A Writer’s Life in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca
Oh, goodness. Where to start? Since Thursday evening, January 2, I have participated in a women’s creative writing workshop retreat in the Oaxaca village of Teotitlan del Valle. I have produced this workshop (or something like it) for the past fourteen years (minus the last two, when we took a break). We end on Wednesday […]
Holiday Greetings! Best of the Best Oaxaca Photo Workshop
Sending you warmest greetings from sunny, sparkly Taos, New Mexico, where we are basking in high desert winter sunshine and 50 degrees (20 degrees above average). Perfect walking weather. Global warming? Definitely! I’m getting ready to return to Oaxaca on December 30. I won’t be complaining about the mid-70’s there. I want to thank you […]
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 […]
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 […]
2025 Women’s Creative Writing Workshop Retreat: Inspirations for a New Year
January 2-8, 2025, seven days, six nights in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, Mexico. It’s the start of 2025, a new year, and we are inspired to revisit the years passed and the one that now begins. What are our hopes, dreams, wishes, aspirations. What are our regrets. What memories come up that bring us gratitude, […]
Guest Post: Take (or Gift) a Oaxaca Embroidery Workshop Online
Are you looking for a last-minute meaningful gift? Are you looking for a creative Covid-19 diversion? Do you want to learn traditional Oaxaca embroidery techniques? Do you want to support an indigenous family who depends on textile sales for livelihood? There is no tourism now, so no sales. My friend Susan deLone thought up this […]
Oaxaca Women’s Creative Writing Retreat 2020: Winter Holidays, Traditions
This is our 9th year offering this retreat! We will gather in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, from December 15 to 21, 2020, to reflect and write. Holiday traditions run deep here and it is a perfect place to explore our theme: ‘Tis the season for family, traditions, celebration, gift-giving, holiday expectations and disappointments, wishes fulfilled […]
Women’s Writing Retreat in Oaxaca, Mexico: Take a Discount and Express Yourself
This is our 8th year to offer the Oaxaca Women’s Creative Writing and Gentle Yoga Retreat from June 22-29, 2018. We want a full-house and are offering a 10% discount off the already high-value, low price of $895 for a shared room and $1195 for a single room. It’s not too late to get on […]
To Bargain or Not in Mexico?
The on-going discussion endures about whether one bargains in Mexico with vendors for a lower price. Is it a cultural norm or expectation? Many say, Yes. Others resist for obvious reasons. Why? The exchange rate is in favor of Europeans, Estadounidenses (those from USA) and Canadienses (those from Canada). Mexicans have always been undervalued for […]
Making PomPoms in San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas
Wandering around San Cristobal de Las Casas last week I discovered Punto y Trama, on Belisario Dominguez #13b, just two blocks off the Andador Real de Guadalupe walking street. What drew me in was the sign on the door that announced PomPom workshops. Then, once inside I immediately noticed the furry wool Chamula woven shawls adorned […]
BLUE: Japan Indigo Dye Workshop and Textile Study Tour, November 27 – December 11, 2018
BLUE: Japan Indigo Dye Workshop and Textile Study Tour — immerse yourself in the culture, fiber arts and traditions of Japan. Arrive Monday, November 27 and depart Tuesday, December 11, 2018. Limited to 9 participants. 14 days! My dream is to follow the indigo. From Oaxaca to Japan: Let’s dream and travel together to immerse […]
Oaxaca Women’s Writing Retreat: Registration Open
Please Share With Friends! Thank you, Norma
Lower Price, Return to Teotitlan del Valle: 2018 Oaxaca Women’s Creative Writing Retreat with Gentle Yoga
2018 Writing Workshop is Cancelled We are moving the retreat back to the quiet of Teotitlan del Valle from Oaxaca City and lowering the price to make it more affordable for you to attend! This is our 8th year for the Oaxaca Women’s Creative Writing Retreat. We welcome neophyte women writers and those of us […]
Blue Hands Special — Oaxaca Day of the Dead 2-Day Natural Dye Workshop
So, you are coming to Oaxaca for Day of the Dead! Here is a chance to get beyond the sugar skulls and cemeteries, the masks and parades, and go deeper into the natural dye traditions of our wonderful region without leaving the city of Oaxaca. Put your hands into the indigo dye bath. Watch them […]
Follow Me Cultural + Photo Walking Tour, Christmas Posadas: One Day in Teotitlan del Valle
Christmas in Oaxaca is magical. In ancient villages throughout the central valleys, indigenous Zapotec people celebrate with a mix of pre-Hispanic mystical ritual blended with Spanish-European Catholic practice. They retrace the Census pilgrimage (Roman command to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem for Cesar’s census) of Mary and Joseph on their way to Bethlehem. The posadas in […]
Humble Apron Elevates to Fashion Statement and Identity in Oaxaca, Mexico
Here in the Tlacolula Valley, and most villages surrounding the city of Oaxaca, the apron is more than a utilitarian article of clothing used to protect the wearer’s garment from getting soiled. It is a statement of identity, style, and social class. Walk around the Tlacolula Market on Sunday, or any day for that matter, […]
Oaxaca Natural Dye Workshop Day 3: Rainbows and Overdyes
The third and last day of the three-day Oaxaca Natural Dye Workshop brings together all the preparation of the first two days in a culminating extravaganza of rich, deep color. Natural Dye Workshop Day One Natural Dye Workshop Day Two The movement toward using natural dyes is taking hold around the world. It is an environmentally […]
Oaxaca Natural Dye Workshop Day 2: Cochineal Red and More
Taking this Oaxaca Natural Dye Workshop is a study in color creativity. On this second day of three, we prepare cochineal, the parasitic insect that lives on the prickly pear cactus paddle. The chemical interaction between the female bug and the cactus juice produces carminic acid. This is the most intense and color-fast red in the […]
Oaxaca Natural Dye Workshop, Day One: Prep to Make 32 Colors
For three days I am immersed in natural dyes with Elsa Sanchez Diaz who teaches our Oaxaca Natural Dye Workshops through Oaxaca Cultural Navigator. We make 32 different colors starting with a base of gray and white natural wool. The natural plant and vegetable materials we dye with include palo de brazil (Brazilwood), nogal (walnut), cochineal (the […]
2017 Oaxaca Women’s Creative Writing + Yoga Retreat: Lifting Your Creative Voice
For the 7th year, women will gather in retreat for a week of creative writing, daily yoga, meditation and exploration in Oaxaca, Mexico. Our workshop is limited to 10 people. Will you be one of them? Some of us are novices. Others are published poets and writers. All are welcome and encouraged. If this is […]
2016 Summer-Fall: Looking for Frida Kahlo + Diego Rivera–Mexico City Art History Study Tour
Come to Mexico City to explore the lives of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera through their art. This is in-depth art history education at its best! We offer you a narrated cultural immersion that you can miss if you visit on your own. Our expert guide is a bi-lingual Mexican art historian! Come solo, with […]
One-Day Mixed Media Art Workshop: Personal Altars and Shrines
One Day, February 25, 2016, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. OR One Day, February 26, 2016, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fee: $35 USD/650 MXN pesos OR take both days for $65 USD/1220 MXN pesos You do not need to have an art background to participate. This is about having fun, exploring and experimentation! All […]
Oaxaca Natural Dye Workshops
Oaxaca Natural Dye Workshops can be scheduled at your convenience whenever you plan to visit Oaxaca. Of course, this depends on instructor availability, too. Ideally, we would like at least two or more weeks advance notice to schedule a workshop on the dates you prefer. The one, two or three-day workshops, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. […]
Remembering Frida Kahlo: Icon of Passion and Pain
We ended the four-day Looking for Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera Art History Study Tour in Mexico City with a morning at Casa Azul and the Frida Kahlo Museum followed by an afternoon at the Dolores Olmedo Patiño Museum. (I’ll be setting 2016 dates soon. Contact me to be notified.) Frida Kahlo is a great […]
Pueblo Magico Malinalco: Hand-loomed Rebozos and Pre-Aztec Pyramids
The magical town of Malinalco in the State of Mexico is a short thirty-minute ride from Tenancingo de Degollado. One of Mexico’s greatest rebozo weavers, Camila Ramos Zamora, and her family live and work here. Her father was a rebozo weaver from Tenancingo and he moved to Malinalco to marry Camila’s mother. They established […]
Private Cooking Class Oaxaca: mmmmGood, Molotes and Memelas
How many different ways can corn be prepared? Here in Oaxaca, Mexico, the options are so numerous, I could perhaps count to a thousand. On Sunday, in honor of Carol’s XX birthday, David organized a private cooking class for five of us. The kitchen is miniscule. The results were huge. The most important ingredient was […]
Teotitlan del Valle Young Photographers Show at Oaxaca Photography Center
The work of young photographers, ages seven to twelve, from Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, were featured at a festive gallery exhibition that opened last Saturday at the Centro Fotografico Manuel Alvarez Bravo. They participated in a year-and-a-half photography education project called Nuevas Visiones. Narrando historias visuales en Teotitlán del Valle — New visions: Narrating Visual […]
Travel for Texture and Oaxaca Natural Dye Workshop
Natalie and her mother Olga traveled north from Guatemala, through Chiapas and came to Oaxaca to take a natural dye workshop with Taller Teñido Natural. We scheduled a two-day program for them to go deep into Oaxaca’s traditions for using natural plant materials, including indigo, fustic and wild marigold plus the cochineal bug to create […]
Evoking Frida Kahlo: Making Memory Altars and Shrines
Mexico is filled with altars that usually include sacred images and a Virgin of Guadalupe retablo. During Day of the Dead a family altar displays photographs of departed loved ones. We are taking this mixed media art workshop, based in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, Mexico, beyond the norm to create a three-dimensional altar suitable for display. Frida […]