oh, i'm getting so behind on this blog. okay, i'm going to try to recap as best as i can. the morning started with a workshop with rafael. it was the same one he did for link, with the crayons, tempera, and gouache, except this time, i got to try it myself! yeah! so in the spirit of san miguel, i did a piece about chilo. it actually kind of looks like him, so it's funny. i cracked myself up, anyway. and that's what matters.
after our class, we went up to casa lopez and enjoyed a lovely lunch and a healthy portion of killer tomatillo salsa. the above picture is rafael's mother, pillo, who gave us a salsa demo and made our great meal. what a joy! i got it all on video, too, so i can remember how to make it when i get home. you know how trying to write out recipes goes. it was a fun afternoon, a great view, and enjoyable company. one of my favorite parts was seeing rafael's studio in the basement. there is something i can totally identify with down there...the cave. sometimes we need to have sensory deprivation when we are trying to be creative.
which is exactly what i don't have right now, and probably why i've been struggling with school so much. without getting into too much detail, school has been a constant source of frustration for me since i've been here. technical issues, lack of time and privacy, and just being out of my space...all have made it hard to create in the way i need to create for these courses. a journal would be one thing. a deeply conceptual piece based on an ed fella quote is another. i don't even have a desk. ack.
anyway, we did manage to make it out to office depot, gigante (the grocery store), and mega (like wal-mart, sort of), which was interesting in its way. an unexpected adventure to remind us that life does exist in the area outside of the center of the town. and for a lot of people, that's real life. hey, it is still mexico. you can buy volkswagen badges in the grocery store.
instead of beating my head against the wall for school last night, i ended it with a long walk, a negro modelo and some journal creating. sometimes getting away is the best thing you can do.
