Finishing up in Santa Fe and on to Taos!

Before the end of the workshop, I had completed my quilt square!  Our assignment was to create a quilt square based on a theme of our choosing.  I chose Dia de los Muertos, both because I love the celebration and a good portion of my students can relate to it.  We were given a choice of fabric, items to add, and materials to manipulate to create a finished piece.  I used hand stitching, tassels given to us from the Pakistani quilt makers, and items I felt created unity in the piece.  I plan on collaborating with our ESL teacher, Rachel Reyes, with this lesson when it gets closer to Dia de los Muertos.

Our other project was to create a retablo based on a theme.  My theme was Santa Fe.  I started the background inside, but haven't completed putting everything together.  I will get photos up soon.  I haven't decided if I will teach this to my students or possibly in a workshop for art teachers.  Either way I will post photos as soon as I compete it!

That night we had our goodbye dinner at a local restaurant in Santa Fe called Andiamos, which in Italian means "hurry up."  We heard this a lot in Italy... Anyhow, we had a great dinner.  I had chicken parmesan, which was really good. 

I sat with a hilarious group of ladies.  The next photo was taken by Phyllis Brown and was my favorite of the evening.  I chopped off part of it, but nonetheless, you get the jest.  In true Casey fashion, I had to add my own flair to the photo...

I said goodbye the next morning to the new friends I had met.  I was on my way to Taos to explore the desert on my own.  My boyfriend Destin says Taos is one of his favorite places on Earth.  I have heard so much about it over the years, I feel like I already had a connection to it.  

Working with the Artists

I am such a terrible blogger!  I am so busy with work, then at home I just want to relax.  This post is dedicated to the guests who visited our group on Monday of our trip.  These artists were at the market and came to talk to us about their work and culture.  They even brought special items for us to buy!

The first group that came in was Augustin Cruz Prudencio from Oaxaca, Mexico.   First off, I love wooden sculptures from Oaxaca.  If you know anything about the history for this art technique is passed down from generation to generation.  Augustin brought his brother with him, who worked on carvings while Augustin talked.  Here he is showing how the sculptures start out... as an ugly piece of wood.

In this next photo, Augustin was showing us how they begin the carving.

These are examples of some of the pieces they brought to sell.  Each piece is hand carved and painted with exquisite detail.  The sculptures all had different personalities and style.  They were quite delightful to look at.  You can DEFINITELY tell the difference between real Oaxacan woodcarvings and the imitation stuff (definitely noted).

I REALLY wanted this jackrabbit, but he was on the pricey side (and rightly so).  The contrast of his ears against the black and white of his body was really cool. 

This is the piece I bought.  An owl of course!!!  These pictures were taken when I got home.  Check out the exquisite detail and color of this piece.  My students will love him!

This link is from the International Folk Art Market website.  It goes into detail about his family's work and tradition.  http://www.folkartalliance.org/artist-portfolios/agustin-cruz-prudencio

The next artists to visit were also from Mexico (yay, because I LOVE LOVE LOVE art from Mexico and I REALLY wanted to learn more about indigenous art techniques to introduce to my students!)  The family who visited was also at the market.  The father, son, and daughter all carry on the art tradition of yarn painting.  The 4th generation yarn painter, Cilau Valadez, spoke to us about his family's work.  He wore traditional wear from the village he is from.  Each part of his outfit is hand stitched and has a very specific spiritual meaning.  Cilau's famous father, Mariano Valadez was there and worked on paintings while Cilau talked.  You can find work from the Valadez family in famous museums ALL over the world!  Mariano doesn't speak any English, but Cilau's is almost perfect.  Cilau's mother is an archeologist named Susana Edgar Valadez.  Their family comes from Santiago Ixcuintia, Nayarit, Mexico.  

This was a yarn painting I bought from the Valadez family while they were actually at the market.  Their artwork is truly unreal to see in person.  The yarn paintings are created by applying individual threads into a beeswax background (well that may not be exactly accurate).  Regardless, each piece is unique and has a special story.  Google their name and learn more about their heritage.  It truly is fascinating. 

Cilau's sister did not come to the workshop, but I did get a photo of her holding this painting at the market! 

The next group of artists were known for creating traditional dance masks in Mexico.  Manuel Abeiro Horta Ramos and his brother Modesto Horta Ramos were born into the tradition of creating hand carved masks.  Their interpreter was an American who has been working with their family for many years.  To see these masks in person... wow.  To know that each piece was carved completely out of one piece of wood is mind boggling.  If you could see up close some of the intricately carved detail you would be amazed.  A few parts of the masks were separate pieces, but very few.  The artists brought owl masks to sell (YAAAAAAY!!!!), because they are not considered "authentic," they couldn't be sold at the market.  Score for me!  Of course I beelined over to the owl as soon as we were set loose to look at the pieces.  I figure I could stick with my owl theme and still show my students how owls are created differently in different cultures.  Here are some of the masks that were shown.  Please excuse the blurry photos.  I was trying to take them as the interpreter showed them around the room.

Each masks is a different character and has a different story. 

In sticking with my owl theme, here is a hand carved owl mask!  It couldn't be sold at the market, so I happily took it off their hands.  The little snake comes out of his beak.  The color is incredible.  I will include a pic of the back as well, so you can see the marks from carving.

It was so exciting to meet all of these artists!  I enjoyed hearing their stories, asking them questions, and watching them work.  It truly made me feel in awe of these people who are carrying on traditions from their families and communities.  They are working to help their people, as well as save a dying art.  The humanity of the meanings and creativity behind these works left me without words.  

Onward and Forward

I actually start back to work tomorrow for the school year.  On August 1st, on a Friday, can you believe it?!?!  What I am NOT griping about is what is planned for work tomorrow.  Our technical first day back is a professional development day for everyone, so the art teachers go to our yearly meeting spot, the Birmingham Museum of Art.  I love our museum and their staff.  I helped my supervisor and dear friend Stacia Jacks with troubleshooting for the workshop.  She has come up with some really amazing projects and ideas.  While we were experimenting with encaustic, I made this bad boy.  I ended up really liking it.

So in other words, my first day back at work will be having fun, making art, and catching up with all my art teacher friends.

Oh and did I mention I am having a root canal next Wednesday afternoon?!  THE FIRST DAY BACK WITH STUDENTS?!?!  The bad part is this only solves part of the problem, even if that solves it.  I have to go back the very next day for more work.  I will whine about my dental crisis later, on to discussion about the folk art festival!

The morning of the festival I was feeling great!  The weather was amazing and so was the food and company.  We walked the few blocks it took to get to the parking lot where the shuttle buses were that everyone to the market.  I rode with Phylis (Phyl for those of you who know her through her awesome blog, http://plbrown.blogspot.com/)  She is hilarious and so fun to talk with.  We both agreed it would be impossible for everyone to stay together in the market.  There really was not meeting point, nor was there a deadline for dinner.  The day was really up to us for exploration.  Someone (I now forget who) gave great advice that starting at the top of the market was the best way to go, because the crowds generally start at the bottom).

As soon as I got up top, I decided to start on the right and work my way around.  I took as many photos as I could.  I have tons on my computer and so many more to share with my students in more detail.  Some of the booths/artists didn't want photos taken, so that is why I don't have photos of some of the most amazing things I saw.  I do have a story behind all these photos, but it would take FOREVER to explain each one, because the market truly is enormous and overwhelming.  I will explain in more detail about the things I bought, in a later entry.  Enjoy the market!

The ambience of the market itself was something magical.  There was so much attention to detail, color, design, and cultural representation.  Every tent you went to had wonderful decorations above you.  Some even moved in giant circles.  

The photos of the trees were next to the stage where performers from all around the world shared dances, songs, music, ect. from their country.  

I thoroughly enjoyed talking to the artists in the booths.  I loved listening to their stories, sometimes even getting a chance to watch them work in person.  There were countries represented I am not so sure I'd ever heard of.  

These artists were just a tiny fraction of the ones I had the pleasure of talking with.  I have to get up early in the morning, so I shall continue my discussing my experience tomorrow.  Happy back to school to everyone!