Events

Free Event Pays Tribute, Exhibits Local Art Guild’s Laurel Burch-Inspired Works; Includes Meet & Greet with Aarin Burch

(Photo source: www.aarinburch.com)

Textile handiworks inspired by renowned artist Laurel Burch and created by local art guild members will be on display Saturday, Dec. 15 from 1 to 5 p.m. at Diane Powers’ Bazaar del Mundo, located at 4133 Taylor Street near Old Town San Diego State Historical Park.

San Diego Creative Stitchery Guild is curating a display of hand-crafted fiber arts, embroidery, quilting and other needle and thread creations that celebrate and commemorate Burch’s fantastic felines and mythical animals as well as her bold and bright-colored blossoms, butterflies, moons and hearts.

The free public event will feature a meet and greet with Aarin Burch, daughter of the fanciful designer who started as a ‘60s love child making jewelry in Haight-Ashbury and grew up to be a savvy and successful businesswoman. She will be on hand to share stories about her late mother’s artistic endeavors and humanitarian efforts and discuss how Laurel Burch Studios is preserving the essence of the original artworks and continuing to spread its inspirational spirit worldwide.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for the community to share their love and admiration for Laurel Burch as well as highlight the artistic accomplishments she inspired in our homegrown artists,” said Diane Powers, owner and operator of Bazaar del Mundo.

Along with the colorful collection and convivial conversation, she noted that complimentary Mexican hot chocolate and other seasonal goodies from Casa Guadalajara will be served to those in attendance.

Although the local art guild will not be selling its members’ creative works, there will be opportunities for shopping at the Laurel Burch Gallerita in Bazaar del Mundo. This exclusive store carries a wide range of Burch-designed products, best known for their stylized animal and bird creations in brilliant jewel-toned colors. A sampling of her items sold at the Bazaar del Mundo includes luxurious silk scarves, colorful ceramic mugs, tote bags of brightly screened painted canvas, writing journals, clothing items and leather purses.

The Bazaar del Mundo Shops are located at the north entrance to Old Town, on the corner of Juan and Taylor Streets. For more information, visit www.bazaardelmundo.com.

Artists Include Disney’s “Coco” Alebrijes Creators Jacobo & Maria Angeles

One of the country’s most extensive collections of authentic Latin American folk art returns to San Diego during Bazaar del Mundo’s annual Latin American Festival and Mata Ortiz Pottery Market, Friday–Sunday, August 3-5.

More than 25 artists from Mexico, Peru, Guatemala and Ecuador and other Latin American countries will take center stage to display their vibrant creations, including colorful wood-carvings of whimsical creatures, handwoven wool Zapotec rugs, hand-embroidered Mexican blouses and dresses, hand-painted pottery and ceramics, dazzling jewelry and more.

Throughout the marketplace, festival-goers will enjoy live demonstrations as artists carve wooden stumps to reveal life-like animal figures; weave hand-pulled and dyed wool into beautiful, traditionally designed area rugs; and skillfully paint delicate designs onto hand-formed clay pots, sculpted figures and animals. Visitors can also enjoy nonstop musical entertainment and feast on mouth-watering Mexican cuisine for sale at the otherwise free event, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

Returning to this year’s festival are Jacobo and Maria Angeles, Oaxacan wood carvers whose traditional alebrijes (Mexican folk art sculptures of fantastical creatures) were recently featured in Disney’s much-celebrated animated film, “Coco,” for which Jacobo was one of the movie’s consultants. Visitors will delight as Jacobo performs his fast, methodical demonstrations of transforming blocks of wood into life-like creatures, then he and wife Maria bring the animals to life with intricately painted designs using natural, mineral-based paints that they grind by hand.

Bazaar del Mundo, located at 4133 Taylor Street in Old Town, will also overflow with artisans from Chihuahua, Mexico, creating intricate Mata Ortiz pottery, a centuries-old art form renowned for its hand-painted geometric and ancestral symbols.

Additional artists include:

• Felipe Barbosa: Felipe’s bold, contemporary take on traditional Mexican jewelry designs included everything from earrings to beautiful pendants and handmade chains.
• Pedro Montaño: A Oaxacan weaver from Teotitlan del Valle showcasing marvelous wool rugs and runners in both traditional and contemporary Mexican designs, and performing demonstrations on his handmade loom.
• Gerardo Ortega Perez: Gerardo’s bright and whimsical figures of clay include recognizable depictions of colorfully painted roosters riding bicycles, cats and dogs driving cars, and more.
• Jorge Quintana: A principal Mata Ortiz artist whose work has been displayed in museums all over the world and included in many of the major books on Mexican folk art.
• Minerva Reina Gonzalez Gutierrez: Minerva brings with her a beautiful selection of hand-embroidered, traditional clothing from Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca.
• Yolanda Ormachea Velasco: A contemporary Peruvian jewelry artist whose work combines silver with semiprecious stones and other natural elements.
• Saul Yuritica: A Peruvian artist specializing in traditional reverse-painted mirrors and wall hangings.

The event will also feature performances from Chinelos dancers on Sunday at 1:45 and 2:45 p.m. Popular in the Mexican state of Morelos, parts of the State of Mexico and the Federal District of Mexico City, Chinelos dancers dress in traditional costumes designed to mock Europeans and European mannerisms from the colonial period to the end of the 19th century.

Inside the colorful stores, shelves will be brimming with gifts and goods imported from Mexico and Latin America, as well as a myriad of books on travel, culture, architecture, arts, crafts and food.

Folk artists from Oaxaca, Jalisco, Peru, El Salvador and more will convene at the Latin American Festival and Mata Ortiz Pottery Market at Diane Powers’ Bazaar del Mundo Shops, August 4-6 in Old Town.

The annual San Diego event presents one of the nation’s most extensive collections of authentic folk art, traditional clothing and textiles, colorful collectibles and dazzling jewelry.

The lively marketplace takes place beneath a colorful array of elaborately decorated handmade booths and umbrellas. Visitors can take in an amazing array of live artist demonstrations, enjoy nonstop entertainment and feast on mouth-watering Mexican cuisine at the free weekend event that runs 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

Bazaar del Mundo, at the corner of Juan and Taylor Streets in Old Town, will overflow with artisans from Chihuahua, Mexico, creating eye-popping Mata Ortiz pottery, a centuries-old art form renowned for its hand-painted geometric and ancestral symbols.

Other traditional crafts and sought-after handmade goods include: Otomi textiles, tinwork, Talavera pottery, Oaxacan wooden animal carvings, Guatemalan weaving, various colorful and symbolic wall art and sculptures, Huichol yarn and bead paintings and one-of-a-kind pottery from the farthest regions of Mexico.

This year’s visiting artists include:

• Jorge Quintana, a principal Mata Ortiz artist whose work has been displayed in museums throughout the world.
• Jacobo Angeles, from Oaxaca, Mexico, will carve and paint wooden animal figures.
• Mariano Valadez, a Huichol artist specializing in yarn paintings and detailed glass bead art.
• Yolanda Ormachea Velasco, a contemporary Peruvian jewelry artist whose work combines silver with semiprecious stones and other natural elements found in Peru.

TINKU, a Latin American folk band, will perform over 19 musical rhythms from throughout Latin America on authentic native instruments. Mouth-watering Mexican cuisine from neighboring Casa Guadalajara restaurant will be for sale, enhancing the cultural aesthetic, completing the feel of a Mexican rural market.

Inside the colorful stores, shelves will be brimming with gifts and goods imported from Mexico and Latin America, as well as a myriad of books on travel, culture, architecture, arts, crafts and food.