Back from San Miguel de Allende!

We recently returned from our 2016 Tesoro Del Corazón art retreat in gorgeous San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

We had 30 lovely ladies join us from all over the US, Canada and even one gal (Jo) from the UK!

Our group at Anado's mosaic house!

 This was our 5th year in San Miguel and we had well-known mosaic artist, Katherine England, join us as this year's guest artist.

(Katherine in the midst of her "lost phone saga"-which was amazingly recovered days later!)

The bed and breakfast where we stay is so charming with a lively history as a former bordello! Here is a photo during one of the classes.

 The only interruption in our workshop day was when a delicious lunch was served! Life is tough!

 

The theme for this year's project was, Casas del Corazon. Students each completed 4 house-shaped substrates using a variety of techniques. These inspiring "neighborhoods" of houses far exceeded our expectations and it was great to see all 120 houses together during our student showcase!!! 

 

One of the highlights of our trip to San Miguel is being there during Dia de los Muertos. The intermittent rain and electrical storm this year created a spooky, wonderful ambience for the night!

                         (We found out that Katherine was also a great make-up artist too!)

 It was another fabulous year in San Miguel made all the better by the incredible group of gals that joined us this year. THANK-YOU so much for putting your trust in us and for being a part of our growing San Miguel family!

 We just had a planning meeting yesterday for our 2017 retreat....we have our guest instructor selected and the project is in the works......stay tuned for more info!!!

Beaded Mosaic Houses with Katherine England!

Our Tesoro group recently drove up to Fullerton to spend the day with our guest artist, Katherine England, to learn her wonderful beaded mosaic techniques. We all had so much fun and each of the houses came out beautifully....and amazingly unique! Each of us had our own signature style that emerged while we beaded.

Above is Katherine "in the zone" demonstrating her technique!!  It actually is quite meditative and we can't wait to share this brilliant process with this year's group in San Miguel. Below is a shot of Katherine's studio....that used to be her garage.....

Here is a close up of the finished "neighborhood".....Can you guess whose house is whose???

Casa del Corazón 2016-SOLD OUT

We are happy to announce that our 2016 workshop is officially sold out! We have started a wait list and if you are interested in joining that wait list, please let us know. From year to year we have one or two people who need to cancel for one reason or another....so you never know! The amazing thing is that nearly half of the participants joining us this year are returnees! I think that is a testament to the wonderful experience that this retreat is (well, and to be fair, a testament to the incredible place that San Miguel is too!!)  We look forward to meeting those we don't know and welcoming you into our wonderful group of creative and adventurous women!

The picture above was taken at Lynn's house where we got together to take Lynn's portion of the workshop. Unfortunately, Helen was unable to join us due to a teaching conflict. It was our guest instructor, Katherine England's birthday that day and we celebrated in style!

Every year we schedule workshops at each of our homes to do a test run of the project and work out any bugs....and it is also a chance for us to complete our own projects so that we have samples to bring to Mexico for each classroom. (and it is just plain fun to get together and create!)

Our 2016 Tesoro del Corazón Retreat

We are very pleased to announce that we have finalized plans for our 6th annual mixed-media art retreat in lovely San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.  The dates for our retreat are October 27-November 4th, 2016. We will once again be staying at Casa de la Noche, a charming B&B near the center of town.

We are also very pleased that Katherine England will be joining us as this year's guest instructor.

Katherine is a wildly talented mixed-media artist who creates beautiful mosaics. She also paints, journals, sculpts, and is a community leader who promotes the arts. A true renaissance spirit!

We are excited to unveil our collaborative project this year, Casas del Corazón.

Katherine will share her wonderful techniques for creating beaded mosaics. Lynn will teach you the ancient art of reverse painting on glass. Helen will guide you in basic drawing skills, illustrated watercolor and book arts while Laurie will share her passion for polymer clay.

Come join us and let your imagination soar with creative possibilities! Please email Leslie Harris, our retreat coordinator for more info and to register: tesorocorazonretreats@gmail.com

Our big announcement will happen very soon!

If you are on our email list you will get first dibs on registration for 2016...coming very soon! Here's some snippets of our new project.........oh...the excitement builds....!