Week 3 in Oaxaca: Natural Dye Class, Mask Painting and Market Meals

This past week went by super fast and it's kind of crazy that tomorrow is Thanksgiving! I'm currently home at my parents' house to have some family time and drink this Very Berry Vodka cocktail I just created for cocktails+craft out of pomegranates and lemons I found outside. But now a little bit about last week . . . 

I started out last week with an intensive Natural Dye class with Taller Teñido a Mano. I learned how to dye with pomegranate shells, brazil wood, indigo, cochineal, and marigold. It was pretty amazing to see how the colors changed when cooked and stewed with wool. You can read a full recap on this workshop on cocktails+craft. 

We finally made it to Boulenc before 1pm and were able to order off their delicious breakfast menu! I love their shakshuka, which is also one of my favorite meals to make at home. 

We also ate at my favorite markets: Pochote and La Cosecha. At both markets you can get a variety of food from different vendors. The prices are super affordable and the food is always amazing. It's fun to get drinks from one vendor, sides from another, a main from another and dessert from yet another vendor. It's the best way to try a little bit of everything and explore new tastes. I especially like it when what I am ordering is somewhat a mystery. My Spanish is getting much better, but I still fail at certain menu items. 

One of my favorite meals was at San Pablo, a (somewhat expensive) restaurant that over looks the plaza behind the Textile Museum. We spent what felt like hours there and it was really pleasant. They have a tasting platter that gives you a little bit of various local cuisines and they have sparkling red wine, which is my favorite. 

Beyond my dye workshop and eating, we worked at the co-working space Convivio and wandered around Oaxaca. We stopped in the Textile Museum, which had an exhibit of embroidery appliqué by the Guna people from Panama called Centaurs in the Tropics: The Imagery of the Molas.

Later in the week I had a studio visit with Adriana of Xhiaruxxa. She's an artisan that focuses on leather work and will be doing a workshop in Oaxaca in the next few weeks using natural dyes! 

hasta luego,