Monday, November 25, 2024

2024 10 Oaxaca with Michael deMeng Dias

Saturday, November 2, 2024

This morning the group met in the lobby of the hotel at 9:00 a.m. to set off for a walk to our farewell brunch at Criollo. 




Here is the ofrenda at the Criollo restaurant.






Michael and Mija give the goodbyes to us




WALKABOUT #14

When we finished the goodbye brunch, we had the day to ourselves. I decided to go see the retablo museum at the Santo Domingo, but upon leaving the restaurant I could hear a nearby comparsa, so it was off to the races again. 









After la comparsa, I walked back toward the historic district.





The retablos in the museum at the Soledad Church are marvelous. Museum policy does not allow photographs.






I stopped into the Benito Juarez market, a place that is always a treat even if you do not want to buy anything. 






My place to buy tin--but this year I realized I have more tin than I will ever need so no tin for me









Around the zocalo there was a display of ofrendas from various regions of the state of Oaxaca.

















Off the zocalo at the State of Oaxaca Government Building there was a wonderful display of sand paintings. There was a wait to get into the que but it was well worth it.

















Inside the building was the biggest ofrenda in Oaxaca.
















Retablo de la Virgin



The Centro Cultural San Pablo art museum was my next stop which had an exhibition of the works of Francesco Toledo, Rufino Toledo, and Leonara Carrington. It also had an exhibition called 
Una Historia en Imagenes 1972-2004 (images from the archives)




Museo Textil de Oaxaca was next and for some reason women were posing on the main floor so I took advantage of the opportunities to sneak a few photographs.



The exhibition at the museum was the Collection of Francesco Toledo, things he had collected from the various indigenous peoples in the state of Oaxaca.





A weaving of Toledo himself







Goggle translate says "Long Live the Wooden Bridge"




This tourist needs to look to his left

I am going with Miles Davis again






I visited the Cultural Center next to the Santo Domingo church.












I did not visit the ethnobotanical garden but I got this view of it from the cultural center





On my first shopping trip I bought some tin frames at the store we call The Teapot Shop (see below when I discuss my projects). I left a very cool old box there. Some of my classmates saw it and threatened to buy it. I let it sit there the whole week to allow that but today it was still there. Now it is not there.

Then it was back to the hotel as it was time for the Michael deMeng critique of the work we did in this workshop called Loteria: Found Object Allegories.

All the 3D loteria cards laid out for the critique

The master of ceremonies

Let us look at the work done by all the participants.

Two apologies: First, the light in this workshop made all my photos dark and orange. I did the best I could to represent the colors but these are too good. Second, apologies for any works that are mislabeled or credited to the wrong artist--there was a lot of works to keep track of this time.

Amy 




Helen




Holly




Jessie






John





Karen




Kathy



KD



Lino and Lorraine


Lino

Lorraine

Marilyn






Penny



Robyn




Sue



Tara




Teresa Reaver



Wayne


My apologies to these artists whose pictures or art I did not get a photo of: Dara and Victoria. 

MY PROJECTS

El Borracho


On the left is one of the frames I bought at the Teapot Shop
I bought the middle wood frame at Miguels in Oaxaca
The box on the right is from the Dollar Store in Milwaukee


I brought the rust paper from home


The background paper from the frame went into the little box

My drunk is actually Gene Kelley from a Singin' In the Rain Hallmark ornament



El Borracho

My second project was not based on an actual Loteria Card. Instead, I pick The Divider.

Again, from the left, a frame from Miguels, the tin from the Teapot Shop
 and a box from the Dollar Store







El Divisor
(Google translate gave me the title of this piece but there is some suspicion it is not actually Spanish)

At 6:00 p.m. tonight we gathered in the lobby to head over to the Panteon San Felipe del Agua. Next to Xochimilco, this is my second favorite cemetery to visit. It is well lit and there are many families celebrating the holiday with all of the colors, flowers and ceremony.

























Sometimes the touristas spoil your shot

In this cemetery there was a tree that our group adopted as a place to leave remembrances of our lost relatives. Over time the tree through disease or because of the earthquake was cut down. We still believe it is an important spot for our ceremony when we make the annual trip here.

This year, with the loss of my mommy, it was a special time for me in the cemetery.




Robert


Thus we bring to a conclusion the 2024 workshop and travel experience in Oaxaca. I would like to thank Michael deMeng, Mija Matriz and Colleen Darling for being our shepherds throughout the experience. 

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