Walk this way ... to art, Collage as serious play, An art opening with birthday cake, Subtleties of light, The Creation of the Purépecha World, Journey to creativity

Art walks are yet another of San Miguel's local traditions. Next week six of the most central galleries will play host to art-loving pedestrians.
Located at Umarán 32, Magenta will present new work on the theme of green. Nature, new growth and the environment flush with rain are green.

Green is the heart chakra, which is connected to love; it is the color of healing and balance and the ability to balance negative and positive energies. Magenta members Rosa Torres, Rebecca Peterson, Bonnie Griffith and Claudia Arcega invite you to experience green.

Galería Wey, located at Zacateros 24, presents fine jewelry and paintings. The current exhibition is by Mai Onno, a selection of large-format abstract oil paintings. Also on display are Michelle Wey's original jewelry designs. All pieces are handmade using sterling silver, 18-karat gold and fine stones.

ArtesMéxico Galería Carlos MuRo, at Zacateros 81a, opened as a gallery in October 2002. The original purpose was to help preseve the pre-Hispanic art of hand-wrought, hand-hammered copper. Galería Calos MuRo also hosts exhibitions of photographs, paintings and sculpture that are the work of promising Mexican artists. In its brief history, ArtesMéxico Galería Carlos MuRo has made it possible for the ninth generation of sons of artists working in copper to apprentice to their fathers, thereby launching the careers of a number of young Mexican painters.

Galería Ana Julia Aguado is located at Zacateros 32. The gallery represents young Mexican painters and sculptors who have received national and international awards. Among these are Gustavo Villegas, Guillermina García, Diana Galvez and Paulina Aguado, as well as North American artist Ronald Mallory. Mexican sculptor Gabriela Caudero has a romantic and exquisite vision of the human figure. Ana Julia also invites you to see her most recent paintings, including a new conceptual project created in conjunction with Mallory.

Estudio 46, Zacateros 46, is showing paintings by Keith Keller and wearable sculpture by Lisa Simms. Simms will be showing new pieces from her "Village Life" series, based on her travels and work in Vietnam. Keith Keller will show four new works painted this year, plus the monumental "Waiting in Line, Trying to Decide Whether to Stay or Go Back," the subject of a new film by Bob Johnson,

YAM Gallery, Umarán 23, is opening the vault and presenting a new, fresh private collection of paintings, etchings and drawings alongside the jewelry, sculpture, fashion, interior design and music that are permanent fixtures in YAM. YAM Gallery and Zuda Interiores are also celebrating an upcoming move to a more spacious environment in the near future.

Art Walk
Wednesday, March 15, 5-8 pm
Six galleries

Jacque Parsley is a part-time resident of San Miguel de Allende and Louisville, Kentucky. In her third solo exhibit in San Miguel, "Collage Permutations," she combines disparate images with irreverent juxtapositions to create humorous vignettes or social parodies. "Collage to me is like a visual daydream. It is serious play. You delve into your subconscious and let your intuition take over, and when you come out of the 'zone' you make rational corrections."

These works include reproductions from art history and Parsley's previous collages that have been transformed, altered and embellished, and therefore "permutated" or changed, using the flotsam and jetsam of everyday life and a technique she calls "Quezeart."

"One of my favorite quotes is by Kurt Schitters," she offers: "The waste of the world becomes my art."

"Collage Permutations" will be on exhibit through March 16 at Galería RaLuz, Posada de San Francisco, Plaza Principal 2.

Opening Reception"Collage Permutations" by Jacque Parsley
Saturday, March 11, 6-8pm
Galería RaLuz
Plaza Principal 2

An art opening with birthday cake

Long-time sanmiguelense Roz Farbush celebrates her fourth annual solo show and her birthday next Friday. Farbush exhibits a year's worth of new work complete with cake and drinks, but will she disclose her age?
Farbush is a graduate of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, where she taught for more than 30 years. She holds the title of Master Painter with the Copley Society, the oldest art association in the United States. In November 2005 Farbush was given the prestigious "Special Award" by the Northshore Art Association in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

Roz Farbush Annual show & Birthday party
Friday, March 17, 6:30pm
Galería San Miguel
Plaza Principal 14, across from the Jardín

We are all affected by light, those miniscule but powerful particles called photons that can sway us into good and sad moods. Having spent nearly 20 years on the west coast of Canada (which has more than its share of rainy days in a year), I can fully appreciate all the effects that the presence or absence of light has on our daily lives.As photographers we examine light from a very personal point of view and use it to create the moods we wish to express in our photographs.

Exploring the art of picture-taking can be full of technical headaches, marvelous successes and wonderful surprises. When your first roll of film is developed and you finally get to see the positive images, a fascination is born for what has just occurred on a piece of plastic coated with light-sensitive emulsion. From this point on, the photographer departs from the world where light and darkness are unchanging continuums and gains a new respect for the subtleties of light in one 24-hour period. When new students first see the results of their efforts magically appear in the developing tray, they are immediately "hooked."

The latest arrivals to this world of light are Lydia Black, Abby Morgan, Seth Watson and Fred Meagher. They are all students of Studio 20/01, a small, privately run darkroom facility on calle 20 de Enero in Colonia San Antonio. The title of their show is "Black and Light," and their studies of illumination are as varied as the day is long. The exhibit runs thru April 20, so you will have lots of opportunity to view the work, and sign the comment book.

Opening Reception "Black and Light" photo exhibit
Thursday, March 16, 6-8pm
Café Santa Ana, Reloj 50

The pre-Hispanic civilizations called the Purépechas conceived the universe as a concert of contradictions.This ethnic group inhabited the Michoacán lands before the arrival of the Spaniards. We know very little about their origin, but according to historical documents they were a group of Chichimecas who arrived at Michoacán guided by a man called Hiretiticatame, who was king of this tribe.

They established their kingdom in Tzintzuntzan, the most famous Purépecha ceremonial center. The Purépecha kingdom was never conquered by the Aztecs.

Gustavo Nogués, a plastic artist from Michoacán, has spent the last two years investigating the origins of this invincible warrior civilization. The work has not been easy because little information exists. Nogués presents the result of the first stage of his investigation in a series of drawings of the creation of the Purépecha universe-a fantastic world divided into heaven, the human world and the underworld. The exhibition is part of the Second Anniversary of the Arts and Crafts Center of Michoacán (Casa de las Artesanías de Michoacán).

Purépecha Universe, paintings by Gustavo Nogués
Friday, March 10, 5pm
Casa de las Artesanías de Michoacán
Calzada de la Aurora 23

What inspires us to create? From where do our ideas come? How do they manifest in our work?

San Miguel artist Agnes Olive invites you on a creative spiritual journey through the presentation of two local artists who draw on the subconscious for their inspirations.

Each artist will give a slide presentation followed by an open question-and-answer period with the audience. The two guest artists are Dawn Gaskill and Christina Sol.

The world of Christina Sol is one of immense imagination and exhilarating color. A self-taught artist and former clothing designer, Christina in her earlier years in San Miguel painted outer landscapes inspired by the botanical garden, which she can view from the house and studio that she designed and built herself.

She developed the idea of painting with oil on tin from an error, and she continues working in this medium. Then, in 2001 she met a mentor and dream teacher. The dream images and spiritual experiences led her to express her inner landscape.

The artist states, "Each piece of art expresses an inner dream message and image, my emotions through color. The sense of wholeness and joy that comes through these images is my goal in art … a goal to create work as warm, dramatic, and life-giving as the sun itself."

Christina's work can be seen at Goldie Designs, Canal 9; Christopher Wynn Interiors in Puerta Vallarta and at her home gallery by appointment at 01-777-203-1512.

Dawn Gaskill is also a self-taught artist. She came to San Miguel in order to create what she calls "intentional art." As a corporate consultant to Fortune 500 companies, she traveled throughout the world and studied many cultures. During her travels she discovered her passion for color, texture, symbolism and art. The symbolism, images, ancient texts and belief systems from these different cultures are the inspiration for her work. She uniquely integrates these ancient talismans with contemporary materials and scenes to blend the old with the new to depict the oneness and continuity that underlies all life. Stories within stories are layered in each piece of Gaskill's vibrant mixed media artwork, bringing a fresh perspective to ancient designs and concepts.

"I was blessed with a spiritual teacher who told me that while I had an enormous commitment to growing, learning and developing spiritually, I could choose those lessons coming through joy.

It was a life-changing moment to know that joy was a choice, and in following my joy I discovered my passion for being creative and putting my vision into the world."

Prior to developing her "intentional art" Gaskill created products and home interiors and painted murals and commissioned works of art. "I believe we can enrich our lives by surrounding ourselves with images and colors that reflect and support our desired state of being," she believes.

Her feng shui art and power symbols were recently featured at the Dallas Museum of Art. Currently, you can see Dawn's work at her home gallery and studio by appointment at 154-4813.

To attend the lecture and participate in the discussion afterward, a donation of 50 pesos is suggested, with proceeds going to the girls'orphanage Casa Hogar Don Bosco on calle Sollano.

Discussion on the creative journey presented by Agnes Olive and featuring Christina Sol and Dawn Gaskill
Tuesday, March 14, 5pm
Teatro Santa Ana, Reloj 50
50 pesos