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Fresco Workshops
Fresco Painting Workshops
in Álamos, Sonora, México
Fresco is a technique used for mural painting. Most of the murals painted by Diego Rivera, for example, were done in fresco. The Maya Indians did fresco paintings in the Pre-Columbian era, as did the inhabitants of Pompeii.
Now you can learn this ancient technique in a simple, introductory five-day workshop in the beautiful colonial town of Alamos, Sonora.
You will learn every step of the fresco process, including preparing the plaster, plastering a fresco panel, how to grind pigments, and which pigments to use. Each student will paint at least one fresco panel on terracotta, the traditional support for practicing fresco technique.
Classes are open to students ages 16 and up. One does not need to be an artist to learn and appreciate the process that Rivera and Orozco used.
Location and hours: Workshops will be held Monday thru Friday, from 9 AM to 1 PM at the Casa de Cultura, Loma Guadalupe, in Alamos.
Instructor: Daan Hoekstra
Dates:
January 14- 18, 2008
February 4- 8, 2008
March 10- 14, 2008
Cost: $250 for the five day workshop, or $125 for Alamos residents. Materials included. Limited to 5 participants per workshop. Proceeds benefit a program to offer workshops to Mexican artists and paint public frescos in Alamos.
Register: by email, alamosartist@yahoo.com
For travel information: see www.alamosmexico.com
Casa De Cultura, Alamos
Information about the “Muralismo al Fresco” Project
Fresco painting is a technique used to paint murals. Mineral pigments ground in distilled water are painted onto fresh lime plaster. The plaster absorbs the pigments. When dry, the pigments are sealed chemically inside the wall. Fresco murals can last hundreds, even thousands, of years.
There are extant examples of frescos painted in Ancient Egypt (c. 1200 BC) and Ancient Greece (c. 500 BC), among many other ancient civilizations. In Mexico, one can see Mayan frescos painted 1300 years ago in Bonampak. Rivera and Orozco, among others, used the technique in the 20th century.
“Muralismo al Fresco” is a 3 year project, with limited support from the State Government of Sonora, the Instituto Sonorense de Cultura, CONACULTA, the Alamos Municipal Government and the Municipal Cultural Development Program of Sonora.
Project Muralismo al Fresco, Accomplishments in 2007
1) Built an underground lime pit, with a 5000 liter capacity, as a permanent installation at the Casa de Cultura.
2) Slaked one metric ton of quicklime (CaO) with 2000 liters of distilled water.
3) Purchased all tools necessary for plaster work.
4) Purchased a half ton of ground limestone.
5) Initiated research into local sources of lime, and traditional pigments.
6) Purchased fresco pigments and brushes from Zecchi Colori in Florence.
7) Initiated search for local sources of flint and quartz for sand.
8) Initiated a series of meetings consulting the community about themes and imagery for public murals. Produced bilingual report of results from 6 meetings.
9) Cultivated a core group of local Mexican artists as participants.
10) Built a granite grinding slab, and muller.
11) Produced a bilingual guide for artists.
12) Secured minimal funding for 2008.
13) Proposed a sister project aimed at involving geologists in the search for local sources of azurite, malachite and hematite, and seeking their expertise in small-scale calcination.
14) Commissioned the production of clay tablets for workshops.
15) Demonstrations of pigment grinding, plastering and the production of Bianco San Giovanni.
16) First fresco workshop held in December.
Planned for 2008:
1) Introductory fresco technique workshops.
2) Weekly mural design meetings for the artists of Alamos.
3) Networking, fundraising, and press coverage.
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