Earlier this year I was approached about doing a custom artwork for a tequila brand. I, of course, said yes. I love Mexican ancestral spirits and projects that take me a bit out of my comfort zone. This project was in collaboration with the Powerhouse Arts Print Shop, which is an amazing professional printmaking shop. I had never worked with the print shop before, but I am a member of the Powerhouse Community Ceramics Studio and have been very impressed with the organization.

I started the project by researching tequila and other existing artwork that was inspiring me during my research. I also read the book Agave Spirits: The Past, Present, and Future of Mezcals by Gary Paul Nabhan and David Suro Piñera, which helped me connect my interests in my own mestizo heritage and Mexican spirit making. I was particularly inspired by codices depicting Mayahuel, the goddess of agave, and a 1937 photograph of Frida Kahlo and an agave plant by Toni Frissell. I was also looking at embroidery motifs from various Mexican indigenous communities.

I did pencil drawings and ink paintings to think through my inspiration and research and eventually landed on a few specific images I wanted to develop. One issue I was running into was how my artwork would translate as a one-color screen print for a live printing activation. I redid my artwork in Procreate on my iPad and created mockups to share with the client.

Next I worked with Luther Davis, master printer at Powerhouse Arts Print Shop. He created screens and test prints to see how the artwork would print for the event. He guided me on where to beef up lines and make sure the artwork would print well.

I updated the artwork and Powerhouse Arts Print Shop prepped the aprons for the event.

At the night of the event, Grace Gonzalez, master distiller of El Mayor Tequila, led a tequila tasting while the Powerhouse Arts Print Shop live screen-printed my artwork on bar aprons for guests. The tequila was better than any I have had before as I am actually more of a mezcal person. Their process for creating their tequilas is a tribute to the ancestral tradition of using agave to create spirits.

At the event I got to talk about my process creating the artwork. I am very grateful for the opportunity to create new this work and collaborate with Powerhouse Arts and El Mayor. This project has already inspired future work and pushed me to incorporate my research interests and formal techniques that I’m using in my other art projects.

About the artwork:

My artwork features the agave plant, the Aztec maguey plant goddess Mayahuel, and Lala, my mythical cat-human creature who helps connect me with my mestiza Chicana ancestry. I am inspired by indigenous embroidery motifs, the Jalisco landscape, precolonial myths and traditions, and the biodiversity and ecological importance of the agave plant.

The Art of Tequila: El Mayor Tequila x Stephanie Eche with Powerhouse Arts

Distill Creative | Brooklyn, NY