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Painting & Drawing
For more information:
011-52-415-152-8900
Office: c/o Border Crossing
5912 San Bernardo Ave. PMB 2851
Laredo, TX 78041
carly@gomexart.com
7/9/01
The MexArt group members had a fabulous, jam-packed weekend! On Friday
night they went to three art openings and then hung out in the jardin
and in the hotel courtyard where they played guitars and sang songs.
On Saturday morning they left by chartered bus for a visit to the
brick-making little town of Pantoja. There they visited the primitive
workshop and home of Senor Esteban Velasquez. He makes bowls and plates
by hand, trims them with his dental floss, dries them in the sun, and
paints and fires them in his outdoor oven. His work can be found in the
folk art section of the Smithsonian. Some students purchased bowls from
him...others bought little hand-made clay figures that his grandchildren
made.
Then the bus was off to Pozos. This ghost town used to have 40,000
inhabitants...in the silver mining days. It now has only a few
hundred. The students had an American-style lunch (much appreciated
after many days of Mexican food) on a charming patio and then received a
history lecture about the town and the mines. Following this, they
toured a mine and hiked a bit.
That night they ate a Chinese meal! Broccoli in garlic sauce,
Vegetable Delight, Hunan Pork and Chicken with cashews, lemonade and
fortune cookies....then they were off to a musical performance by a
group from Veracruz. A few students chose to skip the concert after
this exhausting day to go straight to bed.
Sunday morning was more relaxed. Each student was given money to eat
breakfast or brunch whenever he/she got up. At 11:30 ten people were off
for a horseback riding adventure....I am sure they will tell you about
it...but it covered much terrain
and they saw small villages off the beaten track, as well as the
remnants of the original San Miguel. Most of these riders were
inexperienced. They felt adventuresome and proud of their journey.
Next week the more experienced riders go off for their adventure!
Following the horseback riding adventure, the riders went directly to
the hot springs where they met the other half of the group who had come
by public bus from San Miguel. They spent the afternoon lounging in the
warm water in a cave and in the swimming pool fed by the springs. Some
people soaked up the sun!
Sunday was also Emily's 16th birthday, so there was a surprise party at
the Crosses: Pizza, a piņata filled with candy, small gifts purchased
by friends, and two birthday cakes!
La Atencion, the gringo weekly newspaper, comes out each Sunday. This
weeks edition had a special feature on MexArt. The web version of the
newspaper comes out on Tuesday afternoons, so please check the site to
see the article. http://www.infosma.com/atencion
Monday (today) was the beginning of the second part of the session.
Almost all the students opted to remain in the same focus area for
their morning classes. New classes have been added for the afternoon
electives. One is welding, another is metal project-making, and the
other is a new silver jewelry class. Non-Art activities have been added
to the afternoon elective schedule to spice things up. Now students
have a choice of yoga or community service in addition to the art areas.
7/3/01
There are now pictures available on-line! You can spy on the students
at MexArt by checking out the pictures that were taken this week. You
can find these pictures on the MexArt web site.
We expected a certain amount of stomach illnesses the first week but
were pleasantly surprised that very few kids suffered. About 6 kids
were weak or had diarrhea at some point, but none were sick for more
than a few hours. A dose of pepto and keeping hydrated with gatorade
has relieved everyone's symptoms. Dehydration is also a great concern
at this altitude with this level of dryness. All are encouraged to
drink frequently and staff are checking that no one leaves the hotel
without taking water with them. And gatorade is available too.