Archive
Almond Blossoms for Nevine
Thanks, Nevine, for liking the glistening eucalyptus trees from the last post. Here’s a panorama of almond blossoms from the opposite side of our valley, taken from the terrace of the Gallinero at 9:00 a.m. this morning. I hope it inspires you.
Click on the image to see it enlarged.
Morning after Rain, Everything Glistens
Granada, February 6, 2014–Even the eucalyptus trees on the opposite side of our valley. This photo is taken from the terrace.
2013 Summer Sale of My Printmaking Master Classes Videos
Take Advantage of Friendly Prices Now to Complete Your Collection of My Printmaking Learning Videos–Offer good till August 26, 2013
I’ve met a few printmakers lately who didn’t even know I had made a series of printmaking learning videos. I was shocked. So I decided to offer a big discount and announce them on all the printmaking sites. You can now download any and all of the videos at a discount of 40%. So you can now buy a single video, normally $19.95, for $11.97. And all six of them are just $71.82, down from $119.70.
I had a lot of fun making these videos with video producer, Juan Carlos Romera, and they have received a warm reception from the printmakers who have downloaded them thus far.
To take advantage of the offer you’ll need this discount code: 486Q9512. When you reach the payment stage of the order process on my Printmaking Master Classes site, introduce this code when prompted. And don’t forget, once your order is processed I’ll send you the secret links that will permit you to see your videos on YouTube from any internet connection, anywhere.
I’d love to hear your comments after you use my videos. Were they clear, helpful, or even inspiring?
“That’s Inked Up” Features El Gallinero
We just ran across this little feature on El Gallinero published last year on That’s Inked Up, a wide-ranging, thoughtful and attractive blog for printmakers published by Chicago-based Artist,Curator,Educator,Writer, Teresa J. Parker. This is her website: http://www.teresajparker.com/
And this is the Gallinero article on That’s Inked Up. Thanks so much, Teresa.
Fancy a Guitar Making Course in Granada?
Fancy a guitar making course in Granada? Here’s your opportunity: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Granadas-luthery-School/200572580064211. Henner Hagenlocher is an old friend and a consummate guitar craftsman. Longtime Granada resident, he builds some of this city’s finest guitars. Henner speaks everything. Satisfaction guaranteed! 
A Closer Look at Granada Grafitti Artist, El Niño de las Pinturas
Last March, when Cathy and Mike Naro were here from Chicago, Mike and I took a stroll around Granada while Cathy and Maureen worked in the studio. I wanted Mike Naro to see the extraordinary work of Raul Ruiz, the Granada grafitti artist. I made a few pictures of the street murals we visited and published them here on Maureen’s Printmaking Courses in Spain blog. Mike, who was a bit skeptical about walking out of our way to see street art, said, “This isn’t grafitti; it’s art!”
The other day I ran across this video of Raul creating one of his mural-sized portraits in a live performance in the Centro de Lenguas Modernas of the University of Granada on the occasion of the closure of their 2011-2012 academic year.
If you’re tempted to see more of El Niño de las Pinturas, here’s a link to his YouTube channel.
Bea Chang Takes a Work Break in Granada
Here’s Bea, hard at work.
Bea Chang,a writer whose formative years have taken her around the world, leaves today after spending a week in the Gallinero working. Though Bea is on a joyous two month Morocco-Spain-and-Ireland tour, she’s aware that her classmates in the creative-writing masters program at the University of Washington are spending the summer working on their critically important end-of-term projects. So she Googled “writers refuge Spain” and up popped the Gallinero.
Bea has been our most discreet, least demanding guest. She said she wanted to work and we left her to it. Her project is to write a series of short stories based on her travels this summer. “It’s like travel writing,” says Bea, “but in fiction, not non fiction. I loved the Gallinero because it was secluded and quiet, so conducive to writing.”
Bea, we wish you all the best in getting an A+ on your project, in getting it published and becoming famous. And we hope to see you again soon in the Gallinero.
The Nicest Comment Ever
What’s a Gallinero? And why would you want to stay there?
Cathy Naro and her husband, Mike, were here for two weeks last month and when they got home Cathy wrote a comment on Maureen’s Printmaking Courses in Spain blog which was the sweetest thing anybody ever wrote about Maureen and her workshops. Let’s share it here:
To any painters and writers, as well as print-makers – if you are considering a creative holiday at Maureen and Mike’s, DON’T HESITATE! After a 2 week stay last summer, I brought my husband back with me this April, and he couldn’t believe I didn’t rave about the experience more (actually I did, but seeing is believing!) Both Maureen’s light filled studio and the workspace in El Gallinero are perfect for inspiration and production. Maureen is an inventive, creative, supportive teacher and, in short, is my favorite art collaborator (I miss you already!) Yet it’s not all about the work, there are buses to transport one to Granada or the mountains, there’s the full moon over the uninhabited mountain view from the terrace, and there’s a sleepy little village a 5 minute walk away. A favorite last memory is a long (4 hour!) lunch in the sun there by the river… Come for a stay with your projects, your music, and your ideas and you will be glad you did. Best, Cathy and Mike Naro, Chicago, IL
So, our thanks to Cathy Naro, lover of the siesta, the salt-water spa and the four-hour lunch!
Is My Husband Clever or a Lunatic?
What’s a Gallinero? And why would you want to stay there?
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Or Both? Which is Most Likely the Case
Mike has made me another blog. It’s called Maureen’s Printmaking Videos and you can see it here: http://maureensprintmakingvideos.com. “But I already have a blog for my videos,” I protest. “No matter,” he says, “you can never have too many.” He always says that. To him websites, blogs and social networking sites are like store fronts; the more you have the more doors are open where clients can walk in. “Besides,” he says, “I discovered a new WordPress theme (Sundance) which is specially designed for displaying videos and it has some cute little buttons.”
The Cute Little Buttons in question: 
So, your guess is as good as mine. Why has he created me yet another blog? Is he an Internet-strategy genius? Or was it the cute little buttons?
Have You Discovered Pinterest.com?
What’s a Gallinero? And why would you want to stay there?
We´ve recently discovered Pinterest.com and we’re excited about it as it seems to be an ideal showcase for the work of visual artists, a constant concern at our house. Essentially Pinterest is an online scrapbook application. Instead of pasting magazine illustrations, family photographs, etc. into a scrapbook, you “pin” them onto a virtual board which Pinterest provides you. Besides images you can also pin videos, which adds a lot of interest (and possibilities for artists) I think.
It seems that Pinterest is the fastest-growing Internet startup ever, going from zero to 12 million visits monthly in just a year. That’s 12 million possibilities for visitors to see your work displayed there every month. And it will soon be 20 million, and then 50. And then who knows?!
Have a look at the Pinterest site that Mike recently created and is still building and see if it doesn’t give you some ideas of your own.
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"El Gallinero"--An Artists' & Writers' Refuge in Granada 