San Miguel de Allende

A taste of San Miguel. We spent the last leg of our hejira here, in the company of old and new friends. The air was honeyed, every morning we awoke to church bells and the cooing of doves. 

It is good to turn off the news (which is not really news, only bad news) and listen to the sounds of nature. Good to move slowly, breathe deeply and let the rest of the world take care of itself for awhile as you take a break.

Evenings in San Miguel this time of year can be cool but not cool enough to build a fire in our room.

Days we spent walking the narrow sidewalks, giving our old bones a fine workout.

Evenings I confess were spent imbibing ridiculous amounts of Margaritas and eating tortillas de maiz.

I have no doubt that the Virgin de Guadalupe watched over us every moment. I am not a brave or reckless person and imagine every kind of calamity that can happen during travel. I turned my fears over to the goddess. It's the best I can do.

Ellen Benson shared her game of drawing on randomly ink-blotted muslin; she gave me a couple of pieces to work on during my stay and this is one of the results. The color was applied by her, all I did was find shapes and fill in what I saw with indelible pen. It was really fun and something to do in airports and on the plane.

Of course I spent many hours chewing over my experiences in the journal. This time I only travelled with watercolors, pens, stamps and glue stick. Did some retro-decorating when I got back home.

I thought a lot about the impulse that drives creative people to make art. Came to the conclusion that all art is sacred, whether the maker intends it to be or not. The impulse is the same in both cases. Transcendence. Rapture. Euphoria and joy. Every artist knows that feeling from when a painting goes well. 

And color. How we do love color, obvious or nuanced. And texture.

Harmony. The line and the satisfaction of bringing disparate elements together to form something new.

I took a few shots at the big market on Tuesday. So much color, fragrance and sensual pleasure.

I remember when I used to be afraid to eat salads in Mexico. Those days are gone. Now I eat.

So much to choose from.

So many clever ways to cook the food.

There's food for vegans.

And for meat lovers. ha ha.

This is making me hungry.

Mexicans are famous for their agricultural knowledge. The variety and quality of vegetables at the market was astounding.

Beautiful food, lovingly prepared.

I haven't spoken much about the people who filled our days but study the beautiful faces in the photo above and you'll get an idea of the spiritual gift each person gave. Aging, precious flesh, long in experience and kindness; I learned from each one, received a silent communion and was filled.

Adios Miguelito. Adios and thank you for every precious moment.

Popocatepetl, Puebla and Pozos

Just outside of Puebla, where the Cuota (toll highway) meets the regular traffic you spot this massive sight looming over the landscape. This is Popocatepetl, second largest volcano in Mexico and increasingly active since January of this year. It's only 25 miles west of Puebla and has been smoking and burping ash off and on for centuries. It's 17,802 ft. tall. Under the shadow of the volcano indeed. 

One of our day trips included a visit to the neighboring town of Cholula where we saw Tlachihualtepetl temple, an archaeological site containing the world's largest pyramid. The Catholics came and built a church right on top of it (they love to do that) so in addition to the pyramid we got to see the Senora de los Remedios cathedral.

It's a strenuous climb to the top of the hill but we made it by moving very slowly. Mexico is a high country; Oaxaca is 5085 ft. elevation and San Miguel is 6500 ft. so imagine thin air and light headedness. I was pretty much dizzy the entire month.

Here's a shot showing the church towering above the city of Cholula. It made me wonder what was under that mountain; I also said a little prayer for the slave labor that had to haul all those big stones up that hill. It's really incredible to imagine the effort that went into such a structure.

Puebla was a new city in Mexico for us to experience. It's a gorgeous place, halfway between Mexico City and Veracruz; has a lovely colonial central area where we stayed and it reminds me of parts of Europe. It calls itself the City of Angels and the people are very proud of their mixed heritage.

It has one of the biggest cathedrals and loudest bells of any church I've visited in Mexico. When those bells ring your whole body vibrates; it's incredibly thrilling. 

Inside the church are too many wonders to recount. Here's a burning saint, one of my favorite themes. I don't know if he's a martyr or a sinner but he looks uncomfortable.

The food in Puebla was exquisite. The people there are referred to as Poblanos. Like the chili pepper.

Here the driver and navigator consult the map. A good map is indispensable for any explorer.

One last good-bye to Puebla as we hit the road again.

Good-bye to the Popo volcano. Source of wonder.

Teotitlan. Out of sequence. But lovely still.

Now we're on our way to Pozos, outside of San Miguel de Allende.

Contrasts. This lovely gazebo in the town square.

Someone's humble front door. But you never know what exists behind those unassuming walls. 

Now we're in Pozos, a town that was once booming but now rests quietly with only a fraction of the former residents.

We enjoy a wonderful meal here served by some of the intrepid inhabitants who've stayed on to reclaim the city.

After our meal we venture into the countryside to visit the ruins of the silver mines. The smelters, wells and buildings that lie quietly and attest to former greatness.

As you see I'm wearing sensible shoes on the desert. I make no excuses for how I am.

This is a desolate, abandoned place. There are no tourists, no signs of life. Only the wind and the stone ruins.

We imagined these narrow, cool hallways might have been a storage area for food. 

Thick walled adobe and stone.

From the other room I hear "Malaguena Salerosa" playing ... a beautiful accompaniment as I write about our experience of Mexico. I was raised on the desert and I will always carry the desert in my heart. 

Tomorrow we'll wrap up in San Miguel Allende.

First Oaxaca

My feet are back on familiar ground after a month of art, language study and absorbing all I could in three cities of Mexico. John and I left Portland on the first of February and arrived home again in the early hours of this morning. I uncharacteristically did not shoot as many photos as on previous trips but here is a sampling from Oaxaca.

We spent about half of our time in Oaxaca; the landscape above will give testimony to its beauty. Sitting in a valley south of Mexico City, it's a hub for the arts; painting, botany, culinary. In addition I never fail to feel a deep connection to the history and vibe of the city. All of Mexico is magical and Oaxaca in addition is a center of diversity; rich inspiration for the artist.

I ran into friends here, women from the art retreat world, friends of a dearest friend, women who invited me in and made me feel welcome and even fed me dinner at their lodging. Nothing is warmer than friends who prepare food for you and talk into the night about art. Our time together was a highlight of the trip. (visit Ellen Benson's work here!)

The Bed & Breakfast where we stayed went out of their way to prepare vegan meals for us. 

These plates were breakfasts; local organic food served each day with fruit, juices, breads and coffee, locally made chocolate or tea.  *sigh*

Our friends from San Miguel joined us around the halfway point of the trip and the food enjoyment continued while we visited museums, the town of Teotitlan, exhibits and markets.

A window inside the Santo Domingo Cultural Center. 

Outside was a huge exhibit of 2501 ceramic statues by the artist Alejandro Santiago. Watch the wonderful explanation and more photos here; better photographs than mine and a moving story of the sculptures.

This is what they looked like on site. 

We visited the Tamayo Museum of Prehispanic Art ...

the Stamp Museum, Textile Museum, Contemporary Art Museum and took many long and serious siestas in addition to attending 3 hour daily language classes and doing HOMEWORK! So lots of study and as much resting as we could squeeze in too. Tomorrow I'll write a little about Puebla and then San Miguel as we traveled with our friends northward. (No, no banditos. There's no more crime in Mexico than there is here.)

After that we'll return to our regular programming. Thanks for not giving up on me during my long time away from the blog. Over and out!

My Dream

This is from a dream I've had several times. In it I begin as a seed in a river bank, break loose from that lodging, and am swept downstream. It's painted in the big big Art Book; 16x23".  

Checking In Before Checking Out

This is my big-big Art Journal. It's over 16x23 inches opened up and has sheets of 300# Arches paper for pages in a coptic bound format. The cover was inspired by an illustration by an artist whose name I had and then lost again (if I can find it I'll amend this post). His monkey was on a tiger which represented the id but my id is so slow lately that an elephant was more in line with truth. An elephant on skittery wheels. 

The artist on the Catherine Wheel was painted on the back cover after a late night session with a group of friends where the suffering of artists was the topic of conversation. We don't suffer because we're artists; we're artists because we feel everything so deeply. And because we are driven to communicate in a language only our tribe understands. To the rest of the world we are just weird, weepy or mental. 

Still, we wouldn't trade our lives with anyone. Not one of us, we agreed, would trade our age for youth. We love the puddles in which we find ourselves.

I've been sick for a week now; subjecting a house guest to my gusty sneezes and trips to the doctor. Haven't felt like talking at all.

Painting in the big-big Art Book has been my consolation. Thank you Misty for the ongoing inspiration. I could name some names here. So many good and loving friends who keep me going and make me feel worthwhile. Who seriously know the way and carry the lantern for others. 

I painted this one over a copied drawing. It was still hard.

And now some recent journal pages. 

I'll be scarce in February or reporting from southern climes. Going to do some high-tailing.

Have a sitter who will send out Hot Wax DVD's for me and help me stay in touch though. And I'll be responding to the Mixed Media Journal Class sign-ups.

In the meanwhile, get your flu shots and wear a scarf outdoors. Listen to music that moves you and keep in touch with the people who make you happy. Let the sun shine down on your days. I'll be back asap.