Celebrating the Giver of Miracles: The Virgin of Guadalupe
December 12 is recognized throughout Mexico as a Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, when she appeared as an apparition and miraculously changed the course of history in Latin America. In Oaxaca today, there will be parades and masses and people lighting votive candles to honor the woman who symbolically brought indigenous peoples under […]
Norma’s Taos Collection Sale Continues
The Collection Sales continues, with most pieces priced at or below cost. Brighten your holiday season with a stunning selection of handmade clothing from Oaxaca — to wear or to gift. We offer 12 pieces today. Be sure to scroll down to see them all. How to Buy: Send me an email to tell me […]
Sale from Norma’s Taos Collection
We haven’t had any snow in Northern New Mexico since I arrived on November 19. It’s been sunny and unseasonably warm, with temperatures rising to the low 50’s. Great walking weather. At night, it dips down to the 30’s, just perfect for sleeping. I’m returning to Oaxaca on December 30, in time for our January […]
Thanksgiving Greetings: Dairy-Free Pumpkin Flan Recipe. Pumpkins originated in Mexico.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I hope your feasting holiday is filled with family connection, good friends, relaxation, and the celebration of life — another year around the clock! I’m in Albuquerque with my son and daughter-in-law. It’s the three of us for Thanksgiving, by far my favorite American holiday. Before launching into sharing a recipe I […]
Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, Portraits
Yesterday, Luvia Lazo, our instructor, scheduled an online review of photographs I had taken during our recent Day of the Dead Photography Workshop in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca. Everyone who participated sent Luvia a selection of what they considered to be their best 10-15 shots taken during the three days we were together. She arranged […]
Day 2: Shop Wool from Norma’s Oaxaca Closet: Deep Discounts
Ends Thursday, November 14, 2024 at 3 PM! Perfect for winter warmth. For years, I’ve stored beautiful wool hand wovens from Oaxaca and Chiapas in a cedar chest that Teotitlan del Valle carpenter Elias made for me. This cedar chest is called a baule, which traditionally is gifted at Zapotec weddings to store valuables and […]
Norma’s Shop Oaxaca Closet Sale: 4 Wearing + Gifting
Ends Thursday, November 14, 2024 at 3 PM! I’m at my casita in Teotitlan del Valle and will return to the USA at the end of the coming week. I’m looking at the handwoven blusas and huipilesin my closet here! A collection of naturally dyed and artisan made textiles that I have treasured because I […]
Norma’s Oaxaca Closet Sale: 4 Wearing + Gifting
Ends Thursday, November 14, 2024 at 3 PM! I’m at my casita in Teotitlan del Valle and will return to the USA at the end of the coming week. I’m looking at the handwoven blusas and huipilesin my closet here! A collection of naturally dyed and artisan made textiles that I have treasured because I […]
Day of the Dead Photo Workshop: Portraits + Still Life
Okay. It’s beyond Election Day in the USA. My stomach is still in knots and I’m spending a lot of time resting. I’m trying to minimize my news consumption so I don’t go crazy. I think of Leonard Nimoy: Live long and prosper. I could twist that around and say, Live long and stay calm. […]
Photo Workshop Day 3: Luvia’s Grandmother +
We met at Luvia’s photography studio at 9:30 a.m. Before that, most of us returned to the village market to take more pictures. The early morning light here is illuminating. The light plays with shadows and texture; there is so much to capture the eye. This is a daily market in Teotitlan del Valle, one […]
Photography Workshop Day Two: Portraits + More
On the second day of our photography workshop in Teotitlan del Valle, our instructor, Luvia Lazo Gutierrez, made appointments with families to visit them in their homes. This was an incredible exercise to capture a more intimate view of village life and to understand the technical aspects of light, shadow, distance, and perspective. Luvia, whose […]
Oaxaca Photo Workshop: Day One, Day of the Dead
We gathered in photographer Luvia Lazo Gutierrez’s studio this morning at 9:30 a.m. to start our three-day photography workshop in Teotitlan del Valle. We are here to explore the Day of the Dead visual landscape of the village, gain creative insights and technical skills, and see the world through a more defined lens. I found […]
Oaxaca Street Life and Re-Entry
On Monday, despite bumping around a bit in the sky atop the last remnants of a tropical storm that painted a picturesque landscape of layered clouds as we came in for a landing, I arrived in Oaxaca. Re-entry was easy. I’m always grateful to pick up my luggage from the conveyor belt after passing through […]
Returning to Oaxaca for Day of the Dead
Day of the Dead in Oaxaca is a magical experience, especially if you spend it in the villages. This December will mark my twentieth year of being there. I’m thinking about how to celebrate and involve you in the celebration! All ideas and suggestions are welcome. In 2007 i began writing this blog, so another […]
Loving Indigo Blue from Oaxaca and Japan
I’m smitten with indigo. I first fell in love with it years ago in Oaxaca, Mexico, where I discovered it is grown along the tropical, humid southern coast of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. The type of indigo grown in Oaxaca is a different strain. The botanical name for the Oaxaca indigo plant is Indigofera suffruticosa, also […]
A Culture of Kindness in Japan
Some of you may know that I have a creative writing site on Substack called Digging Deep, Then Deeper: Something to Say. Today, I published an essay about my take on Japanese culture based on my observations of acts of kindness, cleanliness, and respect. Rather than repost it in its entirety, you can read it […]
Wabi-Sabi. Making Beauty from Broken Pottery
Annie, my friend from Taos and traveling companion, spent the afternoon in a kintsugi workshop in the Aoyama neighborhood of Tokyo. Kintsugi is the process of mending broken pottery and lining the cracks with a combination of a special glue and filling them with 24k gold powder. Wabi-Sabi is the philosophy of making something whole […]
Katazome Stencil Dyeing in Tokyo
We spent the day with our guide Kit who has been living in Tokyo for over forty years. She met her Japanese husband in London where he was a student and she was a resident advisor for Brown University study abroad. Kit has. PhD in English literature and is fluent in Japanese of course. It […]
Sashiko in Takayama
I spent the morning with Keiko-San at her home gallery twenty steps away from the Red Bridge. There is a green bridge, white bridge, and red bridge here. Landmarks to navigate location. Japanese are very organized and clean. Hisa, a local translator, met me at the red bridge along with Keiko-San to take me to […]
Kyoto Food and Fashion
We missed the debate! It was held at 10 am Wednesday morning here. I’m traveling g with friends who have been to Japan nine times. The plan was to hit the streets. But it was modified to spend the day in the giant air conditioned Takashimaya department store to shelter from the 98 degree weather […]
Japan Blue and Pottery
it’s now 8:09 am. We are 13 hours ahead of you. I’m not sure how to calculate when the debate will happen or if we missed it. the started with $9 cups of coffee — price unknown to us in the Hotel Granvia lobby cafe until we were presented with the check. Saving grace is […]
Paper Expo in Tokyo: Gift Wrap is Everything
I’m on the Shinkansen to Kyoto at this moment, but I want to report on attending the major national handmade paper show held yesterday in Tokyo. It was four floors of all things paper, and related items. We saw everything from glittery, textured, screen printed papers to stickers, paper thread for tying packages, vintage paper […]
Welcome to Tokyo: The Amazing Japanese Breakfast
We checked in to the Hotel Metropolitan last night after landing at Narita. It was an almost 11 hour flight during which I dozed some. It took over four hours to go through customs, immigration, get yen from the ATM, figure out directions to get from the airport to Tokyo Station and the hotel in […]
Returning to Oaxaca, but first Japan
Good morning from Denver. I’ve got my ticket to Oaxaca for Day of the Dead, arriving on October 21 and staying for three weeks. Like many of you, I like to be home with my family for the winter holidays. I plan to participate in the Teotitlan del Valle photography workshop led by Luvia Lazo. […]
Oaxaca + Comings and Goings
Summer is winding down. It will be Labor Day weekend in ten days. I’m recovering well from spinal fusion surgery, though I’m far from perfect, and need to walk with two REI hiking poles to keep my balance, but I’m managing between 5,000 and 7,000 steps at least four times a week. Yesterday, I almost […]
LAST DAY TODAY! 20% OFF the Shop Sale
Don’t miss out! Sale ends TODAY, Tuesday, August 20 at 9 p.m. Mountain Time. Use Code AUG20 on Shop Oaxaca Culture our online store for all things Oaxaca and Mexico — through Tuesday, August 20. It’s still summer and we have some beautiful, lightweight clothing for sale in the Shop that will carry you through […]
Last Two Days! 20% OFF the Shop Sale
Don’t miss out! Sale ends TODAY, Tuesday, August 20 at 9 p.m. Mountain Time. Use Code AUG20 on Shop Oaxaca Culture our online store for all things Oaxaca and Mexico — through Tuesday, August 20. It’s still summer and we have some beautiful, lightweight clothing for sale in the Shop that will carry you through […]
Don’t Forget: 20% OFF the Shop Sale
Use Code AUG20 on Shop Oaxaca Culture our online store for all things Oaxaca and Mexico — through Tuesday, August 20. It’s still summer and we have some beautiful, lightweight clothing for sale in the Shop that will carry you through the dog days of August and into September. And, as we transition into autumn […]
Oaxaca Day of the Dead Photo Workshop
Three Days — October 27, 28, 29, 2024, 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Arrive just before Dia de los Muertos, Day of the Dead to explore the Zapotec village of Teotitlan del Valle as preparations begin for this grand celebration to honor the ancestors. We take you inside people’s homes and workshops where you might […]
Take 20% Off the Shop — Use Code AUG20
It’s still summer and we have some beautiful, lightweight clothing for sale in the Shop that will carry you through the dog days of August and into September. And, as we transition into autumn and then winter, check out some mid-to heavier weight blouses (blusas) and huipiles and ponchos. All are handwoven. Many are made […]