Lucy Laucht

Exploring the artisanal values ​​of Oaxaca, Mexico

The crafts reveal the rich diversity of the people and history of this southern state, many of which have been practiced since the time of the Zapotecs and Mixtecs. The Central Valleys surrounding Oaxaca’s old city – nicknamed the “magical craft route” – are dotted with villages, each specializing in a trade. San Bartolo Coyotopec was put on the map by potter Doña Rosa in the 1960s. She developed the barro negro technique of applying black pottery with a smooth metallic finish. Now it’s full of workshops selling this style of pottery, mostly run by women like Candelaria Sosa, a third-generation potter who teaches her daughters. In Santo Tomás Jalieza, history is woven into textiles. The telar de cintura method, in which the loom is tied to the weaver’s back, is still practiced by some local women. Another village, Teotitlán del Valle, is known for its carpets made of wool from local sheep in natural dyes. In Oaxaca, the dye was first made from coccineal insects and used by the Aztecs, later becoming Mexico’s most important export after gold and silver, and coveted by the old masters of 17th-century Europe. Wealth from the cocina financed the elaborate Spanish colonial buildings that line the cobbled city center – now a Unesco World Heritage Site. Ceramics and textiles are sold in abundance in the Zócalo (main square) and local markets, as well as in galleries such as La Cocina de Humo and La Chicharra Cerámica. Piedra de Río Tiendita de Barro is easy to miss, but well worth a visit for the pieces of makers based in Santa Maria Atzompa.

WAYS AND MEANS

Zapoteco Sigil Pug (pugseal.com) in Oaxaca, the old broken is placed around a courtyard, with murals by Rafael Uriegas; rooms from $265, board. Caravan with wire (threadcaravan.com) organizes craft retreats in the Central Valley, including Oaxaca Textiles + Ceramics; a five-night stay from December 11-16 is $3,650 with full board, including activities but excluding flights.

Botanical painting in Transylvania, Romania

Mihail. Onaca

Lavinia Cernau

In Copsa Mare, in Saxon Transylvania, James and Rachel de Condole have opened their home to host botanical painting and illustration retreats for those who want to learn more about the countryside in this part of Romania (pictured above). The six-night courses at the Transylvania School of Botanical Art & Illustration are led by various artists, each with their own specialty. They run from May to October and are limited to six students. “We build our own herbarium of locally grown flowering plants and illustrate them from life, working through around 300 species,” explains James. Students collect. identify and draw wild plants gathered on walks that take them through the hills and meadows and woods around the estate. Guests enjoy meals cooked by Rachel using home-grown and homemade products – meats, vegetables, cheese and flours that she grinds herself – paired with wines from Romania, Hungary and Moldova.

WAYS AND MEANS

A six-night masterclass costs €2,500, full board, including five days of tuition and transfers from Sibiu International Airport, but excluding flights. Some experience is recommended and students should apply with a brief description of their experience in botanical art: podart space.

Contemporary art in splendid seclusion in Merchandise, Texas

Dan Flavin, Untitled (Marfa Project) 1996. Permanent collection, The Chinati Foundation, Marfa, TexasDouglas Tuck, courtesy of the Chinati Foundation

Of the more than 44,000 domestic commercial flights that take off in the US, none land within 200 miles of Marfa. To get to the Texas city, you have to drive about three hours from El Paso or Midland Odessa through the desert plains, where eagles soar ahead and weeds blow across the road. Remoteness isn’t just part of its charm. It was the deciding factor for the minimalist artist Donald Judd, who arrived here in the 1970s in search of a creative respite away from New York. He recalled passing through West Texas as a soldier in the 1940s. “The land was pretty bare, defined only by the names in J Frank Dobie’s Texas stories, as Icelandic saga names stand in for monuments that don’t exist in that country “. Judd wrote in an essay in 1985. It stuck with him. By 1986, he had bought several properties in the city and a former military fort outside it, with the idea of ​​turning it into a museum for his work and that of his colleagues, including John Chamberlain, Dan Flavin and Robert Irwin. Thanks to Judd’s vision. Marfa has become an art mecca. The Chinati Foundation has a permanent collection of 100 millwork aluminum works by Judd, plus fluorescent light fixtures by Dan Flavin (pictured above). Ballroom Mara Museum regularly commissions site-specific installations, such as Prada Merchandise by Elmgreen & Dragset, a recreation of a Prada store with shoes and bags from its 2005 collection. However, at this Prada, the lights are forever extinguished and the door can never be opened. Visitors to the Mara can enjoy gallery outings, along with trips to excellent restaurants and watering holes, as well as hiking through the spectacular Big Bend National Park.

WAYS AND MEANS

American Airlines operates daily flights to Midland International and El Paso International airports with a connection from Dallas that can be booked through British Airways (ba.com). Saint George Hotel (marfasaintgeorge.com) is the smartest option; rooms from $305. Find out more at visitmarfa.com.

A woman’s place in Venice, Italy

A young woman with a parrot, C.1730, by Rosalba Carriera, Regenstein Collection

Peggy Guggenheim with Lhasa Apsos on the Grand Canal Terrace of Palazzo Vener de Leoni, Venice, 1960sPhoto Archive Cameraphoto Epoch. Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, Venice, gift, Cassa di Risparmio di Venezia, 2005

It’s no secret that Venice is one of the art capitals of the world, but less well known are the stories of the women who drove its creativity – artists, conservators, collectors and dealers. Art historian Giulia Martina Weston, who is a lecturer at the Courtauld Institute of Art, can shed light on Venice’s forgotten women artists, including Rosalba Carriera, whose A Young Lady with a Parrot, c1730, is pictured (above). Possible activities on the three-night trip include: visits to historic palaces such as Ca’Rezzonico and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in the former home of the American gallerist (pictured with Lhasa Apsos), who settled there in 1949 after participated in the Venice Biennale for the first time the previous year; after-hours access to museums; and tours of artists’ studios, galleries and churches in the northern area of ​​Cannaregio. All specialists are experts in female painters from different periods.

WAYS AND MEANS

The Luminaire offers the three-night Untold Venice: Hidden Art tour from £2,395pp, based on double occupancy, accommodation at The Venice Venice Hotel on the Grand Canal and including all activities and transfers, but excluding flights. Tours can be tailored to suit specific interests – be it ceramics, architecture, design or painting: theluminaire.com