Carly Cross is director
and founder of MexArt. She was raised in Philadelphia and Virginia Beach, graduated from
Interlochen Arts Academy and from McGill University where she majored in oboe performance and psychology. Her resume is filled with
music awards and academic honors. Her strong international interests have led to cross-cultural education
evidenced by her many semesters abroad and extensive travel. Carly directed
Med-O-Lark Camp--a well-known arts camp in Maine--for 300 11-15 year olds
from 1994-2001. Having founded MexArt in San Miguel in 1999, Carly now maintains the MexArt winter office, gearing up for
each new season with admissions, registration, billing, insurance, and
travel. During the summer, she oversees and runs the program in San
Miguel.
In 2003 Carly purchased land in
centro San Miguel and in 4 months constructed Casa Crayola, the
now-permanent home of MexArt. The property has 7 casitas all
with kitchenettes and private bathrooms. The extensive gardens
with central fountains, a fish pond, and outdoor sitting areas
lend themselves to reading, studying and socializing with
others. During the off-season of MexArt, she runs Casa Crayola
as a small hotel, renting the casitas to visitors to San Miguel.
In addition to directing MexArt and
managing Casa Crayola, Carly continues to pursue her music
interests playing oboe in a small ensemble, hosting dinner
concerts, and organizing concerts. In her 5 years of living
full-time in San Miguel, learning and becoming fluent in Spanish
has been a priority. Through her learning experiences, she's
able to create a warm, non-competitive, creative environment for
learning Spanish and increasing fluency.
Caren Cross is
an on-site director of MexArt and helps the program as needed during the
summer months. Caren has a bachelor in fine arts
from Boston University where she majored in painting. Caren later returned to
school and earned her masters in social work. As an L.C.S.W. Caren had a
thriving psychotherapy practice for twenty five years based in Philadelphia
in the early years and later in Virginia Beach. In 1998
Caren closed her practice and moved with her husband, David, to San Miguel de
Allende to pursue her love of painting and gardening.
In 2006 she completed her
documentary film, Lost and Found in Mexico, the story of why she
and other expats in San Miguel have made the decision to abandon
their homes in the U.S., leaving behind "successful" lives,
seeking to start again outside of their native culture. This
year she continues on the film festival circuit and works to
promote her documentary. For more information click:
David Cross
David has a bachelor degree in engineering and a masters in
educational psychology. David has been a consultant to businesses focusing on
organizational development and interpersonal skill development. Twenty-two
years ago he founded a steel manufacturing company in Virginia to which he
continues to consult long-distance from San Miguel de Allende.
The Crosses have been married for
over thirty years and
have two adult children, Carly and Jordan. The Crosses moved to San Miguel
in 1998 in order to 'smell the roses', play golf (he), and paint (she). Caren and David help as needed with the
MexArt program and are always available during the MexArt season to ensure
that the program is running smoothly.
