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Pinatas Galore Plus Great Shopping at Mexican Market “La Cumplidora” in Sanford, NC

Drive by window-shopping is my weakness.  I was on my way to meet professor Robin Greene, who leads our Oaxaca Women’s Creative Writing and Yoga Retreat: Lifting Your Creative Voice, at our mid-way breakfast diner in Sanford, NC.  Almost there, and I noticed some pretty remarkable, huge pinatas hanging in a store front on the highway.  The rubbernecking angels sat on my shoulder as I made a mental note to stop on the way back.

Which I did! making a quick (and careful) left-turn from the center lane on the highway.

La Cumplidora is filled with nooks and crannies of Mexican, Salvadoran, Guatemalan, and Columbian food.  The selection represents all nationalities of clientele who live and work in the area.

I was the only gringa!

And, I felt at home among people who I know work hard for the food they are buying and are conscious of cost.  Children were hanging on to the hems of mothers’ skirts as they shopped for fresh and beautiful produce:  limes (7 for $1), avocados (99 cents each), choyote squash (99 cents each), cilantro (59 cents a bunch),  plum tomatoes perfect for salsa, six different varieties of dried peppers, fresh habaneros and poblanos.

Tip: Save Money and Shop at Your Local Latino Mercado

All the produce was a fraction of the cost of what I find in the major supermarkets and much better.  I found perfectly ripe mangoes — 8 for $7.50 — a price unheard of at Harris Teeter (usually $1.65 each) where you might slice one open to find a dark center damaged by early picking and refrigeration even though the skin is ripe and it is soft to the touch.

At the way back is a full-service carneceria — butcher shop — with all types and cuts of fresh meats — beef, pork, chicken, and goat.  In the corner is the queseria — cheese shop — where the imported from Mexico fresh cheese is sold by the pound.  There is even some house made entrees  for carry-out.

Just like in Oaxaca, the pasteleria/panaderia (pastry and bread bakeries) section was doing a bustling business.  The fresh out of the oven concha rolls were exactly like those I see in the bakery on Garcia Virgil.  Several young men held aluminum trays in one hand, tongs in the other, opened display case doors, reached in and piled the savory mouth-watering treats onto the trays.

They looked liked confectionary pyramids: 

Pink rolls filled with sweet cream, sprinkled with chocolate.  Flaky pastry cones stuffed with vanilla custard. Alternating chocolate and white layered cake squares with mocha frosting.  Jelly rolls.  Sesame cookies.  It was all I could do to pass this by (I’m watching my calories.)

Food is so important to retaining culture.  It keeps us connected to our families of origin, the memories of growing up, our way of keeping our identities in our adopted homelands.  And, for keeping the memories of a satisfying vacation or travel adventure alive.

As I stood in line in a U.S. “village” 35 miles from my own North Carolina home among warm and friendly people, I was reminded of my own family’s immigrant status at the beginning of the 20th century.

And, if you are ever in Sanford, North Carolina, be sure to make a stop at La Cumplidora.  Or discover the local Latino market in a neighborhood near you.  A world of wonder will open up to you and you will save on the grocery bill.

Oh, and the pinatas:  huge fanciful animals and stars and dolls decorated with crepe paper streamers in bright colors, pictures of boys and girls, sparkles, perfect for containing the candy treats to celebrate a birthday.

La Cumplidora, 901 South Horner Blvd., Sanford, NC 27330, (919) 776-1060.

Art Book Binding Workshop: Capture Your Travel Adventures

Make a Handmade Box within a Book: August 1-7, 2012

Using handmade local papers, and found objects and materials, you will learn to make a travel book with a self-contained box to hold your collected artifacts.  Each participant will design a book, prepare the papers and artifacts, stitch the binding, and make the box enclosure. The enclosed box can hold art supplies, treasures, or spiritual talismans.  This is a unique art book design created by our instructor Lisa Gilbert.  It is portable, versatile and beautiful.

A box within a handmade book

First, we will visit the Taller Arte Papel Oaxaca in San Agustin Etla where local papermakers use the traditional methods and incorporate regional natural fibers into the paper.  Here we will see the paper making process and then select text and cover papers for your personalized handmade book project.

During our travel adventures around Oaxaca as you explore the rich culture , you will collect personal treasures along the way.   Your book will reflect your unique travel experience as you move from markets, to museums, to art galleries and artist studios incorporating the textures, colors, and artifacts that exemplify Oaxaca.

Front cover has optional pockets

Each day begins with a book making demonstration, followed by a learning and practice session.  We’ll have daily discussion about how the project is progressing and have the opportunity to share our discoveries.  The workshop will culminate with a book exchange, best of week show, and fiesta.

You will:

  • Explore the anatomy of a book and how to construct one
  • Understand the fundamentals of the craft
  • Construct a sturdy box integrated within the book
  • Use the pamphlet stitch to bind the signatures
  • Make the finishing closures (e.g., paper beads, braided cords, etc.)
  • Insert envelopes to hold extra treasures
  • Apply foldout pages to extend your writing surfaces
  • Collect ephemera to be used for decoration (photos, collage elements, yarns, threads, buttons, beads, etc.)
  • No prior bookbinding skills are needed.  

For:

  • Book artists
  • Art educators
  • Calligraphers
  • Artists and artisans
  • Printmakers
  • Anyone who wants to have fun and learn a new form of creative self-expression

We will provide you with a list of equipment and materials to bring with you upon registration.  You may want to bring your own ephemera (decorations) or purchase ephemera during your travels around Oaxaca. We’ll provide basic supplies such thread, needles and glue and give you a shopping allowance to select handmade papers from Taller Arte Papel Oaxaca.

Your Itinerary:  Each day includes plenty of time to work on making your book!

Use the box to collect milagros + embellishments

Day One:  Arrive and settle into your Oaxaca city hotel.

Day Two: Travel by van to San Agustin Etla to the papermaking workshop; select your handmade amate papers; discuss components of bookmaking; overnight in Oaxaca (group breakfast, lunch and dinner).

Day Three: Visit the innovative textile museum, graphics arts institute, and go on an ephemera treasure hunt; discuss project design and paper preparation; overnight in Oaxaca (group breakfast; lunch and dinner on your own).

Day Four:  Learn box making; project making and free time; overnight in Teotitlan del Valle (group breakfast, dinner).

Day Five: Visit the famed tianguis Tlacolula Market; discuss sewing the signatures; overnight in Teotitlan del Valle (group breakfast, lunch, dinner).

Day Six: Finish your book, book exchange, Best of Week Show and Fiesta; overnight in Teotitlan del Valle (group breakfast, lunch, dinner).

Day Seven:  Depart OR stay on for an additional day and night to take a cooking class with renowned local teacher (9:30 a.m. -2:30 p.m.—includes lunch)

Select your own papers, cover design, colors

Your Workshop Leader is Book Maker Lisa Gilbert  

Lisa Gilbert has been an enthusiastic book artist since childhood. She has been illustrating professionally, and teaching art and/or health for the past 20 years. Known for her use of color, finely tuned creativity, and excellent technical bookbinding, Lisa has been invited to show her work in two North Carolina exhibitions.  She has studied bookbinding, papermaking, and box making at programs across the U.S., and most recently completed a Penland School of Crafts program.  She has taught bookmaking classes throughout North Carolina, and has a reputation as a patient, encouraging, imaginative, and effective teacher.

Lisa considers herself to be a “cultural navigator” – a well-deserved designation since she has traveled to more than 25 countries.  She purchases, collects, and uses exotic papers on her travels, most recently from Panama, Scandinavia, and India. Lisa has visited papermaking facilities and bookbinderies across India and has fashioned books from wood, papyrus, metal, mica, fabric, plastic, vinyl as well as from traditional materials such as handmade and machine-made decorative papers.

She attended Colorado Institute of Art, holds degrees in art and business, and the PhD in health education from University of Maryland.  Her background is versatile and inventive.

Insert envelopes to hold extra treasures

Lodging/Accommodations. To keep this experience affordable, we have selected accommodations that are clean and basic.  We will spend three nights in Oaxaca and three nights in Teotitlan del Valle.   If you prefer luxury accommodations, please let us know and we can customize your accommodations for an added cost. 

Cost:  The basic cost for the trip is $1,295. USD. This includes six nights lodging double occupancy with shared bath, six breakfasts, three lunches, four dinners, transportation to the villages, all instruction and most materials.    Travel workshops of this type and length cost more than twice as much!

The program costs do NOT include airfare, taxes, gratuities, travel insurance, liquor/alcoholic beverages, some meals as specified in the itinerary, entry fees, and some transportation.

You will have the option of sharing a double room with shared bath for the base price of the trip.  Please indicate your preference.

Option A: Shared room with shared bath; $1,295. Deposit to reserve: $650.

Option B: Shared  room with private bath; $1,495. Deposit to reserve: $750.

Option C:  Single room with private bath;  $1,645.  Deposit to reserve: $823.

Option D:  Add additional nights lodging in Oaxaca, +$125 each night.

Option E:  Add one night lodging and cooking class in Teotitlan del Valle, $110 on Tuesday, August 7 (depart August 8)

Reservations and Cancellations

A 50% deposit is required to guarantee your spot.  The final payment for the balance due (including any supplemental costs) shall be postmarked by May 30, 2012.  We prefer Payment with PayPal.  We will be happy to send you an invoice.

Please understand that we make lodging and transportation arrangements months in advance of the program.  Deposits or payments in full are often required by our hosts.  If cancellation is necessary, please notify us in writing by email.   After May 30, no refunds are possible.  If you cancel on or before May 30, 2012 we will refund 50% of your deposit.  We strongly recommend that you take out trip cancellation, baggage, emergency evacuation and medical insurance before you begin your trip, since unforeseen circumstances are possible.

To register, contact:  normahawthorne@mac.com or call (919) 274-6194.   Thank you.

This workshop is produced by Norma Hawthorne, Oaxaca Cultural Navigator LLC.  We reserve the right to alter the itinerary and substitute instructors without notice.

The exploration of life is like creating an open book.

 

Make Mexican Sterling Silver Jewelry: Workshop in Oaxaca

Learn to make sterling silver jewelry — rings, pendants, earrings — using the ancient lost-wax process.  This is an excellent introduction to wax carving and sling casting techniques, plus the finish work needed to laminate, stretch, cut, file, solder, polish and buff your piece.

Comprehensive 3-Day Silver Jewelry Workshop: $325

             Offered most Fridays-Saturdays-Sundays throughout the year.  Contact us to schedule a custom workshop to suit your travel plans!

Class size is limited to 4 people.

You do not need to be experienced.  
 Beginners welcome.
We work closely with each participant to suit each person’s individual learning styles and needs in a safe learning environment.   Whether you are a visitor to Oaxaca and want to add this experience to your travel itinerary or you live here, we welcome your participation.  Brigitte and Ivan speak French, English, and Spanish and they are happy to translate as they teach.

Workshop Schedule:

  • Day One:  9 a.m. to late afternoon, with a lunch break (bring your own lunch).  We may end at 5 or 6 p.m., depending on group size.
  • Day Two: 10 a.m. to late afternoon, with a  lunch break (bring your own lunch).  We may end at 5 or 6 p.m., depending on group size.
  • Day Three: 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with one hour lunch break (bring your own lunch).

During the first two days, you will:

  • Choose and reproduce a design based on ancient Mixtec, Aztec, Mayan and Zapotec symbols
  • Carve, build-up and sculpt a 3-dimensional Kand-art design in wax for a pendant or a ring
  • Prepare the casting flask with plaster for your piece
  • Attend to the oven with the flask in the charcoal
  • Participate with supervised instruction to cast the silver in the mold
  • Learn how to use the sling to cast your own work in the future
  • Hand-finish, buff and polish your piece so it is ready-to-wear

All materials, tools, instruction and your sterling silver piece are included in the course fee.

On Day Three, you will have an Introduction to Classical Jewelry Making.  You will learn to use classical jewelers’ tools: the laminator, pliers, saws, electric motor, solder torch, and do finish work using different grades of sandpaper to clean, polish and buff.  In this session you will learn how to melt the quantity of metal you will need, laminate it, stretch it, cut it, and solder the different elements of a design together.  Using the techniques you learn, you will build up a small silver pendant or a pair of earrings ready to wear, choosing a design among the ones we offer you.

Sue Baldassano from New York says … I spent two lovely days  learning to  make jewelry with Brigitte and Ivan in Oaxaca, Mexico. It felt great to be in a working studio with artists.  They were both passionate about their work and seemed to enjoy sharing their knowledge. They were patient, kind and open to my personal artistic style. The  surroundings were comfortable and I never felt rushed in any way.  I came home with not only a beautiful necklace but an appreciation for  the art of jewelry making.

About the Lost-Wax Process.  In many cultures in South America, as well as Africa and India, gold and silversmiths used the technique of lost-wax casting to create complex and delicate shapes.  The item to be cast is first modeled in wax and a clay mold is built around it with a small hole piercing the mold.  The mold is baked until the wax melts and runs out of the mold through the hole.  The molten material is then poured through the same hole into the empty cavity.  After it cools and hardens the mold is broken open and the casting is removed and cleaned.

Lost Wax Workshop Photos: The Process and the Product

    

All materials, tools, instruction and your sterling silver piece are included in the course fee.

I had a wonderful workshop experience.  Thank you for the class of a life-time. For a serious jewelry student, this is an opportunity that I doubt is available anywhere else in the Americas – and certainly not at this price.  –Beryl Simon

  

    

Carol Egan from New Jersey says … I absolutely loved the three-day workshop for making Mexican sterling silver! I learned how to carve in wax and cast a sterling silver pendant/ring. I also made earings and a carved ring. I found the casting in the ancient sling facinating! Absolutely everything is done from scratch as it has been done through the history of silver jewelry making. I worked with three master jewelers. You will love the work of Brigitte, Ivan and Ricardo! I learned to saw metal and solder using the torch, and then polish my piece. If you really want to learn how to make silver jewelry this is the class. The teachers are very kind and professional. They are also patient guiding you through each step. If you wish to make some of your own designs this must be organized a head of time. They have this down to a science. If you are serious about making silver jewelry this is the class for you!

Photos of Classical Jewelry Making Process and Product

           

Who Should Attend: You do not have to be an experienced jeweler or artist to participate!  Beginners are welcome.

  • Artists
  • Hobbyists
  • Jewelry designers
  • Aspiring jewelers
  • Anyone who wants to have fun and make something special

About Your Workshop Leaders—Brigitte Huet and Ivan Campant, Kand-Art Jewelry Workshop

Kand-Art creations are inspired by pre-Hispanic symbols and carved in high relief.  The jewelry has been exhibited and sold in galleries throughout the United States and in Oaxaca, and many have collected their work over time whenever they return to Oaxaca, or when Brigitte and Ivan travel to the U.S. for private shows.  Kand-Art Jewelry designs are in private collections throughout the world.

Brigitte Huet.  Brigitte Huet attended the Ecole des Beaux Arts and majored in art history at university in France.  She was the first young woman apprentice accepted into the studio of a Lorraine, France, master jeweler where she learned to work in silver before emigrating to Oaxaca in 1993.  Brigitte is an experienced classroom teacher as well as a talented jewelry designer.  Her designs are fluid, interpretive and elegant.

Ivan Campant.  Fascinated by the Mayan culture, Ivan is an accomplished self-taught artist and musician.  His jewelry designs are detailed, intricate, textural and complex and incorporate many of the Mayan symbols that intrigue him.  He began carving wax designs for the jewelry soon after he and Brigitte arrived in Oaxaca from France.  An older Zapotec jeweler – a master craftsman – taught Ivan how to use the traditional sling for casting the silver in the ancient technique.

Workshop Location.  The workshop will be held in the Oaxaca, Mexico home studio of Brigitte and Ivan, in a neighborhood about 10-15 minutes from the historic center of Oaxaca.  Transportation at your own expense.  You can take a taxi (40-50 pesos [$4-5 USD] one-way) or a local bus.  We’ll give you more details and directions after you register.  Brigitte and Ivan will call a taxi to return you to the historic center at the end of the workshop day.

Meals.  All meals are on your own and at your own expense.  Most of our participants bring their own lunch.  There is a lovely local market, Mercado de Santa Rosa, two blocks from the studio, where you can shop and bring your food back to the studio.  There is a lovely patio garden where you can take lunch and refreshments.

Lodging.  All lodging is on your own/at your own expense.  This gives you the flexibility to choose the level of accommodation that best suits your travel preferences.  You make and pay for your own hotel reservations. We can offer suggestions and contact information for places to stay.    If you are interested in recommendations, let me know.

Marty Knight from North Carolina says …  I recently spent a few fabulous weeks in and around Oaxaca.  A highlight of the trip was the lost wax silver “experience” with Brigitte and Ivan.  With their clear and masterful  instructions and their hands-on teaching techniques I never felt overwhelmed. One of the many benefits of taking classes with them was learning about the highly developed pre-Columbian Zapotec and Mixtec civilizations.  Their positive and always helpful attitude made me want to go further.  And, in fact, I did.  I extended the original class to make a beautiful, original design ring that has received many compliments and even offers to buy it off my finger! I have taken jewelry courses as a hobby for several years but this was the most enlightening instruction to date.  I’m looking forward to more instruction from Brigitte and Ivan and Ricardo, a local silver expert, in the future.  Do yourself and favor and spend some time learning from Brigitte and Ivan.

Reservations and Cancellations.   Full payment is required to guarantee your spot.  We prefer Payment with PayPal.    We will send you an invoice. If cancellation is necessary, please notify us in writing by email 45 days before the start of the workshop and we will refund 50% of your course fee.   After that, no refunds are possible.

We strongly recommend that you take out trip cancellation, baggage, emergency evacuation and medical insurance before you begin your trip, since unforeseen circumstances are possible.

To register or for questions, contact us by email or Skype: oaxacaculture

This workshop is produced by Norma Hawthorne, Oaxaca Cultural Navigator LLC.

Photojournalism Workshop in Oaxaca, Mexico–Las Cuevitas and Day of the Three Kings

Like a writer, a photojournalist captures and tells a story through the still photographs s/he takes that is accompanied by a short written narrative.  Oaxaca, Mexico, during the extraordinary and magical Christmas season will be our workshop laboratory to discover and record the scenes of the season– Las Cuevitas and Day of the Three Kings (Epiphany).

 Las Cuevitas–The Caves and Dia de los Tres Reyes–Day of the Three Kings, arrive December 31 and depart January 7    

Plus add-on a Zapotec cooking class with Reyna Mendoza Ruiz on December 31  [arrive December 30] or on January 7  [depart January 8]   –  details below

Bring your digital camera (point-and-shoot or DSLRs welcome), your memory cards, your note pad and pen, your imagination and your sense of adventure.  We will teach you the techniques for capturing and documenting the culture with your camera and writing about what you see to accompany your photos.

The Christmas holidays in Oaxaca are magical and mystical, vibrant and festive.  They are filled with processions, special foods, merrymaking and solemnity.  Together, we will discuss the region’s rich history and culture, the art and craft traditions, belief systems and relationships to nature and daily life.  We will visit archeological sites and crafts villages. This will inform your photographic work that is anchored with diary entries.

Outline of Itinerary:

December 31 — Arrive in Oaxaca and travel from airport to Teotitlan del Valle, check in to bed and breakfast inn.  (If you want to take a cooking class today, arrive on December 30.)

January 1 — Our workshop starts with a morning learning session followed by a day trip to the local Tlacolula regional tianguis (market) filled with food, aprons, household goods, crafts, everything and the kitchen sink.  All day excursion on local bus includes lunch.

January 2 — Morning learning session followed by lunch with a famous weaving family and a procession to Las Cuevitas, the magical caves of Teotitlan del Valle (bring tripods for night photography if you wish)

January 3 — leave in early morning for a day in craft villages of Arrazola and Atzompa, with visit to renown Mesoamerican archeological site of Monte Alban. Following dinner in the city, return to Teotitlan del Valle.

January 4 — Morning learning session followed by weaving and natural dyeing demonstration with Master weaver Federico Chavez Sosa.

January 5 —  After morning learning session, enjoy a demonstration with artisans who work in natural dyes and handspun and woven silk. Spend the afternoon with a family celebrating Dia de Los Tres Reyes.

January 6 — After morning learning session, spend the day on your own to explore, shop or prepare for the evening final presentation and best of week show.

January 7 — Depart or stay an extra day for a cooking class in traditional Oaxacan foods including how to prepare mole [also available on December 31 before the workshop begins]

June Finfer, photographer, filmmaker, playwright

June Finfer, Chicago playwright, documentarian, and photographer will lead you in this learning adventure where you will enter into the world of the Mixtec and Zapotec people.  June will share her tips on using your camera to capture the decisive moment, and her writing experience on how to keep a diary of your experience.  You will in effect be a photojournalist.

Use what you learn to become a photojournalist

The Internet has created many opportunities for amateurs to contribute to the art of photojournalism.  Small, portable cameras give each of us the personal power to create stories through images that are publishable on blogs, podcasts and online news magazines.

Even traditional media outlets welcome photographs from amateurs who capture an important event with fair and accurate representation.

We will discuss ethical approaches to objectivity, the role of the citizen journalist, what to shoot, how to frame, and how to edit.

You can focus in-depth on a subject or a wide survey.  You will build a portfolio of photographs and narration based on these important rituals that combine pre-Hispanic and Catholic traditions.  Using the techniques of photojournalism, you will be able to record the visual elements of the celebrations while learning about their significance.

About Your Workshop Leader June Finfer 

JUNE FINFER is an award-winning playwright, photographer, and a producer of documentaries. She studied photography at Illinois Institute of Technology with Aaron Siskind and her films about the architecture of Mies van der Rohe have been broadcast on A&E and PBS. Her play, The Glass House, was produced off-Broadway in New York in 2010.  She adapted an unfinished novel by Shirley Jackson, directed by Joanne Woodward for American Playhouse, nationally broadcast by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

June’s films include Greentowns USA: A New Deal,  Earthshapers,  Creating Community: Lafayette Park, and The Tugendhat House: Mies van der Rohe’s Czech Masterpiece. Awards and Grants include: American Film Festival, first prize CINE Goethe-Institute Graham Foundation for Advanced Study in the Fine Arts, Illinois Arts Council,  Illinois Humanities Council,  Maryland Humanities Council,  Ohio Humanities Council, TELLY U.S. International Film and Video Festival.  See details at www.lostandfoundproductions.org

Lodging and Costs: 

We will be based in the Zapotec weaving village of Teotitlan del Valle.  To keep this program affordable, we have selected clean and basic accommodations at a woman-operated bed and breakfast inn that is part of their family compound.  Josefina, along with her mother-in-law Magdalena and daughter Eloisa, prepare delicious meals from scratch.  (If you desire luxury travel, please consider a different experience.)

Base Cost: $1195 per person double occupancy with shared bath facilities.  6 nights, 7 days.

[  ] Option 1:  I will share a room, double occupancy with shared bath, $1195 per person.

[  ] Option 2:  I prefer a single room with shared bath for a total of $1,295 per person.

[  ] Option 3: I will share a room, double occupancy, with private bath for a total of $1,295 per person.

[  ] Option 4: I prefer a single room with private bath for a total of $1,495.

[  ]  Option 5:  Add-on a 5-hour Zapotec cooking class, includes local market shopping tour and lunch, on December 31 (arrive on December 30) or January 7 (depart on January 8).   Add $110 for cooking class and additional night lodging.

If you want to arrive earlier or stay later, we can arrange additional nights lodging in Teotitlan del Valle at $55 per night and additional nights lodging in Oaxaca city at $125 per night (each includes breakfast).

Most travel workshops of this type and length cost more than twice as much!

The trip does NOT include airfare, taxes, gratuities, travel insurance, liquor or alcoholic beverages, some meals, and local transportation to and from Oaxaca city.

We reserve the right to substitute instructors and alter the program as needed.

Register Today! Use the Registration Form on the banner.

Full payment is due to register you for the program.  We prefer Payment with PayPal. 

Please see our cancellation policy in the “Register Today” section of the home page.  We strongly recommend that you take out trip cancellation, baggage, emergency evacuation and medical insurance before you begin your trip, since unforeseen circumstances are possible.

To get your questions answered and to register, contact: normahawthorne@mac.com or call (919) 274-6194.  Thank you.

This program is produced by Norma Hawthorne, Oaxaca Cultural Navigator LLC.