SPIRIT MASKS WITH THE PALE ROOK

San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico

Feb. 20-28, 2026

Throughout history, and around the world, masks have served as symbols of our ability to transform, as conduits to the spirit world, to manifest power and protection, or simply to explore different levels of our own identity. Join The Pale Rook in San Miguel de Allende for a very special Spirit Mask workshop.

Mask making is deeply rooted in the history of Mexico, and has been a significant part of Mesoamerican culture, ritual, entertainment and celebration for thousands of years. During her previous Bellissima trips to Mexico, Johanna has been deeply inspired by the mask making traditions of the country, and this has permeated her doll work and sculpture.

In this workshop you are invited to create your own Spirit Mask. Your mask can be symbolic, representational, ritualistic, or simply entertaining.  You can choose to create a mask that represents a specific character, persona, story or concept, expressing hidden aspects of your personality or qualities you admire. 

Using methods developed within her own practice, Johanna will guide you forming a solid base to work on, then show you how to build layers of fabric, stitch, drawing and embellishment to bring your project to life. 

You are encouraged to bring found objects, fabrics and trimmings from your own collection to incorporate into your work, making your finished project even more personal and special. Your finished mask will not only be beautiful, but lightweight, robust and easy to take home.  

Itinerary

Day 1, Friday Feb. 20

Everyone arrives and we will have a reception with botanas and drinks at 7:00 p.m. in the main courtyard.

Day 2, Saturday Feb. 21

Have breakfast before meeting in the studio at 9:30 a.m. Johanna and Kathie will go over the schedule for the week. We will begin to design our sculptures, breaking for a quick walking tour before having lunch nearby. We will return to the studio to continue creating. Class will be over at 5:00 and you will have time to relax before we meet for dinner at 6:30 p.m.

Day 3, Sunday Feb. 22

Breakfast and then it is a full day in the studio as we continue working. Lunch will be provided on site by Chef Ana Elena. Class will be over at 4:30 and then we will meet for dinner at 6:30 p.m.

Day 4, Monday Feb. 23

Breakfast and then into the studio at 9:30. We will break for lunch at Pegaso on our way to our amigo, Hermes Arroyo’s mojiganga studio where you will create masks. Dinner will be on your own this evening.

Day 5, Tuesday Feb. 24

Breakfast and then meet in the studio to continue working. Lunch will be provided by Chef Ana Elena. Dinner this evening will be at Los Milagros.

Day 6, Wednesday Feb. 25

Breakfast, then meet in the studio at 9:30 to continue working with Johanna. Lunch will be provided by Chef Ana Elena. Return to the studio and work until 4:30. Dinner will be provided.

Day 7, Thursday Feb. 26

Breakfast and then a full day in the studio with a break for lunch. Free afternoon. Tonight will be a cooking class with Chef Ana Elena at CDLN.

Day 8, Friday Feb. 27

Breakfast and then meet in the studio at 9:00 a.m. We will add our final details to our sculptures, then we will clean up and have our Show “N Tell. The rest of the afternoon is free and lunch is on your own. We will meet in the lobby at 6:30 to walk to our final farewell dinner together at Zumo.

Day 9, Saturday Feb. 28

The trip is over and you are free to leave anytime this day.

This Escape Includes

• 8 nights at Casa de la Noche

• Classes with The Pale Rook - Johanna Flanagan

• Class with Hermes Arroyo

• Welcome reception and fiesta

• All breakfasts, six lunches and 5 dinners (one lunch and one dinner on your own)

• Visit to markets

• Cooking Demonstration with Chef Ana Elena Martinez

• Free time to explore

• A farewell dinner

Price: $4500, limited to 12 people based on double occupancy, limited single rooms are available for an additional $700.

A $1,000 non-refundable deposit is due upon registration. The balance is due Dec. 1, 2025.

Price does not include airfare to/from Mexico, alcohol, and travel insurance (mandatory).

Accommodations: Casa de la Noche

CDLN is a boutique bed and breakfast located minutes from the center of SMA. Rooms will be assigned to you and transportation is included and coordinated by CDLN. See the video with a surprise guest at the end!

Airport:(BJX) Del Bajio Airport, Leon/Guanajuato which is 1 hour and 15 minutes from SMA. Or Queretaro (QRO).

We will Provide

• Aluminium foil

• Fabric glue

• Batting

• Some fabrics and yarns

• Wire

• Embroidery Threads

• Yarn - twine, cotton, flax, hemp

Artist Supply List

Artist’s Supply List

• Hand sewing needles - all purpose mixed sizes

• Sewing threads (cotton or polyester)

• Brush for glue

• A pencil for drawing/ pencil sharpener, eraser

• A selection of light weight fabrics (these can be small pieces but make sure that you have a selection to collage with)

• Fabric Scissors

• Ball headed sewing pins

• A pin cushion

• A sketchbook (small)

• Paper scissors

• A roll of mssking tape from the hardware store

• You are also welcome to bring any fabrics, trimmings, beads, buttons or embellishments from your own collection to incorporate into your doll

We are so thrilled that Johanna Flanagan of the Pale Rook is teaching another Bellissima Art Escape. She is a Scottish textile artist, doll maker and costume designer, trained in fashion, constructed textiles and historical costumes. Doll making was her first love, and she has been making dolls for as long as she can remember. In the last fourteen years, Johanna has taught in art schools, museums and colleges throughout the UK and Europe, as well as writing and tutoring correspondence courses for the last two years.

You can see her work on her Instagram and Facebook feeds.

WHIMSEY WITH A SIDE OF LOVE WITH TIFFANY OWNBEY

Feb. 28-March 8, 2026

San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato

If you love paper, ephemera and tying the past to the present, you will love Tiffany Ownbey’s whimsical creations. A North Carolina artist who lives in a family-built cabin in the woods, Tiffany combines her love of papier-mâché with ephemera that she has collected since she was a young girl. Her work has been shown around the United States and in Japan.

She has taught one Bellissima Art Escape and we have asked her to teach again with a magical collaboration with Mojiganga Master, Hermes Arroyo in San Miguel de Allende. We knew that when we met Tiffany and saw her work, that she and Hermes are simpatico. We can’t wait to see what everyone creates!

Hermes Arroyo, is a mojiganga master who espouses the “old ways” of having his studio in his home where he and his various family members create the colorful, unique and often, humorous giant mojiganga puppets that parade through the jardin and at various venus for weddings, anniversaries and special events.

Hermes has one of the greatest smiles and his love of his craft emanates from his designs. We love taking groups to his studio and when we were last there, he offered to teach a class on how to make a small mojiganga. What a perfect complement to Tiffany’s work!

Itinerary

In this workshop, you will create your own special mixed media sculptures, one (or two!) with Tiffany and one with Hermes.

Day 1, Saturday Feb. 28

Everyone arrives and we will have a reception with botanas and drinks at 7:00 p.m. in the main courtyard.

Day 2, Sunday March 1

Have breakfast before meeting in the studio at 9:30 a.m. Tiffany and Kathie will go over the schedule for the week. We will begin to design our sculptures, breaking for a quick walking tour before having lunch nearby. We will return to the studio and continue forming our molds. Class will be over at 5:00 and you will have time to relax before we meet for dinner at 6:30 p.m.

Day 3, Monday March 2

Breakfast and then it is a full day in the studio as we continue working. Lunch will be provided on site by Ana Elena. Class will be over at 4:30 and then we will meet for dinner at 6:30 p.m.

Day 4, Tuesday March 3

Breakfast at CDLN and then we will walk to Hermes’s studio where we will make our forms. Lunch will be at Pegasus and then you will have the afternoon free. Ana Elena will give a cooking class this evening.

Day 5, Wednesday March 4

Breakfast and then meet in the studio to continue working. Lunch will be provided by Ana Elena and this afternoon we will return to Hermes’s studio where we will finish painting and adding special bling to our creations. We will walk to the jardin and then have dinner.

Day 6, Thursday March 5

Breakfast, then meet in the studio at 9:30 to continue working with Tiffany. Lunch will be provided by Ana Elena. Return to the studio and work until 4:30. Dinner will be on your own this evening.

Day 7, Friday March 6

Breakfast and then a full day in the studio with a break for lunch at the Library. Dinner will be provided.

Day 8, Saturday March 7

Breakfast and then meet in the studio at 9:00 a.m. We will add our final details to our sculptures, then we will clean up and have our Show “N Tell. The rest of the afternoon is free and lunch is on your own. We will meet in the lobby at 6:30 to walk to our final farewell dinner together.

Day 9, Sunday March 8

The trip is over and you are free to leave anytime this day.

Some of the creations made by the artists in Tiffany’s class in the Bellissima Art Studio.

This Escape Includes

• 8 nights at Casa de la Noche

• Classes with Tiffany Ownbey

• Class with Hermes Arroyo

• Welcome reception and fiesta

• All breakfasts, six lunches and 5 dinners (one lunch and one dinner on your own)

• Visit to markets

• Cooking Demonstration with Chef Ana Elena Martinez

• Free time to explore

• A farewell dinner

Price: $4500, limited to 12 people based on double occupancy, limited single rooms are available for an additional $700.

A $1,000 non-refundable deposit is due upon registration. The balance is due Dec. 1, 2025.

Price does not include airfare to/from Mexico, alcohol, and travel insurance (mandatory).

Accommodations: Casa de la Noche

CDLN is a boutique bed and breakfast located minutes from the center of SMA. Rooms will be assigned to you and transportation is included and coordinated by CDLN. See the video with a surprise guest at the end!

Airport:(BJX) Del Bajio Airport, Leon/Guanajuato which is 1 hour and 15 minutes from SMA. Or Queretaro (QRO).

We will provide

• Liquid starch

• Matte Varnish

• Non-stick cooking spray

• Wire

• Wooden dowels

• Wire cutters

Supply List for Artists

• Scissors

• Apron

• Paint brushes for varnish

• Sharpie fine point pens

• Sewing patterns

• Various old papers - stamps, green stamps, etc.

• Old doll bodies and feet and bowls to use for molds

• Box cutter knife

Tiffany Ownbey of Rutherfordton, NC is a mixed media artist whose work plays on the combination of the past and the present, nature and consumerism, and reuse and beauty. 

From an early age, Ownbey adopted her parents’ appreciation for flea markets and antique stores, transforming the magical quality and history of vintage objects and materials into new stories. Her work focuses on the experience of familiarity for the viewer, each reused element an opportunity for discovery and igniting memory. 

Ownbey studied art at Savannah College of Art and Design, Penland School of Crafts, and Western Carolina University. She has exhibited throughout the United States and in Japan and is currently living in a 100 year-old family-built log cabin surrounded by her sweet furry creatures, both domestic and unexpected.

Kathie Vezzani, who is hosting the workshop, also is an artist who paints, rusts and waxes. She organizes trips for other artists and in a former life was a caterer. She has over three decades of experience organizing trips for foodies and artists.

MYTHICAL CREATURES WITH THE PALE ROOK

Bellissima Art Studio, Port Orchard, WA

June 22-26, 2026

The Pale Rook offers Mythical Creatures only to Bellissima Art Escapes artists. We decided to offer this class in the Bellissima Art Studio in Port Orchard for those artists who are unable to join us on our foreign workshops. Join Johanna for what is a magical workshop next June.

See what others made in her class in Oaxaca below.

Johanna has developed the methods we'll be working with over the last eight years in her own practice and they've been honed especially for this workshop. You can adapted them to make whatever creature, combination of creatures, or mix of human and animal that you want to make. 

The dolls/creatures can also use a collaged combination of fabrics, layered with symbolic embroidery, using as many or as few of the participants' collection of dyed fabrics and yarns as they wish. This means you can have a narrative element to your work, telling stories through symbolic use of color, pattern and form.

Each day, Johanna will demonstrate her techniques to develop these mythical creatures.

This Art Escape includes

• Five days instruction by Johanna

• Five lunches, one dinner

• Some materials

The cost of this workshop is $1500. A $750 deposit is due upon registering. The balance of $750 is due February 12, 2026.

Materials provided

• Florist wire

• Wool fleece

• Felting needles

• A selection of sewing threads

• Tailors chalk

• A selection of embroidery threads

• Pattern drafting paper

• Unspun flax

• Pliers

• Wire cutters

• Felting sponge

Materials to bring

• Hand sewing needles ( mixed sizes)

• Fabric scissors

• A small pin cushion

• Pins

• A sketch book

• A pencil

• Colored pencils ( or any other color medium you'd like to work with when designing your project)

• A pencil sharpener

• A selection of fabrics and found objects/trimmings from your own collection (optional)

• A range of interesting paper - size A4 or 8 1/2” x 11 “ - art paper or hand-made

• Some trinkets or beads

• Ruler

• Apron

We are so thrilled that Johanna Flanagan of the Pale Rook is teaching another Bellissima Art Escape. She is a Scottish textile artist, doll maker and costume designer, trained in fashion, constructed textiles and historical costumes. Doll making was her first love, and she has been making dolls for as long as she can remember. In the last fourteen years, Johanna has taught in art schools, museums and colleges throughout the UK and Europe, as well as writing and tutoring correspondence courses for the last two years.

You can see her work on her Instagram and Facebook feeds.

Kathie Vezzani who hosts the workshop, also is an artist who paints, rusts and waxes. She organizes trips for other artists and in a former life was a caterer. She has over three decades of experience organizing trips for foodies and artists.

OUT OF CONTEXT WITH GARY AND MARY ANN CARLSON

July 9-12, 2026, Port Orchard, WA

Back by popular demand for their third Bellissima Art Escape are Gary and Mary Ann Carlson. Believe me when I tell you that if you are an assemblage artist, you need to attend this workshop. They are masters at attaching materials of any kind.

You will learn:

• Compositional methods and critique skills to unify your composition

• The appropriate products and methods of attaching a wide variety of materials

• Material techniques using Apoxie Sculpt, Sculpt Noveau Metal Coatings paint and patinas

• Appropriate tools for specific materials, rivets, saw, cutof saws, grinders, etc.

• Appropriate display hardware for asymmetric physical weight balance of artwork

From the chaos of an overabundance of materials, our artists swapped supplies, helped each other and created amazing pieces.

Itinerary

We will meet each day at 9:30 am, stopping for lunch provided by our host, Kathie Vezzani, and ending the day around 4:30 pm. Dinner will be provided one evening.

On the last day, we will work until we break for lunch, then we will finish any last minute details before cleaning up and sharing our work in a Show ‘N tell.

This Art Escape includes

• Four days instruction by Gary and Mary Ann Carlson

• Four lunches, one dinner

• Lots of materials

The cost of this workshop is $950. A deposit of $500 is due upon registration. The balance is due February 12, 2026.

Port Orchard is the site for the workshop. The location is 9 miles north of Gig Harbor, WA which is listed as one of the most desirable cities in the US to visit (or live). It is located south of Seattle, across the Narrows Bridge on Hwy 16.

The Bremerton-Kitsap Airporter stops in Gig Harbor and in Port Orchard.

There are manyAirBNBs and B&Bs in the area. A list of accommodations will be provided if requested.

We Will Provide

• 12” edge glued wood round

• 16”x 16” x 1/4” plywood

• Primer paint, water-based

• Metal Coatings brass and iron paint

• Metal coatings patinas, tiffany green and tan

• Clear acrylic Matt spray

• Jig saw (metal and wood blades), small pull saw, coping saw

• Drill and bits

• Hammers

• Safety goggles

• Metal shears

• Metal files

• Wood rasps

• Brad nailer

• Escutcheon pins

• Nail set

• Center punch

• Wood scraps

• Wire and wire cutters

• Metal cutoff saw

• Clamps

• Nails and screws

• Bits of wood and tin that you may want to use

• Acrylic paint

• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium

• Sponge brushes

• Paint brushes

• Wood glue

• Plastic gloves

• Sandpaper, emery paper, steel wool various textures

• Rivet gun and aluminum rivets

• Apoxie Sculpt

Student Supply List

• Apron

• Pencils, sharpies

• Scissors,

• E-6000 glue,

• JB weld kwik glue

• Bring ideas and found object materials that have similar elements such as color, shape, line for your wall sculpture.

These are just ideas. You do not need to collect all of this:

• vintage wood typesetter’s letters or typewriter keys or metal letter stencils

• wood blocks, letters

• vintage clock insides, watch parts

• various sized wood balls, pool balls, beads, ¼”- 1½”

• croquet balls, mallets or sticks

• small decorative brass horns

• vintage embroidery hoops or circles, old tin lids

• vintage wood hangers or any wood or metal arc

• interesting sticks or wood shapes - objects

• small hollow, plastic bird forms

• small rusted metal sheet material that has some color left,

• small metal lamp parts, metal leaves, brass or chrome metal bits

• old rulers, wood metal or cloth

• old paintbrushes,

• small vintage tools

• small antlers or horns

• copper or aluminum tape

Minnesota artist Gary Carlson is a sculptor and retired art teacher. He has worked as an art educator, a graphic artist, a portrait photographer, and painter. Since retiring from teaching, his worked has been primarily creating found object assemblage sculptures.

Throughout his career, he has exhibited in galleries, art centers, art competitions and art fairs in and around the Minneapolis and St. Paul area, as well as the Midwest. Gary’s work is in the collection of the East Central Regional Arts Council and he has received numerous awards.

MaryAnn Carlson also is a former art educator. She has worked as a jeweler, a picture framer, a gallery director, an art administrator, a small business owner, a graphic artist, a digital photo editor, a painter and a sculptor. She has exhibited in galleries, art centers, art competitions in and around the Minneapolis and St. Paul area. Her work is in the collection of The East Central Regional Arts Council and she has received numerous awards for her unique sculptures. She is a master at hanging artwork!