 FEBRUARY 9-16
Explore your creative voice on this innovative week where ceramic sculpture, form and color radiate the brilliant hues, contrasting shapes and sensuous forms that are the Caribbean. Play in the clay (!) and create shapes that are harmonious with the coral, sea life and vegetation that surround you during the week. Make a vase, artistic tiles, bowls or free form sculptures; the whims of open air and tropical breezes guide your hands and expressive mind through a week of ancient and contemporary ceramics.
We are proud to present two outstanding artists and teachers to coach the ceramics segments of the trip:
Kevin Caufield works in his studio/gallery and teaches on the faculty of the Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis, MN. He views the process of design and working and firing clay, as performance art; a holistic approach where anything goes and everything works! At the beach, Kevin integrates features of the marine and tropical environment into artworks. Intricate patterns of coral, shell, leaves, crustaceans, beach glass and sand leave their indelible prints on your artworks. A specialty of Kevin’s is primitive firings and you will have opportunities to build both a raku kiln and teepee style wood fired kiln on the beach (wind permitting).
Don Luis Echeverria is renowned as a Mayan ceramicist and for his work and lifetime studies in restoring Mayan ceramics pieces found in archeological excavations. Sr. Echeverria is the founder of Arte Maya, a gallery and working studio in Tikul, Yucatan, where several noted Mayan ceramics masters have studied. We feel privileged to have any amount of time with Don Luis, whose work in the US has included a piece in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a modern restoration of the façade of the Aveda Corporate center in New York.
 
The ceramics works this week are hand-built. Our open air studio is an ideal place to get messy and creative with the clay! Early in the week time is spent with instruction, orientation to the clay and clay processes. Those already proficient proceed at their own pace. You’ll make push pots and learn to create molds. Clay slabs become plates, vases and tiles. Your works are decorated with the textures and forms of objects found in the natural environment.
The art of mask making is ancient and utilized in many cultures, including the Mayans. Creating and decorating these masks is an intriguing process of mold making, decorating and self-discovery.
As we move into the week, the emphasis goes from creating the pieces to glazing them. They are dried and it’s on to the next process of the kiln and the mystery and surprises of firing. Many an exciting evening has been spent around the BIG FIRE, waiting for it to reveal the magic of extremely high temperatures. The works are removed glowing hot and sent to the reduction pits, where smoke and organic materials create vivid colors and more surprise effects.
The week is truly representative of the tropical experience as you integrate the exhilaration of outdoor adventure and creative expression into tangible art works that will be enjoyed at home far into the future.
| Day 1 |
Fly to Cancun and leave high impact tourism behind. The first night is spent at a hotel, Posada Mariposa, in the festive seaside resort town of Playa Del Carmen. |
| Day 2 |
Sunday morning we’ll have breakfast in Playa Del Carmen then head down the highway about an hour to the town of Tulum where we stop at an open-air market to purchase fresh fruit and vegetables for the week. Next we head into the Sian Ka’an Reserve. Mayan for "Where The Sky Is Born", this very special million-acre Mexican national park and UNESCO World Heritage Biosphere Reserve is abundant with indigenous flora and fauna and Mayan archeological sites. From Tulum it’s about an hour to Rancho Caphe Ha, which in the Mayan language means ‘Two Waters’; referring to the peninsula with the ocean on the east side and the lagoons on the west side. This afternoon you settle in and familiarize yourself with the area, accommodations, you’ll meet the caretakers and check out the possibilities for kayaking and snorkeling during the week. By this point in the day, people are anxious to get in these gorgeous waters, so a swim, change of clothes and late afternoon margarita is typically the next order of events! The ‘unwind’ from traveling and from our hectic lifestyles starts here at Rancho Caphe Ha and before you know it your rhythms and pace synchronize with those of the tropical winds and waves. |
| Days 3 - 7 |
A mix of outdoor activities and workshop times. Ceramics sessions are scheduled each evening for the next day; when not involved with the ceramics works the rest of the time is up to you for individual or group kayak outings, snorkeling to the reef, beach walking, swimming, reading in the hammocks, etc. One day is scheduled for a 'run-out' to town where we enjoy markets, tour a Mayan archeological site and swim in a ‘cenote’. On this day before heading back in, we’ll enjoy dinner at our favorite seaside restaurant; Zamas! Day 8 - Travel back to Playa Del Carmen and Cancun for flights home.
WEDNESDAY OUTING: MAYAN SITE & CENOTES |
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