FEBRUARY 23-MARCH 1

We invite you to explore your creative voice with us on a week of inspiration and innovation where brushstrokes radiate the brilliant hues, luminescent light and intimate warmth of the Caribbean tropics. The exhilaration and sense of wonder from swimming and paddling in the ocean or spotting a queen angelfish on the reef or glimpsing a yellow lored parrot in the jungle translate directly on to canvas, paper and stucco walls to echo the full spectrum colors of your Yucatan experience.

Back by popular demand (!) to teach batik art is delightful Victor Javier, our favorite Mexican batik artist. Painting and batik go hand and hand on this program, much of the batik technique IS painting, but on cloth instead of paper. Victor's designs bring images of Mayan Gods and symbolism to our workshop - if you like, you can start your works from a stencil of your Mayan calendar birth sign and move from there to free form design. 

Michaelin and Victor have previously taught together and they bring great humor and camaraderie to the experience. The intercultural approach to the workshop brings together themes, techniques and stories from the two Americas and offers you a diverse lens to view adventure and art in the atmosphere of the ancient Maya.

Our indoor studio for this trip may be the most inspirational place you have ever painted! Individual work areas are set up in the main arts center - a huge palm thatched 'palapa' with a 360 degree view.  Watercolor is an ideal medium for the tropical setting during the week; the visual feast of ocean, palms and lush vegetation creates a compelling atmosphere for your colorful images. 

Michaelin guides painting students through a spectrum of basic and advanced watercolor techniques. Her trip experiences from one-year influence the focus for the next - be it waves, archeological ruins, coral, palm trees or any of numerous inspirations. 

• Learn to draw the viewer's attention through strong value contrasts. 
• Lead a journey through your painting using design, color and patterns. 
• Learn to interpret using a live model; Florentina, our Mayan caretaker usually obliges us as a model! 
• Experiment with brush size and brush strokes. 
• Layer paints for depth and color studies.

During the batik sessions you will learn the process of applying paint and wax to cloth. Even the simplest abstract coloring on a t-shirt, pants, cotton bag or cloth hanging looks great! Through a careful process of layering color and design you will produce wearable art that becomes a vibrant reminder of your Yucatan experience.

At the end of each week, we typically have an informal and festive 'gallery exhibition' to view and enjoy the works you have created. We invite you to join us this winter to explore your interpretive voice and retouch the creative adventurer in yourself as you paddle, play and create your way through an unforgettable vacation to Mexico's Caribbean Coast.

Fly into Cancun and leave tourism behind as we drive into the Sian Ka'an Biosphere reserve. This million acre land tract, which in Mayan means, 'Where The Sky Is Born,' is a perfect place to immerse in adventure and creativity. Punta Pelicano, our home for the week, is near the tip of a land peninsula with the Caribbean ocean on one side and the quiet waters of inland mangrove channels and lakes on the other. The world's second largest coral barrier reef, Palancar, is spectacular and easily accessible from the beach at Punta Pelicano.

Opportunities to visit Mayan archeological sites, shop in markets or experience the enchanting cenotes, are scheduled into arrival and departure days according to flight times of the groups.