2026 02 Oaxaca Mexico For the Michael deMeng Workshop Fandango Fantastico Day Eight and Nine

Sunday, February 15, 2026

Today I had a 7:00 am breakfast at the hotel then it was time to do a walkabout. The first thing I ran into was a marathon. The police had the streets blocked so the runners were safe as they competed. 

WALKABOUT #4

Today I headed to the Guerreros de Oaxaca baseball stadium area. The team is building a new stadium. 

It was only after I took this photograph that I realized

the owner was sleeping in the car with his head on the steering wheel

One thing about the sidewalks of Oaxaca, they are always an adventure

This art is in the knot of a tree in the park across the street from our hotel

I got back to the hotel around 9:30 because class begins at 10:00 AM. 

Today I painted my creature's body

At lunch time I went for a walkabout to find 3 antique stores but none of which were open.

WALKABOUT #5

I returned to the workshop by 1:30 p.m.

The painting continues

For our post class dinner we went up into the Xochimilco neighborhood to visit a hojolata (tin) artist.

Remember the Centro Cultural San Pablo gift shop tin;

I am pretty sure it was made by this tin making family

The Wisconsinites had a statewide dinner in the neighborhood at the Rupestre Pan y Café. We are representing well here in Oaxaca.

The Wisconsinites: Denice, Dara, Me, Diane, Victoria, Marilyn, Dan and Robert

While no one spoke to me the whole trip,

there was signs like this to remember where we come from

For the first night we decided to play cards in the Bugenhagen’s suite. Then it was finally time for bed and dreams of tomorrow's adventures. 

Monday, February 16, 2026

It was yet another 7:00 breakfast at the hotel but not to do a walkabout. Instead I went into the studio to work on my project. Today is really the last day to work and I need to make some progress. 

Because yesterday was such a failure I went out at lunchtime again to and walked to two antique places. It was fun but all I bought was a small tin box.

WALKABOUT #6

This little La Mula Arte y Moda antique shop is at 810 Porfirio Díaz in case you get to Oaxaca

The second shop I stopped at was Antigüedades Oaxaca

Address: C. de Mariano Abasolo 107

I returned to the workshop to do some sewing on my piece and to add a night scene to go behind his head.

At 4:30 p.m. the group walked to the studio of Reyes Gomez. Reyes is an artist who we have known from previous trips to Oaxaca. Years ago I bought a print of his and it hangs in our house. This is the first time that I have been to his home and studio. His art is based on the heritage of the area.

Reyes is also an author of children's books using his art

The Bugenhagens and the Niebuhrs went to Tierra del Sol across the street from the entrance to the Botanical Gardens. We had another wonderful dinner, one of many on this trip. We enjoyed the windy night and the great view. 

Photo by Marilyn Bugenhagen