Oaxaca

As I write, a guitar strums in the background. The air is warm and I am filled with bbq'd pollo and the best mint helado ever (with pieces of mint leaves!) The food has been amazing: chilies, pozole, guacamole, and tortillas in an incredible number of forms. Art galleries, mercados, and museos are around every corner. I have actually been meeting other travellers, and no longer feel like the only foreigner in town!

I met Grace at a cafe and we set out to the Sunday mercado in Tlacolula, about 30 minutes out of town. The aisles were pleasantly wide and endlessly long, filled with vendors selling modern tshirts, traditional woven fabrics, carved bowls, coconut-cinnamon juice, chocolate, coffee, vegetable seeds, frutas, grasshoppers spiced with salt and chili, honey, and the list goes on. Especially fun was sampling all the different kinds of mezcale (liquor made from the agave cactus)!

Cooking class with chef Alberto: Rachel and I learned how to make mole rojo (a red mole sauce), flores de calabaza sopa (squash-blossom soup), and stewed guavas. In Oaxaca, there are 7 different kinds of moles, each one a complicated mixture, traditionally made for special occasions. Chili peppers, sesame seeds, hazel nuts, plantain, onion, and of course chocolate are just a few of the ingredients. After frying everything together, we were sent on an excursion to follow one of the cooks carrying our bucket of mole. Completely clueless as to where we were going, (because the class was all in Espanol!), and still wearing our aprons, we end up at a shop with machines that blend it all into a smooth paste. It was fried again, thinned with broth and poured over chicken. Then we ate our 3-course creation.

Puebla

Heading Eastbound, the plazas now seem to be called zocalos. Puebla's is muy grande, always filled with bands playing, couples kissing, and handfulls of bobbing balloons in the shapes of Bambi and Snow White's head. Most interesting, was a circlular, wooden, installation inside another circle. Made of wood and painted white, it was laser (or hand-cut?) in the shapes of tall, leafy trees like the real ones in the zocalo. So from one side, you can see buildings and people through 4 layers of organic holes.

The city is filled with many museos, zapato (shoe) stores, different types of mole (sauces made with chocolate, chili, and various spices), and ceramic tiles on almost every building. It's amazing how quickly the loud bustle from the streets disappear by only walking a few feet into the interior of a courtyard. Sometimes they contained a fountain, an art gallery, a restaurant, or the oldest biblioteca I've ever seen. More than 4000 libros from as early as the 1500s were arranged perfectly in their old, wooden shelves. No fotographias or touching of the books were allowed, so I tried to engrave in my memory, all the intricate patterns and beautiful calligraphy on the aging spines.

Taxco

I'm in Magic Town! For the last half hour of the twisting bus ride, I jumped from one side of the bus to the other, trying to photograph the perfect view of Taxco. It just had to be around the next corner! Finally after a full day of various buses, the city of white casas emerged, glowing in the late afternoon light.

It is another old mining town which is now full of shiny, silver, jewelry shops. Just south of Mexico City, it is a trendy vacation spot on the weekends. Santa Prisca is a baroque-style iglisias which sits on top of a hill and is an excellent way-finder. The plaza is full of balloons, fireworks en la noche, and people eating ice cream and popcorn. There are bonita vistas everywhere but I have to leave before I buy too much plata!

Angangao

One of my most amazing days ever! This tiny little town is the closest base to the El Rosario Reserve where the Monarch butterflies migrate each winter. Many have already started to fly back North, but I arrived just in time to see the tail-end of the 80 million mariposas that fill the sky, 4000 feet up in the fir trees.

First there was one, then a pair, then several monarchs fluttered around the sputtering bus as we slowly accended the steep, winding mountain. From the entrance, it was another 45 minutes to walk up (including photo breaks) until the trail opened up to a yellow grassy area full of flower bushes. Butterflies sat on the branches with the sun shinning through their orange wings. Above, the perfect blue sky glinted with bright flecks flying in every direction. They let the wind carry them, falling like leaves until it's necessary to use their own energy. It was as magical as sitting under cherry blossom trees when the white petals shower down.

Another 10 minutes up, and I truely felt like I was among the millions. Swarms flitted above my head and all of their shadows swept across the ground. Some barely missed my face, their soft flutters the most amazingly beautiful sound. Mating couples dropped infront of me. The remains of dried up wings covered the path. In the distance, a massive, orange wave descended from a tree--I couldn't believe how many I was seeing at one time!

Back in quiet Angangao, I had a lot of time to meet some of the locals. Last year, the town suffered a tragic flood that ran 4 feet deep along it´s main road down the mountain. It completely wiped out 2 villages and 20 people died. The sadness still lingers and is evident in every padlocked door and broken wall. Many people left to find work elsewhere, but the people who remain are working hard to rebuild the town. Francisco survived being pulled down the river and lives every day like it's his last. Him and others in the town are pushing to officially name Angangao Mexico´s 5th Magic Town. Muchos luck y wishes!

Patzcuaro

The main attractions in this small, quiet town revolve around two large plazas. Each block is made up of one, long, continuous white building with rounded, clay roof tiles and wooden columns which to me, have a Japanese flavour. Instead of signs, the name of each store is hand painted on the walls, above old doorways. Considering how few people I´ve seen, there seems to be an unusually high amount of dentistas!

Patzcuaro is known for it's neive de pasta (cinnamon) ice cream and a large blue lake. The view from the temple at Tsinsonsan was muy bonita. Pero, my favourite moments were in the market and around the plazas where I was truely tested on my spanish skills. Most people don´t speak any English at all but I probably met the few who do. And many amazing interactions even with the ones who don´t.

Jasmine lived in California and made an excellent beet-carrot juice. While eating a heaping serving of steaming carrots and pollo, a seven-year old girl whispered to her mom and then slid across the bench to stare at me. I spoke some spanish, she spoke only spanish, we didn´t understand each other at all, but shared some laughs! Fernando cannot fix my computadora, but I make a new amigo and we eat helado by the statue. In the morning, I'm handed a forkful of carne and end up eating delicious steamed beef and drinking spicy meet juice for breakfast. The guy beside me pointed saying ´that is the cow's mouth´ (good thing for my neutral poker-face!)

Guanajuato

The most colourful city I have ever seen, Guanajuato is a maze of old buildings and plazas stacked on steep hills. Sometimes the streets become so narrow, the buildings almost touch. The roads are the complete opposite to Toronto´s grid--street blocks are a jumble of odd triangles, aligning with nothing. Every time I made my way back to the casa, I got lost in nuevo adventure.

From the balcony of my hotel, we had the perfect vista of the cuidad, which looked like a three-dimentional mapa. I made an attempt to draw the complicated puzzle, until the sun went down and the lights turned on.

Amigos

The past week has been full of amazing friendships. Even though they only lasted for a few hours or a single day, they are meaningful connections that I will cherish from San Miguel.

I bumped into a few people in a photography class, getting some shots of the evening sun in El Jardin. Explaining how I found it hard to capture both the dark shadows and the bright colours, they agreed. Their maestro (teacher) happened to be the same person having an exhibition that night, where I was making my way to! We slowly walked together, taking photos of each other and the shining cobblestones. (Above is Tom in the hat).

I met Christine and Edwardo in my pencion, and we all took the same class together. We watched each others pieces of silver evolve from a scrap of metal to a shiny piece of jewelry. We shared personal opinions of our hopes for the future. And walked back and forth several times trying to find the organic market, but enjoying the adventure along the way.

I spent every morning for the past 2 weeks learning Spanish with my maestro, Luis. His energy, encouragement, and sarcasm made the class absolutely enjoyable. I could laugh at myself everytime he translated my loco mistakes.

Saleta, the owner of the pencion, has been learning English. We talked every day, correcting eachother´s words and sentences during her home-cooked dinner, sitting in the courtyard, and our final breakfast at Buenos Dias. Thank you.

As well, Rae, the spiritual healer from London, good luck using your new art supplies! And the two little girls who asked for their fotographia. Geraldo Ruiz, the amazing sculptor and etcher, who showed me the process.

Todos los amigos, muchas gracias y muchas gusto!

Colours

I take the most photographs between 5-6pm. All the colours become even more alive--brighter yellows, warmer oranges, and glowing reds. Dark shadows make strong contrasts compared to the strips of light that stream between buildings. The stone eaves carved into animals, jut out from the tops of buildings and create dramatic, angled shadows across walls. My new method (to get people shots) is wait patiently, with a perfect backdrop framed, and snap when gentes (people) "accidently" walk into my fotographias. Passing through the strips of light, little do they know how vibrantly their shirts glow in the low sunlight.

My first jewelry class revealed many more tones than what I expected from silver. After sautering 2 pieces together, there were layers of warm, flame textures. Then, after hammering some shell-patterned indentations, the soaking process revealed rosy pinks. As I continued to cut and file, it gradually transformed again, like it was coated in white. My hands (on the other hand) only turned black! Silversmithing is an exciting art form, we'll see how the pendant turns out tomorrow.

Flavours

Hoy (today) is the dia I gave up on trying to eat at every recommended restaurant in San Miguel's Walking and Shopping Guide. Way too overly ambitious!

This morning I walked next door and ordered my warm breakfast through a window. A stroll around the corner, is a plaza surrounded by churches, outlined with benches, filled with locals, watching un nino (boy) run around a fountain, in the centre where pigeons bathed. I chose a bench where everyone else sat, on the sunny side. The chilly morning was offset when I unraveled the corn husk around a hot tomale de pollo (chicken tomale) and sipped a warm tasse de leche fresca (cup of strawberry milk). Simple and delicious and only 12 pecos! (Photo: Mr. Allende in the same plaza as the fountain)

At lunch, a woman grilling gorgitas caught my attention. A thicker style of tortilla, stuffed with garbanzo beans, a bit of queso y arroz (cheese and rice), and a side of chopped avocado y tomato. Fresh and satisfying and only 25 pecos!

At dinner I thought I had ordered soup, but ended up with a quarter chicken, arroz, y ensalada. mmm...

Mexico

Here I am, warmed and relaxed in old, colonial, San Miguel de Allende! Mr. Allende (the city's martyr for Mexican independence from the Spanish) is actually just around the corner from my pencion, on a horse, cast in bronze. Mariachis tunes fills the air, bells chime each hour, and there is always a friendly person to chat with in the main plaza.

It has been a semana (week) already, wandering the cobblestone calles (streets), taking photos of 300-plus year old casas (buildings), and admiring the numerous galleries around town. The ciudad (city) is filled with expats who live here at least a couple months each year. Although I can get away with my very limited vocabulary, I'm looking forward to starting Espanol classes tomorrow. As the dias (days) go by, I hope to include more words! I've also signed up for a jewelry class at the Instituto Allende, one of the two art colleges (unfortunately Bellas Artes is closed for renovations).

Everything is so vibrant from the cloudless, azul cielo (blue sky) to the painted roja y amarillo (red and yellow) buildings. Rising light in the morning, casts shadows of potted plants onto walls. Setting light in the evening, brightens colourful, plaid blankets hanging to dry. Which reminds me, just in time to catch the sunset!

Buenos tardes.

Whodunit?

Another successful year for OCAD's Whodunit? fundraising event. Here are my donations that sold in the auction this year.

“The Whodunit? Gala Preview is a rare opportunity to pick up incredible works by highly sought-after emerging artists,” explains Curatorial Committee Chair Wil Kucey, Director of LE Gallery in Toronto. “Those looking to start collecting art, or those looking to expand their collections with works by artists about to explode internationally should not miss this event.”

Propeller Salon V

Stop by to join myself and other artists at the reception next week!

"In its 5th year, the Salon Show brings together people and art in a post holiday celebration. It is always a fun and an exceptionally well-attended event. This year, the Salon Show has been extended to a three week run so that art lovers may have a longer time to view the exhibition."

Show dates: January 12–30, 2011
Opening reception: Thursday January 13th, 2011, 7-10 pm

Propeller Centre for Visual Arts
984 Queen Street West, Toronto
Gallery Hours: Wed-Sat 12-6, Sun 12-5 or by appointment

Vintage Notebooks and Colouring Books

Just in time for the Christmas season, these stylish notebooks and fishy colouring books are now on sale at Pixel Print and Shopgirls. Remember the vintage wallpaper I found a few months ago? Pixel Print suggested putting it to good use--they did all the printing and binding, I drew the illustrations and assembled the covers, and here is the exciting result!

All the covers were hand assembled, each unique depending on the cut of the wallpaper. The notebooks have a matching shiny ribbon that matches the metallic ink in the wallpaper. The inside pages are 100% recycled paper. They come in 2 sizes, 5"x7" and 3"x8".

The colouring books have 8 fun, activity-based illustrations, including "wave maze" and "connect the bubbles". The rest of the pages are blank to write or draw. The cover has an extra flap at the back, a bookmark to mark your page! They measure 6.5"x8".

Four Seasons Hotel

My artwork has now travelled to California! These snow paintings were bought by the Four Seasons Hotel, to be displayed in the lobby of their spa in Palo Alto. A dream come true--the atmosphere and experiences at the spa are similar reflections of the process and concept behind my work.

Each of the three pieces are 22" x 22", framed in 1/2" acrylic. Once I have a photo of the work in the space, I'll post that too!

Greeting Cards

A friend of mine has set up a beautiful printing shop just down the street. Located by Dundas and Dovercourt, Pixel Print offers a variety of services, including a window store front of greeting cards. Among the designs, are a set of three cards I illustrated a while back, patterns inspired by three of the natural elements—Earth, Fire, and Water. Stop by to have a look and see the rest of the store!

Here is a recent post by blogTO.

Square Foot Show 2010 - Sold!

The Square Foot Show is here again! AWOL Gallery presents the 8th of it's kind, featuring hundreds of artists. Here is a glimpse of my piece (or look for "116 G" at the 100A location to see it up close :)

The artwork is up at 2 locations:
100A Ossington Avenue, 2nd floor, and
AWOL Gallery, 76 Ossington Avenue

Show runs from August 21 - September 5, 2010
Gallery hours are Thursday - Saturday 12-8 pm, Sunday 12-5 pm

Rememorations at Shopgirls

My solo exhibition at Shopgirls is now up. Please join me on Thursday to say hi and have some light refreshments.

Opening Reception
Thursday August 5th, 7-10 pm
Shopgirls Gallery Boutique
1342 Queen Street West, Toronto

This will be Pam Lostracco's first exhibition with the gallery. Lostracco's mixed media work is created through a process that echoes the natural transformation of the urban environment through time, a transformation she sees as similar to the way that a visual impression evolves in the memory, continuously changing in terms of how it is remembered and how it is forgotten.

Rememorations runs August 1-31.

To see more photos of the opening, click here.

IX Gallery

My newest painting (of unusual dimensions) will be featured this summer at IX Gallery. Hope to see you at the opening!

July 29th - September 11th 2010

Summer 2010: A cornucopia of emerging talent
Join us for the first exhibit in our new space, a diverse collective of images from seven photographers capturing the essence of the hottest season. Summer 2010 will feature shots abstract and straight up, manipulated and raw, digital and film.

Opening Reception: Thursday July 29th 7 - 9 PM
IX Gallery: 11 Davies Avenue, Toronto
Artists in Attendance

Sizes range from 16" x 24" to 30" x 40"
Edition print numbers from 1/9 to 1/25

Found Treasure

Riding back from the grocery store, a shinny glimmer in a pile of yellow rolls caught my eye. Loaded with groceries, I kept going until a block later, when instinct made me turn back. The ripped and aged rolls turned out to be vintage wallpaper. Five rolls of beautifully, patterned paper. I felt like I had just struck gold!

Along the trim of one of the papers is printed "Made in Canada by CWM" (Canadian Wallpaper Manufacturer's Limited). Looks like it operated in Toronto (The Boxer Building at 222 Islington Ave) from 1927-1978 until they relocated to Brampton and became Sunworthy. Which means my paper is at least 32 years old. I've posted more photos of the paper here.

Bali Pics

New photos of Bali 2--four years ago I celebrated my 30th birthday, and this time was for my mom's 60th! It was just as colourful as I remembered, intricate carvings and patterns everywhere. Had a much more thorough look around Ubud and took in views of volcanos in the North. Black sand and white sand, rain and shine, teas and coffees, monkeys and elephants, rice paddies and temples... an eventful 2 weeks.

Artist of the Day

Today (Friday May 7) Zatista is featuring me as their artist of the day! Links to my store are posted on Facebook and Twitter. Visit Zatista to check out my work and other artists too!

Design on a Dime

One of my pieces will be auctioned at the annual Design on a Dime fundraiser in New York City!

"Housing Works Thrift Shops sixth annual Design on a Dime fundraising event kicks off with the Opening Night Reception on Thursday, May 6th at the Metropolitan Pavilion. The sale is free and open to the public both Friday, May 7th and Saturday, May 8th. Shop spectacular rooms by the country’s top designers; featuring brand new housewares, furniture, and linens, all available at charitable prices.

All proceeds from Design on a Dime go to Housing Works, the nation’s largest grassroots AIDS service organization. Founded in 1990, Housing Works provides lifesaving services to homeless and low-income New Yorkers living with HIV and AIDS. Since 2005, Design on a Dime has raised more than $2 million in support of Housing Works."

Zatista

I am now selling my artwork on Zatista!

Zatista is a user-friendly website that allows you to search for original artwork by your preference of style, medium, colour, or price range. Definitely lots of work to choose from!

"Zatista's mission is to create an online marketplace that effectively connects buyers and sellers of fine and contemporary original art. Our commitment is to provide an innovative, safe, and comfortable experience to discover and purchase high-quality original art, as well as increase exposure for our artists and galleries."

Panama

I feel warmed up again after going through my pics from Panama! Huy and I went a couple months ago for a quick break just before Christmas. The hotel landscaping was beautiful and the meals were all absolutely delicious. Took a boat ride down (or should I say up?) the canal, passing humongous cargo ships. And explored the old town of Panama City, finding inspiring details, colour pallets and patterns.

Happy New Year!

Here are the instructions to make this years ornament card!

JUMP Math

The new edition of workbooks 1 and 2 are now finished! The redesign includes a cleaner layout which is easier to navigate, and a unique family of artwork which is consistent and recognizable. Check out the little people! The books were definitely a lot of fun to work on :)

Selected pages are posted here.

JUMP Math offers workbooks for grades 1 to 8 with each grade divided into parts 1 and 2. They include units on Number Sense, Patterns and Algebra, Geometry, Measurement, and Probability and Data Management.

"JUMP Math is a numeracy program started in 1998 by mathematician, author and award-winning playwright John Mighton. We are a federally registered charitable organization based in Toronto, Canada.

JUMP Math believes that all children can be led to think mathematically, and that with even a modest amount of attention every child will flourish. By demonstrating that even children who are failing math or who are labeled as slow learners can excel at math, we hope to dispel the myths that currently prevail. We offer educators and parents complete and balanced materials as well as training to help them reach all students."

Cyanotypes

I tried out a second workshop to find out more about the Sunprints I made a couple months ago. The instructor was Sally Ayre who makes gorgeous cyanotypes on several layers of silk. We were able to use some of her negatives and our own materials. The images had considerable more detail and contrast than I had expected. Preparing your own paper is much more advantageous than buying the pre-made kits. The possibilities seemed endless and this technique felt really in-tune with how I like to work which also incorporates the natural objects I already use in my artwork.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pamlostracco/sets/72157622858110474/

Pinhole Camera

Gallery 44 has some fun photography workshops. Last weekend I made my own pinhole camera to step back in time to learn the basic processes used when photography first began. It was rough, holding our tinfoil boxes still and making guestimates on the length of time the photo paper would be exposed for. It was also refreshing, using the sun instead of a button, going into the darkroom instead of on the computer, and waiting for the image to emerge magically instead of already knowing what it looks like! The unexpected inconsistencies of wide-angled distortion and textures were quite imperfect but very much welcomed.

The experiments:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pamlostracco/4126225655/in/set-72157622733622065/

Whodunit?

I was invited to this year's gala as a participating artist in the evenings exclusive silent auction. The fabulous party included delicious catering, wine and a live auction, raising thousands to buy new equipment for the college. All the work can be previewed online.

"The Whodunit? Mystery Art Sale is OCAD's signature fundraising event. It’s an exhibition and sale of hundreds of pieces of original art donated by artists who are famous and not-yet-famous, including well-known and celebrity artists, OCAD faculty, alumni and students."

http://whodunit.ocad.ca/info.htm