< Previous40 COASTMONTHLY.COM | JuNe 2023 CURRENTS | ART ARTIST IN BLOOM Islander finds time and creative inspiration in retirement story by BARBARA CANETTI photos by STUART VILLANUEVA H elen Saldivar is compulsive- ly creative. She’ll paint or draw on any flat and blank surface in her island home. She’ll transform any collec- tion of shells or rocks. And what about all those Mardi Gras beads? She’s got a use for them, too. Saldivar, who has lived in Galveston for four years, is a native Texan from Pasadena but lived most of her adult life in La Porte. Before she retired from NASA as an Excel developer, she had tinkered with arts and crafts projects periodically. But 13 years ago, when she left her job to take care of her granddaughter, she had more time to be creative. “I’ve always been into crafts since I was little and made loom potholders,” Saldivar said. “I was the youngest of four kids and had to entertain myself. I became an entrepreneur when I was just a kid, selling candles and epoxy paper weights. And I learned from my grandmother how to crochet when I was 13.” In her retirement, she has focused her creativity on recycling and repurposing items. One of her favorite art forms is using oyster shells she picks up along the Texas City Dike. She cleans the shells, assembles and glues them to form what looks like a large mag- nolia blossom, coats it with several layers of paint and matte finishes and details it with gold. These oyster shell magnolias are either for the tabletop or adhered to a piece of driftwood and hung on the wall. (Right) Galveston artist Helen Saldivar expresses her creativity in multiple art forms, from painting murals to crafting magnolia flowers out of oyster shells. COASTMONTHLY.COM | JuNe 2023 4142 COASTMONTHLY.COM | JuNe 2023 CURRENTS | ART She also makes tree ornaments and trinket or jewelry containers from the shells, with whimsical art decoupaged into the inside of the shell. Each piece is a bit different and signed by the artist. The back of the shell is left natural. Saldivar also likes to paint — mostly nautical scenes and draws inspiration from her island surroundings. She has had no formal art lessons, except one class in the sixth grade, she said. She also makes a point of celebrating the birthday of almost every person she knows “I like to repurpose and find new uses for anything. I try to make everything in my house.” HELEN SALDIVAR COASTMONTHLY.COM | JuNe 2023 43 seriously blurred vision and discomfort. “I was going blind eight years ago and I was so depressed because my eyesight was going down,” she said. But five years ago, she met with an ophthalmologist in Houston (Above) Galveston artist Helen Saldivar repurposes oyster shells she collects along the Texas City Dike into unique shell art. Each piece is a bit different. by creating a large chalk drawing with a personalized message and sending them a photo of their “card.” “The hard part is erasing it when I am done,” she said. She estimates she has produced about 500 chalk drawings over the years. Luckily, she photographed them all. Life hasn’t always been easy for Saldivar. Several years ago, she was diagnosed with a debilitating eye disease called Fuchs’ dystrophy, which causes fluid to build up on the cornea of the eye, leading to 44 COASTMONTHLY.COM | JuNe 2023 CURRENTS | ART COASTMONTHLY.COM | JuNe 2023 45 For more information contact info@artistboat.org or call us at (409) 632-0388 13330 Settegast Road, Galveston, Texas 77554 Eco-Art Kayak Adventures Awarded Best Guided Water Tour Paddle your cares away as you transform your mindset from everyday humdrum to Coastal Adventure with a tour led by artist and scientists. Ages 7 and older. Tours are held Saturdays & Sunday from March until December. artistboat.org/public-kayak-registration/ Eco-Art Camps Explore, Observe, Create Campers will experience true science and art enrichment with the creation of Eco- Art at the Coastal Heritage Preserve. Ages 5-15 years old. Summer Camp registration is now open! artistboat.org/teach-youth World Ocean Day June 8th - 10th Join our World Ocean Day events. Enjoy a film screening of the documentary “Seadrift” at Saengerfest Park, a poetry reading by Naomi Shihab Nye at The Proletariat Gallery, and attend the World Ocean Day Festival at East Beach. artistboat.org/ world-oceans-day-festival/ Edward & Helen Oppenheimer Bird Observatory Open 7 days a week year-round. Visit a truly peaceful awe-inspiring place, and experience the last of the great wilds on Galveston Island Wildlife viewing platform and 1/2 mile trail artistboat.org/bird-observatory/ Bucket Brigade Interpretive Beach Tours Explore the creatures and features that make Galveston beaches unique! There is more to be found on the beach than just sand. Tours are FREE for all ages! Saturdays & Sundays from Memorial Day to Labor Day. artistboat.org/bucket-brigade/ who performed cornea transplants and now she sees almost perfectly. She has two new corneas: one from a 33-year-old and another from a 57-year-old. “I will never take my eyesight for granted,” she said. “I was so ecstatic after the surgery that I could see again. And now that I can see colors again — I make everything with bright paint. I love colors.” Her husband, Walt, a homebuilder now retired, built her an art loft at their house to keep her supplies and in-progress projects. She also sews on her old Kenmore machine, produces large pictures using recycled Mardi Gras beads and found a use for Walt’s dis- carded beer bottle tops. When a friend’s tempered-glass door shat- tered, she quickly picked up all the shards and used them for a crafted wall-hanging. The fronts and backs of doors in their island house are covered with murals: flamingos, pelicans, lighthouses and beach scenes. There’s also a large outdoor mural of sunflowers in their garden. And she used a haul of Galveston beach cockle shells to make the stripes on a U.S. flag project. She used small starfish from island gift shop Murdochs for the flag’s stars. “I like to repurpose and find new uses for anything,” she said. “I try to make everything in my house.” Her work fills their home, which makes her happy, she said. “I tell my husband if something has a surface, I will paint it,” she said. “I have the patience and the time. It is just a good thing about being retired.” (Opposite, clockwise from top) Galveston artist Hel- en Saldivar likes to paint nautical scenes, drawing inspiration from her island surroundings; a pelican picture made of recycled Mardi Gras beads; various paintings and art pieces made by Saldivar. “I tell my husband if something has a surface, I will paint it.” HELEN SALDIVARatGalvestonISD NowEnrollingatwww.gisd.org. ThroughapartnershipwithGalveston'sOwnFarmersMarket, YoungGardenersatnearlyallGISDcampusesgettheirhandsdirtyoftenwhile learninghowtoeatwellandgrowtheirownfood.Goodnessfromseedtoharvest.Women’s Health services include: •Adolescent gynecology •Breast health •Cancer care •Gynecology •Hormone therapy •Menopause •Pelvic health •Pregnancy care •Urogynecology SCAN TO LEARN MORE Care for all seasons of life Whether scheduling your first-ever gynecology appointment, seeking prenatal care for you and your baby, or looking for a provider to help you navigate the changes that come with age, our women’s health experts are ready to serve you. With locations in Galveston, Clear Lake, Friendswood, Angleton and Lake Jackson, UTMB Health delivers innovative women’s health care to the Bay Area and Southeast Texas. knows Women’s Health The University of Texas Medical Branch is in-network for most major insurance plans. Call our 24/7 Access Services team at (800) 917-8906 , visit our website at utmbhealth.com/womens or scan the QR code to find a doctor and schedule your next appointment.48 COASTMONTHLY.COM | JuNe 2023 COASTMONTHLY.COM | JuNe 2023 49 CURRENTS | BOOKS ‘A SEARCH FOR THE TRUTH’ Book explores Galveston’s seldom talked about legacy of slavery story by KATHRYN EASTBURN photos by JENNIFER REYNOLDS R etired Galveston attorney Antho- ny Griffin rarely takes the easy route. As a Black lawyer for the Tex- as American Civil Liberties Union in the 1990s, he gained notori- ety for representing a Ku Klux Klan grand dragon when the state attempted to force a Klan chapter to turn over its list of members. Griffin, 39 at the time, argued that if any American’s First Amendment rights were trampled, all Americans should expect the same intrusion on their rights. The NAACP, for which he also frequently argued cases, fired him for that effort. In 2000, Griffin landed a Texas-based case in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing against organized prayer at Santa Fe Independent School District football games. He drew widespread threats and criticism for defending the U.S. Constitution’s mandate for separation of church and state. He won. Both cases. “I believe in people,” he said. “I’ve been willing to talk to a jury and engage with them in a search for the truth.” (Left) Standing in his office, Anthony Griffin is surrounded by large photographs from the family photo albums of Galveston’s Black families. Griffin’s manuscript for “The Water Cries” is scheduled to be published in early 2024.Next >