Día de Muertos Workshop: watercolor, group altar, sand tapestry, tin milagros
watercolor + culture workshop with Oaxacan artist Pedro Cruz Pacheco
Friday, October 28 – Sunday, November 6, 2022
Oaxaca City, OAX, Mexico
DAY OF THE DEAD CELEBRATION OF ART + SACRED MEMORY IN THE HEART OF OAXACA
~ Want to experience a hands-on, deep dive into the authentic traditions of Day of the Dead?
~ Are you an intrepid traveler longing to immerse yourself in local culture – but not go it alone?
~ An artist or creative person needing an escape to fill your well of inspiration?
~ An adventurer who enjoys a lively urban atmosphere with something new to be discovered on every corner?
~ Join us for Día de Muertos in the heart of Oaxaca!
Our adventures start with a field trip to a mercado to shop for altar decorations and offerings (cempasuchil flowers, papel picado, long candles, copal incense, chocolate, special breads, sugar skulls, fruit and mezcal), and making our own tin milagros for the altar in the studio of a master tin artisan.
We will spend our days painting imagery and symbolic representations of our loved ones to honor their memories – adding natural pigments made locally (cochineal, indigo, marigold) to our art toolkits to make uniquely Oaxacan memories on paper. We’ll assemble a beautiful group altar, construct and decorate a tapete de arena (sand tapestry).
We’ll make evening visits to 2 cemeteries where Oaxaqueños lovingly decorate the graves of their ancestors and bring offerings to share with their spirits. Participants should bring photos of your dearly departed to adorn our group altar – and if you are so inclined, costumes + face paint for the fiesta. We will catch a comparsa – the traditional Muertos parade – along the pedestrian street as our schedule permits.
No visit to Oaxaca would be complete without seeing the work of master artisans in their workshops: additional group field trips include a visit to a renowned alebrije (carved wooden objects) artisan couple in San Martin Tilcajete, and the Mujeres del Barro Rojo (Women of the Red Clay) who are “guardians of the identity & pottery tradition of their community” in San Marcos Tlapazola (where they will have their own Día de Muertos altar).
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