the Chicano Movement. In 1970, Patricia received a scholarship to the San Francisco Art Institute and this is where she met Graciela Carrillo. Together, they created and founded the Mujeres Muralistas, the first Chicana women's mural collective in San Francisco.

Early life Patricia Rodriguez was born in Marfa, Texas in 1944. She was born to a Chicana single parent and was raised by her grandmother while her mother worked. Her grandmother played a major role in the development of a feminine identification. Rodriguez grew her creative identity by attending jamaycas (festive days) which provided an acceptable method of feminine creativity. Later, Patricia and her family moved to California and this helped Patricia learn a new sense about cultural boundaries. Back in Texas, Patricia wouldn't hang out with Anglos unless they were poor or were from the same neighborhood, but in California, there wasn't a division and they hung out together. She found art school to be isolating and chaotic and it wasn't what she expected. Patricia was happy and excited to be accepted to such a prestigious art school but she didn't want to be a minimalist painter at the time like everyone else. She wanted to paint with a lot of color. They added more members to their group: Consuelo Mendez, a Venezuelan born artist in the printmaking program and Irene Pérez, a Chicana graphic artist.

Las Mujeres Muralistas

The Bay Area was an important epicenter for student movement groups in the early 70s but for the Mujeres Muralistas, it was a frustrating time. They were the only Latinas at the Art Institute and they lacked support and role models. Las Mujeres Muralistas began to talk about art and the roles it played in each other's lives. The women were aware of the muralist movements beginning in San Francisco but were never invited to participate in projects because of the male exclusivity.

Latinoamerica, created and completed in 1974, is the first mural created for the public by the Mujeres Muralistas and it is considered their most popular. The mural is located in San Francisco on Mission and 25th street. Latinoamerica was Rodriguez's way to introduce the Mujeres Muralistas to the community as muralists. Rodriguez taught at various universities and colleges in the Bay Area. In the 1980s, Patricia created a large body of art box constructions for exhibitions that traveled all over the U.S. and abroad. In 1990, Rodriguez was invited to teach at the Institute for American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico as a printmaker. After teaching for a year, she fell in love with New Mexico and stayed for six years. She taught at UNM-Los Alamos part-time and had a full-time job as a student advisor. Patricia also taught at the Espanola Community college in New Mexico where she painted murals with the youth. In 1997, Rodriguez moved back to California to teach at California State University Monterey Bay and in 1998, she started classes at San Francisco State University for her Master of Fine Arts (MFA) credits. From 2001-2009, Rodriguez began to work as a gallery coordinator as the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts in San Francisco. She helped artists from abroad exhibit their works in the gallery where she was a curator. Patricia is currently part-time retired but still continues to work with youth in a screen printing teaching position and Laney College in Oakland, California. She also enjoys writing articles about the art experiences she has had in her life.