Studiology

Sup

So much is up, and it's all good. I am rearranging my life right now with a few major changes. I have retired from Oak Hill, after 15 years. The drive out of the estate on my last day may have been one of the saddest of my life. That job was so wonderful and such a happy place, it will be greatly missed. For me it was time and the physical aspect of the job was taking a toll, I would like to save a bit of that for myself and maybe my garden. I took this photograph on my last day at work, my view on a daily basis and a glorious one at that.

Then there was the jump over to Merrifield Gardens for my annual holiday flower arranging. That will end at Christmas and I encourage anyone that is looking for an arrangement, advent wreath, or outdoor pot decorations to come and visit. Of the 3 locations, I am at Fair Oaks on a full time basis. Few things cheer someone up like a bouquet of flowers. 

In my creative space it is time for Krampus. These were delivered to the gallery yesterday. 

Prior to that it was Thanksgiving with my daughter's family and grandkids. Felicity is sprouting up and a delightful person, Quinn is the constant zombie killer (yeah, no zombies here), and little Junie is just adorable. 

So for now, the wassup is all good, and the forward trajectory is filled with twists and turns. I hope your journeys and daily events are all positive. I know that's impossible, but maybe more good than bad, how's that?

Street Art, Plant Art, Art Art in Mexico

From the everyday meals or walking the cobblestone streets, art and color come in so many glorious forms in Oaxaca, Mexico. Elevated for Day of the Dead, as it is for the Radish Festival, the Guelaguetza  (Ethnic Folk Festival), or The Festival for the Virgin of Guadalupe, flowers are present in abundance, brightly colored dress is commonplace and decorations compete from door to door, shop to shop. These are some of the store fronts and large Catrina's set up along the main cobblestone street. The majority of shops and our hotel have a low tray for customers to step into and then dry as a form of sanitizing your shoes. Many also took your temperature and all gave you hand sanitizer as you entered.

The use of plants, particularly as architectural accents is amazing. This bench and climbing epiphyllum were in the stamp museum, the others in a small shopping mall.

Street art is rich and apparently wildly accepted.

I could add an entire blog just about the cooking class, which included a stop at the market for these fresh squash blossoms, among other things:

The house where the class was held, the courtyard, the table settings and food, everything was artfully creative.

And the reason for being there was a class for building a heart shrine. Our host, the talented and fun to be around Michael deMeng guided us through the various styles of heart symbolism and we set out to complete at least 1 project. I created 2 and was very happy with them, which is not always the case, but put me in a very good mood (plus a little mescal).

I added some ribbon down each side once home, so now it's really finished.

    

In the end, I was so happy that I bravely traveled to Mexico. Once I was deposited in the hotel and met my fellow art family, it was a week of companionship and art. I leave this adventure with a few more photographs of street people and ofrendas.

 

 

 

Just Wow!

With my trip to Mexico and back, I feel so thankful to have made it there and home again with no alterations in my plans. The art group met after a 2 year absence and it was so wonderful to be back with each other and doing what we love. Add to that a whole lot of adventures and meals that were some of the best I have ever eaten, I think that it was a delightful trip for everyone. The country was prepared for tourists with extra precautions at almost every stop, sterilize shoes - take temperature - apply hand sanitizer, and wear masks. 

My last photograph with my iPhone may have summed up the trip, but there are many taken with my real camera. This was the evening before the early morning (3:30) cab ride to the airport. There are certainly overlapping themes, Day of the Dead, bright colors, skilled artists, and a town that lives for tourism. 

A lot of the pets were also prepared for Halloween and Day of the Dead. Some were real show offs.

The street artists and art are as colorful as the surrounds. Houses are painted in bright colors, the local woman wear gorgeous dresses and aprons, it's truly a land of bold colors.

Trips to local towns took us to specialized communities of clay, wool, and candle artists. With each stop we were introduced to how the products are mined, harvested, and created, almost all built and managed by women. 

Just about all of the women work in these incredibly colorful clothes which are very traditional. The tools here are corn cobs, and pieces of soccer ball to shape this Comal, used for heating food, especially tortillas. A clothesline outside the house held more of their brightly colored dresses and aprons, the house was painted purple.

The candle makers are very specialized and I think the photographs will illustrate the skill which is passed from generation to generation in all of these pursuits.

This single candle is for a wedding. They are also made for engagements, the larger the candle the more likely the forthcoming nuptials. The details in the flowers is astonishing.

The weavers work with many natural dye ingredients, particularly cochineal for red, a scale insect on the local cactus. In the weaver's town, looms are in every house, on most porches, possibly in some bedrooms.

In a tropical climate, the use of plants combined with architecture really caught my attention in the town of Oaxaca. That and a cooking class, our own art class, and more adventures will be in the content of my next follow-up of Mexico in 2021.