Our 2020 Art Retreat

I am delighted to announce that my friend in all things Oaxaca and an all around creative, loving soul Mija Andrade will be joining me next year in Oaxaca for another amazing art making adventure March 20 to 29.  Mija will be teaching and her focus will be on mixed media and printmaking.

Celebrating & Creating Art in Oaxaca, Mexico

March 20 - 29, 2020

10 days/9 nights
$2,195 

 Please join us as we explore the colonial city of Oaxaca and the surrounding areas, thoroughly enjoying the dance, music, art, food, and history of this very special place that mixes the deep wisdom of ancient ways with the best of what modern Mexico has to offer.  We'll use our cultural explorations and the people we meet to inspire our art making.  Each day we'll go out and add to our journals using prompts and inspiration from our surroundings. We'll also be in the studio exploring different yet complimentary mixed media and printmaking techniques. We'll share our prints with each other and add them to our journals in remembrance of our time together. You'll go home with a journal brimming with Oaxacan inspiration, a treasured momento of your time in this extraordinary place. All skill levels are welcome and no previous
printmaking experience is needed.

What Makes this tour special  -

-We'll be staying at an amazing place that is not your normal bed and breakfast, think of it more as summer camp for adults

-Art making and exploring with a like minded group of creatives

-Visits to a carefully curated selection of world class artists and artisans in their homes and studios

-Great local guides born and raised in Oaxaca

-Lots of personal instruction with Mija Andrade to create your own one-of-a-kind art journal and prints using mixed media and printmaking techniques

-Small group (10 maximum)

Itinerary-

Friday- Gather at our home away from home the lovely Casa Colonial, home to folk art, home cooked food, and a lush garden not to mention the kindest, most tender staff maybe anywhere ever. We'll have a light meal for everyone in the evening and get to know each other.

Saturday - We're off, maps in hand, to get our bearings and explore the city's world class museums, dominican churches, and lively zocalo. Plus our favorite off the beaten track boutiques and 
quirkly little galleries. Welcome Dinner at El Criollo

Sunday - Off bright and early with our beloved local guide Pablo Gonzales to visit the bustling Tlacolula Market, one of the oldest farmers' markets in the America's and home to all manner of homegrown food and craft. Then we'll journey further back in time and visit the archaeological ruins of Mitla, one of the last indigenous strongholds when the Spaniards arrived.  It has some of the most unusual architecture in all of Mesoamerica and has inspired artists like Joseph and Ani Albers, DH Lawrence and more. We'll have time to sketch, shop, and try the local sherbets. Dinner at the Casa.

Monday -Today we explore natural dyes and weaving in the town of Teotitlan De Valle with a visit to a master Dyer. This evening you are free to explore on your own or take dinner at the Casa.

Tuesday - Folk art is our focus as we head south of town and visit two places where the whole family is engaged in art making.  We’ll visit the talented Navarro family of backstrap loom weavers, painters, and poets and the delightful folk art church in Santa Ana Zegache. Lunch at one of my favorite restaurants and a visit with the famous makers of hand carved mythical animals known as alebrijes. Dinner is  on your own or enjoy a meal at the Casa. 

Wednesday - Back at the Casa, art making begins in earnest today. Artmaking in our private studio in the morning.  Late afternoon stroll into town where we’ll  pop into a few printmaking studios and meet some of these young street artists working collectively. Prepare to be amazed by their output. Dinner in town at our favorite hipster restaurant where we can dine on wood fired pizza and swill homemade kombucha.

linoleum carved print by Mija

Thursday -Inspired by the vibrant culture around us, today we begin carving and printing as well as embellishing our art journals.  Lunch will be at the Casa.  Late afternoon we'll stroll into town for a private tour of the Rufino Tamayo Museum and have time for sketching in this colorful space. Dinner will be in town. 

Friday - Today is devoted to art making.  We’ll continue to print and share our work with each other as well as finishing our art journals. You'll have created a beautiful, commemorative art book to take home with contributions from your fellow travelers. Late afternoon we visit the world class Textile Museum and dinner in town. 

Saturday - Today is a free day to be on your own in town, take a cooking class, go horseback riding, finish last minute shopping or whatever your heart desires. In the evening, put on your party clothes and celebrate with a final farewell fiesta and art show at the Casa. 

Sunday - Head off to your next destination... recharged, renewed
and inspired.

Trip Details - $2,195 based on double occupancy.  $395 single supplement. We will make every effort to find you a roommate but if unable, single supplement charges apply.  Partners who want to come without taking the art instruction are welcome. (inquire about discount)  Pretty much everything is included once you get yourself to Oaxaca.  The tour fee covers lodging, most meals, ground transportation guides, entrance fees and some art materials are covered by the tour. Airfare, alcohol, tips, laundry and any personal shopping are not covered and will be additional expenses. In addition, we'll send you a small list of art materials to bring and an inspirational reading list upon registration. A $500 non-refundable deposit holds your space. Any questions or inquiries can be sent to jewel.murphy@gmail.com.

About Us - 

Mija Andrade

I'm an artist, mama, collaborator, and creative instigator who loves to dance, sing and dress up. On my first visit to Oaxaca in 2009, I connected in a deep way with my Mexican roots and  fell in love with the rich, colorful culture. Since then, I've made many trips to southern Mexico and love to share all that I find inspiring about this region of Mexico. I knew I was an artist at a very young age and enjoy sharing in the creative process with others. I've been teaching for 12 years and work in many mediums, having developed my own personal style of building layers upon layers, representing the depth and complexity of the world and ourselves. I've been working in the non-profit art world for over a decade and bringing people together through art is my passion. On this trip, our journals will become vessels, holding our stories of exploration and art making in this amazing place called Oaxaca.


Jewel Murphy

I first traveled to Mexico & Guatemala in 1979 on a wanderlust/walkabout during my college years. Since then I've concentrated my journeys on the Yucatan Peninsula, Chiapas & Oaxaca and have been organizing tours to Oaxaca since 2011. I like gathering together and traveling with packs of inquisitive and engaged, creative people. I like putting our tourist dollars directly into the hands of local people. I like taking it slow. I like going deep and wide. Good food is important. Cross cultural encounters keep me going. My areas of special interest are early Dominican Churches (the older the better), contemporary art, traditional artisans with an emphasis on textiles, natural history and food and sustainability.  I have recently retired from my 25 year career as a florist and owner of an award winning retail store and can now be found watering plants, birdwatching, swimming and making art in Eugene, Oregon when I am not obsessing about all things Mexico. 

Trip Details - $2,195 based on double occupancy.  $395 single supplement. We will

make every effort to find you a roommate but if unable, single supplement charges apply.  Partners who want to come without taking the art instruction are welcome. (inquire about discount)  Pretty much everything is included once you get yourself to Oaxaca.  The tour fee covers lodging, most meals, ground transportation guides, entrance fees and some art materials are covered by the tour. Airfare, alcohol, tips, laundry and any personal shopping are not covered and will be additional expenses. In addition, we'll send you a small list of art materials to bring and an inspirational reading list upon registration. A $500 non-refundable deposit holds your space. Any questions or inquiries can be sent to jewel.murphy@gmail.com.

Some Good Eats in Oaxaca

Well lookee here, from NYT 36 Hours in Oaxaca published in March of 2018 - a  photo featuring the most wonderful shrimp broth soup, a lovely part of my two and a half hour Saturday lunch that I enjoyed at Cabuche on one of my last days in Oaxaca.  Nothing like a LONG, leisurely meal over good conversation to get you into the Latin swing of la vida buena. It's appropriately called Raising the Dead, as this was my first substantial meal post some serious stomach upset. It felt extremely nourishing.  Highest recommend. And I liked the writer's take on a Sunday spending it mostly in the  ex-Marquesado neighborhood which is our hood at the fabulous Casa Colonial. 

(photo courtesy NYT - 36 Hours in Oaxaca)

Women at Work

  A quiet morning making art on the light filled patio outside our studio at Casa Colonial.

Our Latest Greatest Art Retreat

Just finished tour #7 with this group of awesome women.  That's me in the middle wearing black surrounded by a lots of smiling, white haired, margarita carrying, happy people many of whom are wearing a beautiful, handmade,huipile or mandile (apron) purchased on the trip. (And note the gorgeous brugmansia shrub we're standing in front of)  It's no exaggeration to say each trip keeps getting better and this one was no exception.  I've dabbled with this touring thing long enough to realize it's something I really enjoy and find it deeply satisfying to watch people learn to love Mexico in all her imperfect glory.  Which brings me to the big announcement which isn't exactly that I've sold all my possessions and am setting sail on a solo trip around the world to follow my bliss but it feels a little bit like that. After 25 years of running my flower shop and retail emporium in Eugene, I've sold the business and am heading off into the great beyond of organizing tours to Oaxaca.I have a zillion ideas and really want to do some specialized trips -  think birding, or a bartenders tour of all things drinkable, catholic churches and syncretic religions, ceramics and sustainability, anarchist green poetry, textiles, food & cooking, natural history, field sketching, and really whatever you can dream up, I can make happen for you if it involves Oaxaca.

At Our Charming Bed and Breakfast in Oaxaca

Wall of Masks - Contemporary and Otherwise, not all Mexican.

One of my favorite walls at the Casa.

Where to Stay in Oaxaca

Our home away from home, the lovely Casa Colonial, a second generation bed and breakfast,

filled with folk art, books, birds,and plants. Oh an people, people too. Interesting people.

I am just back from my most recent tour organizing a bold and curious bunch of folks as we toured the Central Valleys and beyond.  It had been two years since I'd done a tour and had forgotten how truly special Casa Colonial is.

I heard one of our people tell Jane staying at the Casa was like staying at summer camp for adults.

Couldn't agree more. 

 Plus a communal dining experience, filled with lovingly prepared food and enjoyed with a changing array of guests. 

 

Some mornings you'll find artisans coming in from the villages set up in the patio, here to sell and talk to you about their wares. I am always charmed by this.

 

The Casa is just an inspiring, soulful, nurturing oasis of a place to stay in Oaxaca City.  I feel lucky to have found this place and to be able to share the Casa with so many people. Every room at the Casa is a little bit different and my goal is to stay in all of them. So far I've stayed in six. Seven more to go!

Tourism, I noticed on the recent tour in September of 2016, is, once again, taking a big hit because of the teacher's strikes and the flare up that happened in June of this year. It's too bad because all iS tranquil and as inspirational as ever.  

Stay tuned for more tours coming in 2017.

And a good time was had by all.....

We had a most glorious tour and we always end it with a most glorious meal in the courtyard garden of the Casa.  Thank you to everyone who came - you drank it all up in such a good way, Jane Robison and the fantastic staff at the Casa for taking such good care of us, our wonderful guide Pablo and his wife Araceli who share their love of Oaxaca with us, Reed College for making it all happen.  And now another tour or two are in the works because Oaxaca beckons!

Drawing Bunnies - El Senor Conejo

In the dining room at the Casa, sitting on top of the big yellow hutch, there is an assortment of clay rabbits, mostly of them playing musical instruments. Jane says a group from California bought way too many of them and left the overflow at the Casa.

So, because, deep down, we really are art geeks at heart, many a night during the tour, before bed, a few of us could be found sipping hot chocolate and drawing our terra cotta bunny of choice.

It was just a lovely evening ritual, drawing before bed.

And stay tuned because I think we're going to have a little show of our bunny drawings at Noisette Bakery, sometime around Easter.

Perhaps a little fundraiser for the folks at En Via.

El Senor Conejo

 Above a big yellow hutch, in the dining room of the lovely Casa Colonial, where we eat breakfast each morning, and sometimes lunch and dinner too, there is a huge collection of very simply made and roughly fired terra cotta rabbits.  Jane says a tour group from California didn't have room to bring all of them home so they left about twenty or thirty of these rabbits at the Casa.  Lucky us and I'm sure there's a story there.  In the meantime, on many an evening during the tour, you could find a few of us, each with our own bunny, madly drawing these lovely creatures.

And drinking a little

 hot chocolate as well.

Drawing is such a peaceful way to end the day.