Our "Collaborative" Tour

These are the two people without whom this last tour would never have happened. One is our super wonderful teacher Rogene Manas who wanted to bring a group of artists to Oaxaca and the other, our awesome local guide Pablo Gonzales.  I think Rogene loved the trip. Click here to head on over to her blog and read what she had to say (plus some great photography).  I loved collaborating with her on this tour.
 The word collaboration came up a lot in artists talks in Oaxaca.  What exactly is collaboration?  Is it a group joining together to put on a show?  Or a group of creatives coming together, each bringing their own particular skill set to do a styled shoot?  Or is it two artists giving each other feedback?  Or several people working on the same piece like doing a mural together?  All these things can be collaboration.  In my case, it was me putting my knowledge in the service of Rogene's vision. She was clear with me that she really wanted to keep the focus on art making and the paper clay process we were learning  -  OK then, I was happy to serve.

 We were making  paper clay hearts, let's head on over to the tinmakers, Senor Arturo Sosa and his apprentice Cesar,  and watch him punch and hammer out a 3 D heart.

 We were going to be painting santos and milagros, so let's visit the alebrije makers who paint fantastical carved figures. 

Let's visit the home of painter Rodolfo Morales whose family has kept it very much the way it was when he was living and working there up, I believe, until the day he died, in 2001.  We got to go in his painting room which was full of brushes and half finished canvase, his collage room, kitchen, theatre, and private quarters.Plus we met his nieces and nephews and saw a fantastic small show of his collages.

And finally, and more on this in another post, a visit to the home of surrealist artist and Hungarian expat Susana Wald who charmed and inspired us beyond measure to think past our limits and go boldly where no artist has gone before.
Were it not for Rogene and her vision, I'm not sure I would have put any of these outings on a tour. I switched it up and went outside my comfort zone, or at least went outside the zone of tried and true things you know will be a hit, and did things I had never done before.Thanks Rogene for pushing me to try some new things.