Iron Doodles were conceived in 2003 in my sketch book while I was doodling. I wanted to create a new culture, something indigenous. I doodled several faces without the help of photos, drawings or anyone’s vision. I designed the cartoons to look into the eyes of the viewer to give each iron doodle a real presence.

I used ornamental iron (hot rolled steel) because it is easy to bend into lyrical lines, like the way I use my pencil when I draw. I also chose ornamental iron because of its permanence; that it could resist rain, hail, wind, the challenges of nature and symbolically the challenges of life. I thought about its commercial and decorative value, its Spanish colonial style. As a child I remember my mother buying ornamental iron from Tijuana in the late 60’s. I watched her decorate our home with black iron Spanish shields. They had metal swords crisscrossed over red velvet attached to stylish rustic wood. The thought of those weapons being used on our ancestors long ago never entered our minds. We never connected such decorative weapons to the colonial rule that replaced our ancestor’s government and its long term consequences. We just thought they were cool.