This Friday and Saturday, December 19 and 20, the plaza at the corner of Calle Rufino Tamayo #800-C and Xolotl across from the Stone Cross — Cruz de la Piedra — will come alive with an exhibition and sale representing some of Oaxaca’s most talented young artist designers. Here you will find all handmade textiles, clothing, furniture, jewelry and ceramics. Artist list below. Don’t miss it!
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- Norma Schafer and Oaxaca Cultural Navigator LLC has offered programs in Mexico since 2006. We have over 30 years of university program development experience. See my resume.
Study Tours + Study Abroad are personally curated and introduce you to Mexico's greatest artisans. They are off-the-beaten path, internationally recognized. We give you access to where people live and work. Yes, it is safe and secure to travel. Groups are limited in size for the most personal experience.
Programs can be scheduled to meet your travel plans. Send us your available dates.
Designers, retailers, wholesalers, universities and other organizations come to us to develop customized itineraries, study abroad programs, meetings and conferences. It's our pleasure to make arrangements.
Our Clients Include *Penland School of Crafts *North Carolina State University *WARP Weave a Real Peace *Methodist University *MINNA-Goods *Selvedge Magazine
Tell us how we can put a program together for you! Send an email norma.schafer@icloud.com
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Sleek, Functional Contemporary Oaxaca Pottery with Classical Influences: Innovating Tradition
Oaxaca’s cultural identity is defined, in part, by her ceramic arts. For thousands of years before the Spanish conquest, indigenous artisans were giving shape to local clay to form functional cooking and eating vessels, images of dieties for worship and jewelry for personal adornment.
Now, after six years of operating from various temporary locations, La Tiendita del Barro/1050 grados and Innovando la Tradicion recently opened a gallery to promote its ceramic arts cooperative and new eco-tourism program. It is located at the corner of plaza de la cruz de piedra, Rufino Tamayo 800-C and Xolotl, near the 16th century aqueducts and Calle Garcia Virgil.
I want to say that this is social entrepreneurism, activist art. The program, developed by talented young Oaxaqueños, is committed to sustainable development. Here you will find stunning pottery that satisfies both a classical and contemporary aesthetic. The work is sculptural and refined, smooth and simple. Emphasis is on form followed by function. The result is timeless beauty. The cookware and serving pieces are lead-free and can be used over a gas burner or in the oven.
If you’ve never seen a Oaxaca potter at work, here’s a video of a traditional technique:
Rufina Ruiz haciendo una chilmolera from Innovando la Tradición on Vimeo.
Innovando la Tradicion is organizing half-day public tours to various villages, where visitors will meet potters, participate in hands-on demonstrations, and have an opportunity to buy directly from the artisans. Artisans receive 50% of the participant fees that go toward improving their workshop/studio space. The rest goes toward program administration.
Join Norma’s Pottery Tour with Innovando la Tradicion Monday, January 5, 2015, Cost: 629 MXN pesos
I can’t participate in any of the January public programs already scheduled and I really want to go on this tour. So, I’m inviting YOU to join me for a private tour on January 5. Are you interested? Send me an email. All the funds go directly to Innovando la Tradicion and I will send you registration information as soon as I hear from you! Space for 5 people. Reserve before December 15.
Oaxaca Portrait Photography Workshop starts January 30. Join us!
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Posted in Cultural Commentary, Oaxaca Mexico art and culture, Pottery, Travel & Tourism
Tagged ceramics, clay, Colectivo 1050 grados, eco-tourism, Innovando la tradicion, Mexico, Oaxaca, pottery, sustainable development, tours