Art Club at Mayan Beach Garden, history and background

Art Retreat every Wednesday at Mayan Beach Garden

Six years ago, I had an idea to create a community mosaic where children and adults would each create a 4x4 inch square and then when put all together, it would create a mural that the people in the town could call their own.

Every day for a week, children from the Mahahual primary school from grade 2-6 would transform 4" wooden tiles into pieces of art using nothing more than the foam from flip-flops that had washed up on the beach and glue.

I was lucky enough to have some wonderful volunteers to help me with each class, which averaged 30 children each day. While the children were flip flop rock stars, and very creative, The finished pieces weren't museum worthy yet. All 256 tiles that are in the mosaic mural needed to be checked to make sure all of the pieces were glued with a strong bond and that the board didn't show through.

I couldn't do this alone. For about 2 weeks, my volunteers gathered at Mayan Beach Garden to help solidify the children's artwork so that it would last until those children grew up and could return to the mural and let their children know "that was my piece." It's now sitting at National Beach Club in Mahahual Central.

Community flip flop mosaic project, now at National Beach Club

After the work was over, there was a void. One of my dear volunteers suggested we keep on doing art as a group. Thanks to that wonderful suggestion, we created "Art Club" which has its zenith on art day. The artwork that comes out of this is varied and worthy of gallery pieces.

This lovely piece was created on Art Day by Elizabeth Swanson. Elizabeth writes a blog "Beyond the Rabbit hole" where she shares not only her artwork, but also her poetry and quirky thought processes.

Mixed media artwork by Merideth, using flipflops, Nylon twine, glass and other found or discarded items.

While we started with flip flops, we have evolved into multi-media with found objects taking a front seat. For example, the image created by Meredith Beaupris, show on the left is a perfect example . The background and parts of the face are acrylic paint, which the flowers are made from discarded flip flops. Glass marble weights make up eyes that are rimmed with rick-rack scraps. the hair and stitches are made of black palapa twine. Additinal flip flops are used to decorate the face. The funnest part about Art Club is watching the thought processes that occur as each work of art is created. I coach the work along, but other artists in the group share their ideas creating amazing results.

We meet every Wednesday morning at 10:30 and continue on until people are ready to quit. Usually around 3:00. We stop around 1:00 for a light lunch.

There is something wonderful when you create art together. Not the kind of "Paint and sip" art, which has its own value, but the kind that bonds people tegether around creativity. Where people abandon their normal fears and inadequacies and let art take them to safer places. Meanwhile friendships are formed, ideas shared and time passes oh so quickly.

All guests at Mayan Beach Garden are welcome to join us for Art Days. Basic materials are supplied.

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Those who pass through the door of Mayan Beach Garden usually come for the beach, but once they are here, they find many pieces of native art and original mosaics created from both tile and flip-flops found on the beach. I'm happy that people like the work that comes out of here. It isn't all mine. I couldn't do it without the craftsmanship of Rafael Palafox, who has worked here at Mayan Beach Garden for 14 years and now he can take my drawings and turn them into fabulous floors and tile work. I can't even claim all of the flip-flop work because all my guests bring me flip-flops and as I write this, Doris, my cook, is cutting flip-flop bands into tiny pieces. I never started out to be an artist, but after many years of working in art, I feel defined by art, pulled to create and fulfilled when I do. I remember as a child doodling over my homework, and later as a college student drawing people laying on the beach. My friends were mostly artistic spirits, so I think it was no surprise to anyone when I majored in art and began defining my self through paintings that were segmented in many pieces, much like mosaics. One of my favorites is pictured below.