CDMX Art Week and a Second Spring at La Ceiba Grafica

Rose holds up one of her favorite prints on fabric in front of a building at La Ceiba Grafica.

Reflections on drawing inspiration from international art week before diving into two weeks of focused printmaking time.

The art scene in Mexico City is really one of a kind. This was my third visit to the international art week hosted there, and what a unique portal into the current pulse of contemporary art it is. I visited the three main fairs, Zona Maco, Salon Acme and Material, and a few satellite exhibitions and open studios. Is it overwhelming? Yes. Were my feet begging for mercy at the end? Also yes. But a glimpse into some of the top worldwide galleries as well as local artist studios was the full saturation I needed before heading to my two week residency in Veracruz. 

I would get asked before the residency - what will you work on there? The short answer was…I really had no idea.

My life is so structured and planned - even most of my art making time - that I wanted to be guided by the materials, the process and the environment around me. 

My first few days were a lithograph workshop using Mexican marble (not limestone as is more traditional). The marble has more or a rough surface and each piece of stone is unique, which I loved. I walked around the Hacienda and made small drawings of plants and the large Ceiba tree which is the residences namesake. This first print laid the ground for my other explorations. 

One takeaway from my time last year was using unique objects to print with or on - so back to the market I went. I returned with corn husks, netting, sponges, combs and more. These not only added unique texture, but connected the work to the place it's being created and deepens the story and meaning. 

I spent the remaining time learning how to use the bandsaw to cut wood pieces I found in the reuse bin and carve and print them on paper and fabric sourced from a local tienda. On top of these prints I built layers using collograph plates and experimented with Chine-collé - adhering delicate papers to heavier sheets. All this experimenting resulted in a lot of prints I did NOT like, but the ones I did felt even more special. 

Returning to La Ceiba for a second year gave me a deeper appreciation for the ecosystem Per and his team have built. Working again on their handmade Kozo papers - grown, harvested, and produced onsite - as well as their hand built presses, is such a testament to resilience, collaboration and determination. And there is just something profoundly cool about creating prints on a handbuilt press and on paper made steps from the studio.  

My two weeks provided time and space to play, experiment, fail (a lot) and source deeper connections with the people and places of nearby towns Coatepec and Xalapa.

I left feeling expanded - not just in technique, but in confidence and clarity about where my print practice is heading next. ‏𖦹