SPONTANEITY & CONTROL
A Specialty Workshop with Michela Sorrentino & Jerry McLaughlin
SEPTEMBER 16-20, 2024
San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
$1,595*
*Price includes daily transport to/from the studio from San Miguel Centro, daily home-cooked lunch with wine, supplies listed below.
‘Having two perspectives to demonstrate techniques and concepts gave a confidence to follow objectives and license to push boundaries in our work.’
- Janet H
An aerial view of San Miguel with its famous Paroquia and Jardin Allende.
Looking down one of the many beautiful cobblestone streets.
ABOUT THIS SAN MIGUEL WORKSHOP
All participants will get one-on-one time with Michela and Jerry.
Pre-workshop meet and greet. The evening before the workshop begins, all participants are invited to a meet and greet to help ease ‘Day 1 jitters’.
The workshop takes place at Estudio Paloma. On workshop days, there is no need to worry about lunch or travel logistics. Pick up and drop off between San Miguel city center and the studio, as well as a full, home-cooked lunch and wine are included in the price.
WORKSHOP TOPICS INCLUDE:
Defining how spontaneity and control exist in your own work
Creating opportunity for more freedom and spontaneity in your work
Exploring ways balance using structured and spontaneous techniques and layers
Choosing and developing a spontaneous visual vocabulary
Developing and expanding your own personal visual vocabulary of mark-making
Transfer and mono-printing techniques using inks and acrylics
Complex layering
And MORE!
ABOUT THIS WORKSHOP
Michela Sorrentino and Jerry McLaughlin team up for this exciting 5-day intensive workshop exploring aspects of spontaneity, control, and mark-making.
Using a variety of water-based media, papers, and other common studio materials, participants will learn to be more free and more spontaneous in their work. Artists will explore ways to more easily loosen up and improve their skills balancing spontaneity and control. We will do a variety of exercises to develop more freedom in gesture and mark, as well as exercises focused on being deliberate in structure and control. There is also possibility of including found materials in the work, such as collage with newspaper, magazines, leaves, plants, discarded materials and papers, etc.
By the end of the workshop, participants will have developed a larger personal vocabulary of gesture and mark and feel more confident in being spontaneous in their work. Students can expect to complete 5-8 finished pieces by the end of the workshop.**
**This workshop is for artists with some prior experience using water-based media who want to develop deeper aspects of spontaneity, control, and mark-making in their work. NOTE: This workshop uses water based media, not cold wax medium.
Michela Sorrentino working in her studio.
Are supplies included?
To make travel more convenient, artists essentially need to bring only their tools, paints, creativity, and enthusiasm. The following supplies are provided:
palette/palette paper
mixed media paper for exercises and final works
tissue and assorted other papers
charcoal pencils, sticks
soft pastels
matte/gloss medium
water-based printing inks
india and other water-based inks
acrylic plates for transfers and mono-printing
magazines and newspapers for imagery and text materials
paper towels
and more!
What should you bring?
Here is a link to the supply list. Read it over thoroughly!
Thinking of taking the workshop? Make it happen, no matter the inconvenience, cost, or timing!
- Judy V
It was well thought out and more giving of experience and talent than any other workshop I have taken.
- Dana G
ABOUT YOUR INSTRUCTORS
Jerry McLaughlin, initially trained as a pediatric critical care physician. He began his artistic career as a fine art photographer, but realizing he had always wanted to be a painter, he abandoned photography and started painting. Although encaustic was his initial medium, once he discovered cold wax and oils, he quickly transitioned and has never gone back. His work has been collected across the US and internationally and has appeared in many publications. He works with HG Contemporary Gallery in New York, DZINE Gallery in San Francisco.
In 2017, Jerry, with co-author Rebecca Crowell, published the internationally award-winning Cold Wax Medium: Techniques, Concepts & Conversations. It is the first ever comprehensive book exploring the myriad techniques and ways artists are using cold wax medium. In 2020, Rebeca and Jerry started COLD WAX ACADEMY, the only online learning portal devoted exclusively to artists interested in cold wax.
Jerry is passionate about teaching, and he holds a certificate in adult education from the University of Washington. His strength lies in identifying and addressing the individual needs of his students and helping them analyze and develop solutions to the difficulties they are encountering. Jerry maintains an active artist mentoring and coaching practice, working with artists around the world
Jerry went for the first time to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico in 2018. Three weeks later he and his husband, Mike, bought a home. They left Oakland and now live in San Miguel with their dog, Bert.
Michela Sorrentino was born in Montreal, Canada. She studied fine art in Vancouver and textile design in Paris. Her work as a textile designer allowed her to spend my formative years in France, Italy, and Spain. This created a fertile ground for her later work as a graphic designer and painter.
Sorrentino’s work is much about materials and process. She juxtaposes bold, organic and often architectural shapes with unusual colour combinations and dramatic mark-making that reflect an intuitive style. Her work depicts graffiti-inspired typography that speaks to language without being literal. The abstract images that form her art are visuals that interest her in her day to day life on her farm on the west coast of Canada. They are true, and yet abstract reflections of what she sees around her.
Sorrentino currently works in mixed media, painting, monotypes and collage, combining cold wax, acrylic, graphite, ink, oil sticks, gouache and charcoal and anything else she can get her hands on.
Michela’s work is part of private collections in Europe, Canada and the USA.
ABOUT TAKING A WORKSHOP IN SAN MIGUEL de ALLENDE
Getting to and around San Miguel
I recommend you fly into Leon (Guanajuato International Airport, BJX), which is about 60 miles from San Miguel or into Queretaro (also about 60 miles, QRO). From any of the airports you can take a cab or hire a car. There are shuttle/car services like BajioGo, whose services are reputable and have a solid track record. I use them when I go to/from the airport. I have some private drivers I can recommend if you are interested.
You can also fly into Mexico City, but that is about 160 miles away and a 3-hour trip by car to San Miguel.
Although you can rent a car and drive, having a car in SMA can be inconvenient with parking/traffic. It is easy to get around SMA via taxi and Uber. They are abundant and inexpensive.
Lodging
The studio address is Paloma 11 La Luz, San Miguel de Allende, 37747 (the pink circle on the map).
Because daily transport to/from the workshop is included, you can book one of the many hotels or Airbnb’s in the city center and take advantage of the food, beauty, and culture of San Miguel.
Because people have different budgets and different tastes in the kinds of places they like to stay, I generally do not recommend any particular lodging. Click HERE and scroll down for some places that have worked with Estudio Paloma previously. Some offer discounts for artists taking workshops at Estudio Paloma. Make sure to mention Estudio Paloma.
If you would prefer to be walking distance to the workshop, Hotel Casa Primavera (the red circle that says ‘Hotel Spring House’) and some Airbnb’s in the area are options. However, unless you prefer a walking distance option, I recommend you stay in the city center (up and left of the red circle) and enjoy the local culture.
What should you bring?
Review the link above, and a supply list will be sent to you along with more detailed information several weeks prior to the workshop start date.
Click HERE for information about traveling with art supplies.
*No, you cannot ship your supplies to me. Please do not ask.
How will I get my paintings home?
We will be working on surfaces varying from 9x12 to 12x18. We recommend you bring two pieces of corrugated cardboard approximately 1 inch bigger (13x19). This will keep them protected during your travel.
Travel Insurance
I recommend that you purchase travel insurance to help cover the cost of workshop, flight, lodging, luggage, etc., should there be interruption or disruption of your travels. Your policy should also include health coverage. Medicare and many other insurance plans do not cover medical expenses or repatriation during international travel. Click HERE for basic information on travel insurance.
CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION ABOUT COVID-19