If you love LowerTown, you gotta love Aynex Mercado. She’s one of the world’s hippest quilters, no doubt. And at 4'6", she may be short on height, but she is way long on heart and humor. From her beautiful, vibrantly colored quilts and sophisticated graphic designs to her clever blog and video blog, Mercado embodies the lively spirit of LowerTown.iList Paducah: Aynex, you are just cute, cute, cute, no doubt about it. And I love your outfits! Do you make all your cute skirts?
Aynex Mercado: No, no. Can I tell you my secret?
IL: Yes, please!
AM: Trendy Repeats.
IL: Really?
AM: Yes. And they’re cheap. It’s 50 percent off their prices, which are already like $5. They have cute things there.
IL: I’ll have to go check it out. Where is it?
AM: It’s on Jefferson and 3rd. But don’t go buy all the good stuff. And don’t go telling everyone.
IL: I won’t. Your secret is safe. But you make some of your things, don’t you? I’ve seen you transform LowerTown Festival T-shirts into super-cute halter tops.
AM: Yeah, and I sew dresses – they’re easy. But if I’m at the sewing machine, it’s usually because I’m working on a quilt.
 |
| One of a series of eight small quilts commissioned by the new Heart Center at Western Baptist Hospital. |
AM: It was like therapy. After the car accident, I couldn’t really do anything. But I knew how to sew, so I eventually started making quilts and people liked them. I realized that, despite my physical limitations, I could still do something worthwhile.
IL: Do you mind talking about the accident?
AM: No, I don’t mind. It was 10 years ago. I was 19 and a freshman at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst studying hotel management. I’d just moved there from Puerto Rico. There was a snowstorm, the streets were not cleared well and the car I was in lost control and went into the other lane. I was sitting behind the driver. Another car hit us on the driver’s side, and the left side of my body was badly damaged. I was in a coma for 10 days and in the hospital for five months, getting my body back together.
The accident changed my whole brain. The right side of my brain, the creative side, developed more, and I became more interested in art. The right side of the brain controls the left side of the body. I was right-handed before the accident and my right hand was affected. So I had to learn to do everything with my left hand. I think I may have always been artistic, but it didn’t come out until after the accident.
IL: And now you do everything with your left hand?
AM: I had to relearn to eat, talk, breathe, walk – everything. Writing and learning to doing things with my left hand was easy. I do everything on my left side now. But I’ve never really been depressed about it.
IL: Wow, Aynex, your spirit is amazing. How did you hear about the Artist Relocation Program?
AM: I saw it on the Internet. I’d been to the Quilt Museum before, so I’d been to Paducah. When I read about the program, my then-boyfriend and I came back to look at it, we met all the artists and then we moved here in 2004.
IL: And now you spend your days quilting and representing LowerTown!AM: Yes, I greet visitors here at the LowerTown Information Center in the old Texaco Station (on the corner of 7th and Madison streets), hand out maps and point people in the right direction. I also recruit musicians and food vendors for the Second Saturday gallery walks, and I’m responsible for decorating the center for holidays. I also do Web design and graphic design for various clients.
IL: I love your blog, “Que es la que pasa aqui?”
AM: In English, it literally means, “What’s happening here?” It’s funny. The blog wasn’t supposed to be for everyone – just for my family so that they can stay up-to-date on what I’m doing here. But they don’t even read it.
IL: Oh no! I read it all the time! And I’m always telling people about it.
AM: I know! So now I have to be careful about what I write.
IL: Oh, rats, sorry.
AM: That’s OK.
IL: Well how about the video blog – vlog, right?
AM: Yeah, you can tell people about the down in lowertown vlog.
 |
| Aynex Mercado, famous 1920s silent film star at her premiere! |
AM: For my birthday earlier this year, I wanted to make a little silent movie to go with my Silent Film/Roaring ’20s party theme. So I made a movie called A Stroll in the Park. And it was so much fun making the movie, I wanted to show the world. So that’s how it got started. In fact, it’s going to be shown Sunday, Aug. 19, at 6:45 p.m., at the Maiden Alley Cinema. That’s the last day of the River’s Edge Film Festival. It’s also on YouTube.
IL: They should show all your movies at the Film Festival! You love Maiden Alley Cinema, don’t you?
AM: Yes, I go every week. I love to watch movies.
IL: So Aynex, what’s the dating scene like in Paducah?
AM: I don’t know. You’re my first date in 10 years. And who would have thought that my first date would be with a woman?
IL: Yeah, sorry about that. A married woman, too. Maybe this column will help you attract more suitable suitors.
AM: I hope so. I’m ready.
IL: What are you doing to get yourself out there?
AM: I’m thinking about going to the Twenty Thirty Group. I just need someone to go with.
IL: I’ll go with you! Except that I’m more like 20 plus 30. Minus seven. Are you only interested in dating other artists?
AM: No, he doesn’t have to be an artist. Just someone with a job.
 |
| French toast, anyone? |
AM: Well, I just started cooking again. Last week, I invited three friends over for breakfast. I had a recipe for French toast. The recipe was for two people, so I doubled it. But it turned out that I miscalculated and ended up with way, way more than I needed. So I ended up hosting a “breakfast series” and had people over for French toast every morning, all week long!
IL: I bet it won’t be long before you’re reducing that French toast recipe back to two servings.
AM: That would be nice.
IL: Aynex, you are the best. Quilt on – and cook on!
