Experience a hands-on, deep dive into the authentic traditions of Day of the Dead. Start with a visit to a local mercado for altar decorations & offerings. Then spend your days painting imagery & symbolic representations of loved ones in watercolor to honor their memories, assemble a beautiful group altar, construct & decorate a traditional sand tapestry. Visit two cemeteries where Oaxaqueños lovingly adorn the graves of their ancestors & bring offerings to share with their spirits. Participate in a comparsa - the traditional Muertos parade. Field trips include artisan studio visits: tapetes (woven wool rugs), alebrijes (carved wooden objects), and women's red clay collective (who will invite us to see their own gorgeous Muertos altar).
 
Location: Oaxaca, Mexico
Instructor: Pedro Cruz Pacheco + Corrie McCluskey
Cost: $2200 (lodging included)
Sponsor: Oaxaca Dreams / Talismán Oaxaca
Website, email, 707-327-2747

Need to feed your creative soul? Fill it to the brim with creative transformation and fresh inspiration. We'll mix art class - watercolor, natural pigments, mixed media/collage - with carefully curated field trips in magical Oaxaca: a traditional Carnaval celebration featuring La Danza de Los Diabilitos (Dance of the Devils) the Tuesday before Lent begins, a massive Zapotec Sunday market, a studio visit with a master mask maker where we'll paint our own masks, a master alebrije (wooden carved figures) family studio, a papermaking studio using local natural fibers, a gorgeous art center housed in a renovated textile factory, and a guided street art walk in a hip barrio - all mixed in with art instruction and creative play time.
 
Location: Oaxaca, Mexico
Instructor: Pedro Cruz Pacheco + Corrie McCluskey
Cost: $2595 (includes lodging)
Sponsor: Talismán Oaxaca / Oaxaca Dreams
Website, email, 707-327-2747