Mexico 2025 Encaustic Painting & Collagraph Printmaking Retreat
Encaustic Workshop 2025/ Collagraph Printmaking Workshop 2025
Encaustic Painting & Collagraph Printmaking Retreat in Guanajuato, Mexico
January 3-10, 2025
Embark on a creative and culturally enriching experience on the open-air rooftop studio at Alma del Sol in the picturesque city of Guanajuato. This marks the sixth year of the Guanajuato Printmaking retreat, commencing with a welcome dinner on January 3, followed by instructional days on January 4-10. Optional activity day included choosing from sightseeing, exploring local cuisine, or working in the studio!
Transform the Spanish Colonial hill town of Guanajuato, the birthplace of Diego Rivera, into your winter haven for creativity and exploration. Founded in 1559, Guanajuato boasts opulent colonial buildings, tree-filled plazas, and vibrantly colored houses perched on steep slopes. This city, with its excellent museums, beautiful theater, and lively cobblestone streets adorned with markets and restaurants, is a captivating maze of tunnels once traversed by rivers.
Don't miss the opportunity to kick off the New Year by immersing yourself in creativity, surrounded by students from across the globe, in this magical place.
For those unable to pay in full, we highly recommend using After Pay for convenient installment payments at checkout, ensuring your space in the class. Alternatively, a deposit option of $500 is available to secure your spot, with recommended payment options listed below. Reach out to Elise for any payment-related queries or to discuss alternative arrangements. Contact Hugo for questions regarding accommodations, airport transportation, and special dietary needs.
Prior to the workshop, Elise and our local host, Hugo, will conduct an online Q&A session to address your queries about the workshop, required materials, navigating the town, accommodations, and more.
The Merging of Mediums
Encaustic and printmaking are age old mediums that offer endless possibilities. Learn how exploring the techniques and methods of both can expand and influence your painting practice, your approach, your palette and visual language. This retreat plunges in to explore combining essential encaustic and printmaking techniques to create encaustic collograph monotypes using soy and honey based non-toxic inks on a variety of translucent papers. We will break the rules of both mediums. For encaustic, fusing is optional. You will learn embossing a variety of textiles and heated mark making tools to create heavily textured encaustic collagraphs to ink and print. Artists will explore the use of wax in building a collagraph printing plate, using non-toxic Akua Inks to print with. You will combine prints with encaustic painting, layering, glazing and building layers. We will also delve into using oil sticks and pan pastels to accentuate features of your composition.
Skill Level
This is an intermediate level course. Some exposure to making art, encaustic painting OR printmaking is helpful.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions.
Materials
You will receive a materials list in August.
For lunch each class day, we will convene to the outdoor courtyard and enjoy home cooked lunches authentic to the flavors of central Mexico and prepared onsite by Hugo and his amazing Alma del Sol Inn staff.
Accommodations
Hugo Anaya runs Alma del Sol, , as well as Hotel de Color, www.facebook.com/callejoncalvario9/.
Both are centrally located in the old downtown area near the Jardin. For our retreat, Hugo has reserved 9 rooms that can accommodate 1 or 2 people each. These accommodations are $50-$100 per night/ room, including breakfast and are available on a first come basis.
Contact Hugo directly at info@almadelsol.com to make your arrangements.
As another option, Hugo recommends Hotel Casa del Agua, www.hotelcasadelagua.com.mx/index-en.html. When I first visited Guanajuato, I stayed at Hotel Posada Santa Fe which is a block from Alma del Sol. You are also free to make your own arrangements for lodging.
All additional accommodations are a short walk from Alma del Sol.
Contact me if you would like to mail a deposit and with any questions.
Check Availability
Scenes of fun times at the retreat from 2018 - 2023
Travel
All participants are responsible for their own travel to and from Guanajuato. You will likely fly in to Leon (BJX). Upon booking your travel and lodging, contact Hugo Anaya directly with your flight number and arrival time so that he can arrange your ground transportation from the airport to Guanajuato.
COVID SAFETY
Wearing a mask while traveling and upon class is recommended. Alma del Sol adheres to all Covid Safety protocols in place for Mexico and Guanajuato State. Proof of testing is required coming and going from the U.S. and Mexico. Upon entering and exiting Mexico, your temperature will be taken. Please feel free to email Hugo with additional questions.
TUITION
Total fee Includes:
-Individualized instruction from Elise along with press assistance from Hugo
-One on one and group discussion about your work
-Open press time
-Bonus monotype techniques with Hugo
-Welcome Dinner
-24 hour access to fully equipped studio on the rooftop of Alma del Sol Inn
-Home cooked authentic class breakfasts and lunches in the courtyard in the Alma del Sol dining room
-Daily in-class coffee & tea
-Daily Happy Hour on the rooftop after class
-Closing critique
A DEPOSIT OF $500 HOLDS YOUR SPOT IN THE RETREAT
PAYMENT OPTIONS
Zelle to Elise Wagner Fine Art, LLC (may ask for my phone number, email me)
PayPal (sending to friends and family) to elise@elisewagner.com
Venmo @EWagArt
Check (email for address)
Make checks payable to ELISE WAGNER FINE ART, LLC.
Contacts
For workshop and materials required questions
For lodging, transportation questions and any dietary restrictions
Cancellation Policy
REGISTRATION CLOSES NOVEMBER 30, 2023
Fees FULLY REFUNDED 90 or more days before November 30th.
Fees 50% REFUNDED 30 days before November 30th.
Fees are NON-REFUNDABLE after retreat registration closes November 30th unless space can be filled from the waiting list.
Retreat Schedule*
January 7-13, 2024
Plan your travel to arrive in Guanajuato on January 7 by 5PM or the day before.
Sunday, January 7, 7:00 pm
Welcome Dinner
Monday, January 8
Demonstrations & Class Time
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Tuesday, January 9
Demonstrations & Class Time
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Wednesday, January 10
Demonstrations & Class Time
*Featuring bonus techniques with Hugo
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Thursday, Janaury 11
Day off
Optional day trip to San Miguel de Allende or cooking lessons with Hugo
Friday January 12
Demonstrations & Class Time Featuring bonus techniques with Hugo
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Saturday January 13
Class Time, Informal Critique, Clean Up
*In December, you will receive a fully detailed class outline.
I was living in Honolulu at the time and wanted to take Elise's workshops for two years. I was finally able to coordinate my schedule and take a three day workshop in November 2018. I loved every minute of time with Elise as well as learning new encaustic techniques. It was my first time with encaustic collagraph .. I loved it so much I signed up for her Mexico workshop in January 2019. I also will be signing up for more classes in the summer of 2019. Elise is very easy to work with and has a wonderful studio workspace. She is a very talented instructor and artist, I feel fortunate to be able to learn from her.
-Sandy Simonian, Palm Springs, CA
