Friday, November 22, 2013

We are almost sold out! Thank you to everyone for responding so quickly,


Giant puppets during one of the many parades.
San Miguel de Allende is a feast for the senses
during Dia De Los Muertos.
Some photos from 2012 show that there were characters lurking around every corner during the evening festivities. Hmmmm...some faces you may recognize.
The giant puppets, dancing in the streets,were
a particular favorite. 
The workshops were fabulous during the day and it spilled over into the evening with teachers and our students enjoying the local people,food, music and festivities.
We can hardly wait for next year to teach some exciting art techniques for our Totem De Vida, meet new students and of course catch up with those that are returning. We are so pleased at how quickly everyone
responded. We couldn't do this without you.
Jane LaFazio,Laurie Mika,Helen Shafer Garcia,Lynn Leahy
Laurie Mika trying to scare the locals (it didn't work).
Helen Shafer Garcia looking quite relaxed.
Up close and personal with a giant puppet. They were awesome!
Fabulous artwork from one of our students during the workshop.
More giant puppets...yes, Lynn Leahy loved the puppets.


Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Dia de los Muertos

Dia de Los Muertos in Esocndido, California
photo by Jane LaFazio
Dia de los Muertos is a beautiful celebration full of stunning images and soothing ritual. These photos are from the recent Day of the Dead in Escondido, California. You can imagine how beautiful it is in San Miguel de Allende! There are only 4 spots left for our mixed media art retreat, Totem de Vida, in 2014 held in San Miguel. 
Dia de Los Muertos in Esocndido, California
photo by Jane LaFazio

Dia de Los Muertos in Esocndido, California
photo by Jane LaFazio

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Tesoro Boxes

Our  Cubes for Totem de Vida have arrived and are ready to store for our trip to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico next year! 



Helen's Dad, Don Shafer, is in charge of creating the Boxes for our retreat. He's 93 years young and enjoys designing and building wooden objects. This is his workshop filled with treasures. 


 Don has always been inventive and knows how to re-use and save. Note the bands used to hold the boxes together. Can you tell what they are? :)