Two thousand four hundred and seventeen miles from Whitewater is the culturally-rich city of Oaxaca, Mexico.

This past summer, Professors Michael Flanagan, Max White, Charles Cottle and art student Irasema Villarreal traveled to southwestern Mexico to teach various art-related workshops with the students at the Universidad Autónoma Benito Juárez de Oaxaca.

The artwork created in these workshops will be displayed in the Crossman Gallery in the Center of the Arts and in the Fiskum Art Gallery in the University Center.

White conducted a two-week long print-making workshop focusing on two different print-making techniques.
One technique White taught was the monotype technique. The process only yields one unique print. The finished product almost looks like it has been painted, but it is actually made by using a plate painted with ink. The plate is then put into a press where the ink transfers to the paper.

“It is a very surprising technique,” White said.

The second print-making technique White taught was the solar-plate technique. Solar-plate is a variation of a photo etching, but this form is non-toxic; a photo-sensitized plate is used, and then exposed to sunlight.

The trip was White’s fourth visit to Oaxaca and her second time teaching this type of workshop.Prints from White’s workshops will be on display in the Fiskum Art Gallery.

Flanagan spoke to the students about gallery management. He said they spent a lot of time talking about how a gallery works. Many people attending the workshop were interested in how to run a gallery and how a start-up gallery works.

“It’s interesting for me because it is such a different world,” Flanagan said. “Some things are different, but some things are the same, so there are some challenges there that we don’t have in the States.”

In the Crossman Gallery, there will be artwork featuring endangered animals from the Oaxaca area.

“It’s just an incredibly culturally-enriching experience,” Flanagan. “It gets you out of your everyday environment and puts you someplace new. I just find that to be a real uplifting experience.”
Flanagan said the group has been asked to return to Oaxaca next summer and they have already begun planning the trip.