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Hola amigos!This week has been jam-packed with art class, starting on Monday when we met Corrine Glesne, our professor for the rest of the term. We have spent full days going to museums, visiting with artists, and learning about how intrinsically linked the cultures of Oaxaca are to the arts.
Monday morning we switched gears and began with an art project. We made journals to record all of our art work and to keep note of our time here. We all had a lot of fun with it, and quickly put them to good use. We spent the other half of Monday visiting galleries in the city and taking note of the work. We all enjoyed exploring the city a little bit and examining the art we have become accustomed to seeing everyday.
Tuesday began bright and early with a field trip to Ocótlan and San Bartolo Coyotepec. In Ocótlan we visited Rodolfo Morales’s house who dedicated his life to art although he was discovered later in his life at the age of 50. Morales has given much back to his community and has opened his house to share his work. Over a period of 20 years, Morales painted murals on the walls of the town hall depicting the culture and lives of the people in the community. We left Ocótlan after a delicous lunch in the market.
We then went to San Bartolo Coyotepec to learn about black pottery. We sat with an 88 year old potter, Doña Sofia, while she made a pot from hand. The black coloring comes from the firing process where very little oxygen is allowed in the oven. After a long day, we went back to the city feeling excited about our new art class and the rich Oaxacan culture we are gaining a better understanding of.
On Thursday, two groups of nine and ten students visited the workshops of lithographer and painter Enrique Flores,and of "up-cycle" artist Claudia Vargas.
At Flores' studio in Huitzo, demonstrations of the lithograph-making process were given and we were gifted with our own prints at the end of the visit. Students participating in the workshop at Vargas' home in Oaxaca City, created their own pieces of recycled art, crafting mirrors framed with colorful trash-candy wrappers, tin-can covers, etc. Most agreed that attending these workshops and witnessing these unique Oaxaquenos' art in person was an enlightening and enjoyable experience.
The next day, five groups presented their research into the lives of Oaxacan artists. The subjects ranged from sculptors to recycled art to printmakers, and included Enrique Flores, Claudia Vargas, Felipe Morales, Filemon Santiago and Carlomagno Pedro Martinez. Students related the life and themes of the artists, often accompanied by picture slides and in one event, through the reading of an illustrated children's book.
It was gratifying and almost surreal to learn
about these gifted individuals by whom this city's culture is daily being transformed.
We have already learned so much in this one week,and we look forward to the coming week where we will continue to visit and learn about the art and culture of Oaxaca.
Con mucho amor,
Lindsy, Renna, and the rest of the crew
