Info:
carly@gomexart.com
 

Marti MacInnes, Counselor - Program Director
Marti attended MexArt as a high school student. Having since graduated from UCLA in English Lit. and Classics, Marti returned to San Miguel and MexArt in June 2008 where she worked as a counselor for the summer. Now she continues full time with the winter office in San Miguel, helping coordinate student enrollment, travel plans, and activities.  Marti was raised in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Northern California. She enjoys traveling and continued to study abroad during her college career with a semester in London and Edinburgh. Marti also enjoys reading, photography, yoga, and baking cupcakes.

Mara Tillett, Counselor - Resident Director
Mara Tillet is also a returning MexArt counselor.  Born and raised in Mexico City, she currently lives there with her three cats, bird, and dog.  Mara is an accomplished flamenco dancer, flute player, and is trilingual (Spanish, English, and Catalan).  She attended Bard College for music and dance, and during the year performs and manages a flamenco group called De Plata y Bronce.  Her passions are animals, learning languages, travel, dance of all kinds, and music.  She enjoys dressing up her animals, especially her dog Dhoruba Tsunami, in various outfits for special occasions.  Mara speaks perfect English, but she’s ready for you to practice your Spanish with her.

Ruthie and Congo, Counselors & Homesickness Experts
Ruthie, a rescued street dog, is a 3-year veteran of MexArt while Congo is a new addition to the team.  Congo is a 4-month old black Labrador who is interested in chewing anything he can get his hands on.  Ruthie, while quite large, still thinks she's a lap dog and will gladly sit with students and staff, pleading with her eyes for more petting.  Ruthie and Congo are sure cures for homesickness, easily putting students at ease, giving them their undivided attention.

Shannon Reece, Photography
Shannon Reece is the photography teacher for MexArt. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Vancouver and also has a degree from the Emily Carr College of Arts and Design. She concentrates on photography and printmaking. Shannon has had six one-man shows  and has shown in many group settings. She has won 2 significant awards for her photographic work. Shannon has taught photography at MexArt every summer since MexArt was founded in 2000.

Nina Wisniewski, Painting & Drawing
Born in Milwaukee, WI, Nina has worked professional as a painter and teacher of art for over 30 years. She began to paint at the age of 4 and received early recognition and many years of training throughout her youth. She holds a BFA and MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute. Nina's exhibition record includes solo and group shows in San Francisco, Chicago, Milwaukee, Costa Rica, and throughout Mexico.  The call to teach as well as paint has lead Nina to hold positions in public and private education where she has served as instructor, director and curator. Nina has lived in San Miguel for 5 years after having lead art-travel workshops in Mexico and California.

Joan Elena, Pottery
Learn hand building, wheel throwing, and unique decoration techniques in the lovely Centro home/studio of artist Joan Elena Goldberg. New students will be introduced to coil building, slab construction, slump molds and simple clay modeling. Pottery wheel instruction includes basic centering, opening and raising techniques. Experienced students are welcome to work independently in a group with instruction. Finishing techniques using colored slips (engobes), glazing, and kiln firing are essential to learning the art of ceramics.

Jose Juan Palacio, Ironwork
Jose Juan was born and raised in San Miguel. He was brought up in a metal working family where he learned his trade.  He now has his own workshop where he works with his brother and teaches MexArt students with metal creations.

Paco, Silver Jewelry
Born and raised in SMA, Paco learned jewelry making from his father, the locally famous jewelry designer and store/workshop owner, David. Paco, having taken over from his father, continues to run his family's jewelry production studio and store. Classes are held in his workshop with MexArt students working alongside professional jewelry makers. After choosing example jewelry from Paco’s store displays, students learn techniques to recreate their favorite pieces. With Paco’s patient guidance and input students produce professional looking jewelry with their own creative touches. In addition Paco speaks primarily Spanish during class, requiring students to exercise their languages skills

Patty Arrieta, Dance Teacher
Patty Arrieta was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, and grew up in the San Fransisco Bay Area. She began her training as a gymnast and competed for many years. She has studied dance in a variety of techniques and has received numerous scholarships to institutions nationwide. Upon being accepted into The Ailey School, she moved to New York City, and currently resides in Brooklyn, NY.

Patty has danced with modern companies and commercial artists alike. She has been a member of Extended Dance, The Next Stage Project, DixonMena Dance, One Mile, The Collective, and Dance Anonymous, with whom she has toured internationally. She has danced for top choreographers and participated in a variety of dance festivals, including the International Fringe Festival, where her production won honors in their awards. Ms. Arrieta has performed alongside Billboard chart topper Sarah Atereth and appeared in her latest video as a featured dancer. She's performed at New York Fashion Week, dance industrials, and was published as a dance model for an Italian fashion publication. She's appeared as a dancer for New York theater productions and served as a choreographers assistant to the Golden State Warrior Girls.  Patty has danced for the rock bands The Dirty Pearls and The Subscribers, the latter a charity band playing top NYC venues and international shows. She has traveled to Hong Kong, Japan, Europe, Cyprus, Latin America, and across the US, dancing, teaching, and creating work as a choreographer.  She has also trained and performed with Gravity Works, an aerial dance company in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

Patty has had the great pleasure of teaching and currently works as an instructor in dance studios, fitness facilities, and NYC schools. She has participated in residencies and has taught workshops in high schools, universities, and studios nationwide. She's been hired as a competition choreographer since 1996, and her work has won top awards. She's a current faculty member of MexArt, in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where she's worked for the last four summers teaching and producing student shows.  She has also taught ongoing classes, workshops, and private lessons in Mexico during her time living there.  Patty has participated in community outreach programs, bringing dance and her passion for it to the next generation of performers. She is still actively performing, dancing, and exploring new styles of movement.

Christie Olvera, Dance Instructor
Christie Olvera, was born in Pittsburgh and raised in State College, PA where she began dancing at the age of five studying ballet, pointe, tap and jazz for 11 years. She then attended Ohio University in Athens, OH where she majored in Health Education and Psychology. Upon graduation she moved to Cincinnati, OH where she began teaching ballroom dancing lessons at the Arthur Murray School of Dance where she later became the studio manager. She met her husband, Adrian (who is from Mexico) while out salsa dancing. The two of them became instant dance partners and went on to become three-time Street Salsa Champions at Cincinnati Dancesport, an international ballroom dance competition. They also placed first on Mexico's popular VidaTV variety show in 2003. Christie founded the dance program at Cincinnati Country Day School where she taught for seven years prior to moving to San Miguel. There she choreographed the middle and high school musicals and the varsity dance team routines as well as teaching various dance electives at the school. Now a permanent resident of San Miguel, Christie opened an Arthur Murray studio locally and is enjoying great success as a new dance center in town. Christie loves teaching all styles of dance from ballroom to ballet, musical theater to mambo, and believes anyone who wants to can learn. Her mantra is "if you've got a heartbeat, you've got rhythm".

Rocio, Spanish Coordinator
Rocio is trained as a Spanish as a second language teacher and tutor. She regularly works with Warren Hardy and tutors his students. Rocio coordinates Spanish classes with the other teachers, assesses students for class placement, and teaches classes.  MexArt Spanish classes are hands-on and encourage conversation.

 

Spanish Teaching Staff
MexArt's Spanish classes are offered daily for two hours concentrating on student communication, conversation, and fluency. San Miguel is a charming colonial town rich in history. Roaming the serpentine cobblestone streets, one finds 16^th and 17^th century buildings, flower-filled patios, burros delivering wood, women selling handmade dolls, men hawking straw baskets. This backdrop offers MexArt students an unsurpassed cultural experience and inspires each student to speak Spanish and integrate into this rich community. MexArt's Spanish teachers teach Spanish to foreigners year-round in class settings and private tutors. They are native Spanish speakers, but speak English VERY well. Their experience in teaching foreigners is invaluable and they easily recognize and intuitively correct mistakes that English speakers often make in speaking Spanish.

Reyna, Cooking
Reyna has been a professional cook for over 20 years having worked in restaurants, homes, and for catering. Reyna has been working with MexArt and the Cross family since 2000 and continues to delight palates. Reyna cooks 2 meals daily at MexArt and teaches a cooking class to interested students. Reyna also caters meals for Casa Crayola's Duets Events, a duet of fine food and musical duos.