In the company of new friends at the artist fair

Original paintings by Damien Lemee.   

“When’s the next Artist Fair?”

“I’m coming back to Isla on (insert any date). Will there be an Artist Fair that day?”

These are frequently asked questions on various island-enthusiast Facebook pages.

The Artist Fairs are becoming a tourist draw, and as of November 30th, the fairs will take place every Thursday until April of next year. However, it was deadly quiet night on December 14^th at the fair, the week before the Christmas rush.  

Val Jukosky bracelet

My booth was beside three very sociable and entertaining artisans who filled the quiet times with laughter. Val Jukosky, Liwlig Larsen, Damien Lemée, and I were set up along a concrete wall in the shadow of the life-threatening coconut-bombing palm trees. Each of us had a colourful display of our wares, hoping to entice passersby to purchase an original piece of art, a beautiful bit of jewelry, or, in my case, one of my new paperback novels or my bilingual book for children.

Until recently, I seldom had the time to chat with these folks, even though I saw them week after week for several years. On this night, there were very few people browsing the displays so we chatted, and joked, and I finally got to know them a little bit better.

Val Jukosky necklace

Val Jukosky is from London, Ontario, Canada. She makes beautiful ocean-tumbled sea glass and semi-precious gemstone jewelry. Here's the link to her FB page: Val's Sea Glass 

This is Val’s fifth winter on Isla; her first three years were six months at a time, but now she is here for longer periods. Previously, she wintered in Puerto Vallarta and Melaque on the west coast of Mexico. She got hooked on sea glass collecting during her first winter on Isla started participating in the Artist Fairs the next year. Val says she loves being surrounded by water. Me too!  During the quiet times at last week’s fair, Val got busy and created fun, colourful bookmarks for my novels. She made a few and sold them all. They seem to be a hit.

Art by Liw Larsen.

Liw Larsen is from Denmark. She first discovered Isla in 2006. Travelling around the world, she was in California when a friend suggested Mexico. It wasn't on her bucket list, but from the very first day on Isla, she felt like this was home. She knew she had to come back and stay, but it was September 2013 before she finally returned to stay. Here's the link to her FB page: Art By Liw 

Liw loves the slow life here, just living in the moment with no stress, lovely people, a beautiful island, and country. “I just love Mexico.” Her paintings are fun, bright, and lively. She also has a selection of colourful prints, and has recently started painting mermaids on driftwood.

Damien Lemée was born in France, but while traveling in Canada at the age of seventeen, he decided to live there. He now lives six months in Montreal and six months on the island.  Here's the link to his FB page: Damien Lemée

The first time he came to Isla Mujeres was in 1998 as part of a band that played a mix of fun, danceable Latino tunes. The band’s name was Proyecto Indica, and included vocalist Lenin Zurita, Andre Hamel on flute and saxophone, with Damien as the percussionist. They performed during the winter season for ten years in several bars on the island, including La Peña.

Artist, Damien Lemee being James-Bond cool. 

Damien’s art includes an intriguing variety of painted bird sculptures made from recycled tires, plus paintings, prints, and photographs. We recently purchased a fun print of a black cat sitting outside the store on Juarez that has three cats painted on the building. Damen said it took him three tries to get the photo. Every time he picked up his camera, the cat would leave. Finally, on the third day, the cat waited for him to take his photograph.

Damien's birds made from recycled tires

Started by Brad and Tiffany Wareing in the winter of 2011 at the original Barlito’s location on Hidalgo Avenue, the Artist Showcase moved from the crowded corner to spread across the Sócalo in front of City Hall in Centro. Renamed the Art and Food Fair, it grew to a healthy seventy-some-odd artists and food vendors by 2013. 

Then the municipality decided that inside the Casa de Cultura on the malécon was a better venue. After a short time inside the building, the fair was moved outside to the parking area across from M&J’s and beside what is now the new office of tourism. 

Both Brad and Tiffany have worked very hard for several years to organize the events, promote them, and deal with the myriad of national, state, and municipal regulations.
  
For the past couple of years, the Isla Brewing Company livened up the drab Casa de Cultura location with its mobile beer truck, selling its hand-crafted ales. They contributed an enormous amount of fun and energy to the event, including stringing overhead lights and providing music. Of course, when other vendors plugged in their lights, the musicians their amps, and the cooks their microwaves, the circuit breaker would trip, plunging the entire fair into darkness. Amid laughter and loud groans, adjustments would be made, and the beer dispensing, lighting, music, and food prep would resume. Fingers-crossed, Isla Brewing will come back this year. We miss their lively energy. Here's the link to their FB page: Isla Brewing Company

Isla Mujeres Mysteries #1 Treasure Isla & #2 Trouble Isla.

The evening of December 14^th wasn’t a total loss for me. Besides selling enough books to make it worthwhile and making new friends, I also had a very long and interesting chat with Dante Lopez, the owner of Mr. Opal on Madera Avenue in Centro. He told me a fascinating story about the Mayan culture that might just work its way into Isla Mujeres Mystery Book #4, Terror Isla.

And with that I’ll leave you hanging ……

There won’t be a blog on December 29^th. See you in the New Year!

Cheers from paradise,

Lynda & Lawrie

There's Trouble on Isla, Big Trouble!
  

Book #2 in the Isla Mujeres Mystery Series

5.0 out of 5 stars

Fast and furious

By CA reviews on September 26, 2017

Yasmin and Jessica are back, and the gold they found in Treasure Isla is still haunting them, especially when Carlos, their boss at the Loco Lobo, and Yasmin’s new lover, is kidnapped. No spoilers here, but his captivity and the girls’ efforts to free him, with the help of Carlos’s pals—including local Isla Mujeres fishermen and a Mexico City cop—are the crux of this fast-paced story. Lock has created not only a compelling and authentic setting but a well-developed ensemble cast. The next Isla mystery can’t come fast enough.

Book #1 Treasure Isla, where the fun began!

5.0 out of 5 stars

Captivating and authentic

By CA reviews on September 26, 2017

This was a truly fun in-the-sun kind of mystery, with an authenticity that was simply captivating. Set on the island called Isla Mujeres, not far from the better-known Mexican resort of Cancun, it follows the misadventures of two girlfriends, who on a drunken binge manage to wander onto the grounds of a cemetery and find a treasure map stuck in a crevice of an old pirate tomb. Jessica, from Canada, and local pal Yasmin both work at a tourist bar/restaurant called the Loco Lobo. Soon, their boss Carlos and a handsome attorney named Luis are involved in the girls’ illegal hunt for pirate gold. Toss in a bad dude running from a string of crimes in Key West, and it’s the start of an addictive new mystery.

Enjoying yummy baked goods on a white sand beach - paradise

Alicia at Art Fair yummy goodies

“Banana bread, my favourite!  No, wait, apple pie, that’s my favourite.” I say, pointing at the display case at Cafeteando Coffee and Bread. 

Formerly located on Hidalgo Avenue, Alicia Giorello has recently relocated her bakery to the Palapa Leidy on Playa Norte in front of the IxChel condos.  It’s an excellent place to enjoy a freshly baked treat and to people-watch.

We got hooked on Alicia Giorello’s baked goodies at the weekly Isla Mujeres Art Fairs that take place in the winter season. We usually sell a stack of my children’s book at the fair, The Adventures of Thomas the Cat / Las Aventuras de Tomas el Gato, and my display space was frequently beside Alicia and her baked goodies.

Sparky & me at Art Fair selling books

In the beginning, we had willpower, but over time, week after week, our resolve eroded, and we were hooked. Every Thursday night, a container holding two personal-sized loaves of banana bread or two individual apple pies would be carefully placed in the golf cart to be enjoyed later on our upper deck. Wine and apple pie, or banana bread and beer. Yum!

Born in Argentina, Alicia Giorello moved with her two small children from Buenos Aires to Mexico twenty-seven years ago. She has worked and lived in several cities, including Mexico City, Guanajuato, Zacatecas, Puebla, and Acapulco, before moving to Isla Mujeres.

Empanadas

Alicia said, when she was younger, she primarily worked as a waitress, but she was also an ede con. If I understood her explanation correctly, that is what we would call a beer-babe; the scantily-clad, hot-looking young women who supply the sizzle for marketing guy-stuff like beer, cars, motorcycles, and boats. She laughed, adding she was an ede con a long time ago when she was much younger.

Seventeen years ago, while living in Mexico City, she met Daniel Garnica, who was working at the school where her teenage daughter attended classes. Once her children were grown and away from home, she and Daniel moved to Isla Mujeres in 2012 to start a new life. 

Alicia spent the first two years on Isla Mujeres managing different restaurants: the Argentinian Grill on Hidalgo, Roosters Deli, and Roosters on the Go. Then she opened her original Cafeteando Coffee and Bread location on Hidalgo Avenue. Besides the apple pies, banana bread, and brownies, Alicia makes Argentinian empanadas using her grandmother’s special recipe. She also offers smoothies, frapes, and coffee drinks.

Daniel, Jeff, Rhett, and Yoyo at Art Fair

Alicia’s partner, Daniel Garnica, is equally well-known as one of the behind-the-scenes guys at Isla Brewing Company – Cerveza Isla. The island microbrewery, owned by the personable Jeff McGahee and his enchanting wife Rhett, dispenses hand-crafted ales to the thirsty crowds attending the wintertime Art Fairs. 

That’s another one of our weaknesses, microbrewed ales. In a perfect world, the spent grain from the beer could be made into fabulous, wholesome breads by Alicia. Hmmm, maybe we should suggest that to her the next time we are craving a slice of her delicious banana bread.

The view from Cafeteando Coffee and Bread

If you are wandering around the island, take a few minutes to explore Cafeteando Coffee and Bread, located inside the big palapa on North Beach at the end of Hidalgo Avenue. 

You just might get hooked on Alicia’s baked goodies.

Apple Pie and Chocolate Pie

Just leave some for us!

Hasta Luego 

Lynda, Lawrie, Sparky, & Max

Isla Mujeres Mystery series

or

Death in the Vineyards 

Sergio’s Isla Art

Sergio, Tiffany Wareing's photo

He has an irrepressible smile that lights up his weathered face; whether he is teaching batik, painting a mural, or riding his bicycle, he is always smiling. 

Sergio was born sixty-two years ago in Champotoń in the state of Campeche into a family of three sisters and three brothers. His family moved to Isla Mujeres when he was a young boy, and he has lived on the island, on and off, for over fifty years.  When he was a younger man, Sergio worked on several construction projects in the Tulum area. 

Sergio, the Isla Mujeres Art Fair photo

And then there was a seven-year period when he lived twenty-five meters above ground, in a very primitive tree-house.  

When asked by a friend why he lived so high up, he replied with a face-splitting grin. 

“You have to get above the snakes!”  

That’s about eighty-two feet above the ground, a long way down if you roll over in the night, forgetting you are high up in the trees. 

Sergio, photo Ceceila Hart-Hodges

Keenly interested in anything to do with art since he was a small child, Sergio has mastered the Indonesian technique of Rōkézūzūmi batik.   

His gorgeous wall hangings are complex and brightly coloured, depicting Maya themes.  

They can be purchased at the Isla Mujeres Art Fair, which takes place on the first Thursday of every month between November and April. The Art Fair is located at the Casa de Cultura in Centro, on the eastern side of the island near the municipal esplanade.

Sergio, teaching kids at the Casa de Cultura

Sergio has also done several wall murals, the most recent being the Maya goddess IxChel on the house next door to our casa.  

And on Tuesdays and Thursdays, he teaches classes in batik or tie-dying at the Casa de Cultura.  

The information is available on his Facebook page, thanks to John and Valerie Pasnau, who are the energy behind promoting Sergio’s artworks.

Recent students, Danielle, Barbara, and Carol

Here’s the information for art lessons from Sergio:

There are two classes a week, every week, on Tuesday and Thursday.

Start time is 10 am, Gringo time. 
Finish time is when we finish, Mexican time, about three hours.

Fee is 350 pesos plus 50 pesos to cover materials. You will make a batik or tie-dye wall hanging.

Sergio's work - photo Isla Art Fair

Classes are held in the Cultural Center in Centro. The classroom door is in the center courtyard.  

If the front door is closed, walk around to the Caribbean side. The courtyard is open on that side.

We hope you will let us know in advance if you plan to come, but drop-ins are welcome. 

So, either way, get some beautiful art; purchase one of Sergio’s creations, or make your own fabulous wall hanging.  

What a great souvenir of a vacation in paradise.

Hasta Luego

Lynda, Lawrie, and Sparky

Sergio - fascinating mural at John & Valerie's house

Isla Mujeres Mystery series

Or 

Death in the Vineyards Mysteries

Yesterday's News is Today's New Business, Sandra Herrera

Sandra's store on Juarez north of Elements

Who'd have thought - your morning newspaper and coffee could be turned into art.

What started as a method to learn English, reading discarded newspapers from the hotel where her papa worked, has turned into a business for Sandra Herrera. Eight years ago, she moved to Isla Mujeres from the silver town of Taxco in the state of Guerrero. 

Soon her sister Monica followed, then her dad, and finally she returned to Taxco to bring her mom and younger brother to the island.

Sandra is working on a new item (her photo)

Working at a local café, Rooster on the Go, her boss urged her to learn English. She attended the English School on Isla for a year and a half, and diligently read the newspapers. Slowly, slowly, she learned to understand and then speak the language. And then her life took a funny little twist. She made a small basket out of the discarded newspapers as a gift for a customer at the coffee shop. The recipient was delighted: “It's beautiful! Why don't you make more of these?” Using glue to bind the rolled paper and coffee to varnish the finished products, she created more baskets to sell at the café.

January 2012 Artist Fair at Barlito's location

Then, when approached by Brad and Tiffany Wareing of Barlito's to participate in their first Artist's Fair, Sandra shyly agreed to display her baskets. She was pleasantly surprised when her creations sold at the event. Sandra agreed to participate in the second show as a way to practice her English. A year ago, when the Artist Fair changed locations from the street corner in front of Barlito's to the larger municipal plaza, Sandra continued to participate, gaining more confidence and selling more of her artwork.

Sandra's new store on Juarez

Recently, Sandra decided to take the plunge, opening her own store on Juarez just north of Elements of the Island. She said the scariest part of being a new business owner is keeping up with the demand for new creations and special orders. 

Even though discarded newspapers are plentiful on the island, she still needs a steady supply of clean paper to keep up. Sandra smiled as she recounted one incident. She was checking various nearby garbage cans for newspapers when a customer from the café recognized her. She laughed with embarrassment, feeling a bit foolish at being caught with her hands in the garbage can. If you happen to have newspapers that you are throwing out, why not drop them off at her store and check out her newest creations?

Materials for making baskets (photo by Sandra)

Sandra is normally at her store Monday to Friday from 10:00 in the morning until 5:00 in the evening, unless she is in Cancun buying supplies. 

On weekends, she works at Rooster on the Go, situated on the street behind the Artisan's Market near Poc Na. The owners are very supportive of her creativity.

Sandra at a recent Artist's Fair 

When the Artist Fair resumes in the fall, you will find Sandra set up at the municipal plaza with her beautiful creations and a gorgeous, welcoming smile. Be sure to stop and say hello. She makes some pretty cool stuff!

Hasta luego

Lynda, Lawrie, Sparky, and Thomas

Grab your copy today!

Isla Mujeres Mystery Series

Or

Death in the Vineyards Mysteries

The Adventures of Thomas and Sparky

Unique souvenirs of Isla Mujeres!

Iconic location on Isla - great for photos!

Displays of delicate sea-glass jewelry, stacks of quirky hand-painted signs, decorating accessories, greeting cards, and hand-crafted clothing overflowed the tables that vendors had set up in the municipal plaza in Centro.

A great souvenir - bilingual book

This month, the Artists' Fair was held on the first Friday of the month, instead of the first Thursday – that being New Year's Day this year. 

Since the all-night New Year's Eve party in Centro didn't wrap up until late in the morning, not many vendors or customers would have been able or willing to attend an art fair.

On Friday afternoon, Lawrie and I packed up a stack of books, a display table, chairs, tablecloths, banners and assorted other paraphernalia to set up our booth at the fair. 

Island Girl hand-painted fun signs

It reminded us of when we were still working for a living, attending big conventions and trade shows, lugging in heavy boxes and display items. 

 At least here the location is small and intimate, and we didn't have far to walk. We even planned ahead this time and had a small two-wheel hand-truck for the heavier items.

Souvenir-hunting tourists and locals.

The fair was busy with friends and tourists, cruising around to examine the various displays. 

Several local restaurants had samples of their food for sale at ten pesos a taste. Barlito's, Gringo Burgers, Sonny's Pizza and Due Torri were some of the ones that we noticed - serving up yummy samples of wings, fries, burger bites, pizza, lasagna, and even apple pie. The idea was a big hit with the roving crowd.

Lior, Isabel and Maya - young fans!

In our location, we enjoyed a steady stream of fans dropping by to say hello, or to purchase our book: The Adventures of Thomas the Cat – Las Aventuras de Tomás el Gato. 

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the storyline of this first book, it begins with our adoption of a tiny stray kitten and ends on Isla Mujeres with the grown-up Thomas making friends with a number of the local animals. 

Written in both English and Spanish, it makes a unique souvenir of your vacation to Isla Mujeres, and is a purrfect gift for the youngsters in your life. 

Sandra, Yesterday's News handmade items

One charming young lady by the name of Isabel stopped by to inform me that she owned a copy of the book and had read it all by herself, several times. Impressive! Being avid readers ourselves, it makes us smile to know that youngsters still enjoy reading.

The second book, The Adventures of Thomas and Sparky, is underway.  (I have ideas for many more books in the series.) Now, if I could only convince Thomas to do personal appearances.

Brenda LaMonica, Eileen Regn, Isla Animals

Whatever your preference for a souvenir or a keepsake, the Artists' Fair is a great location to find that special item, for you or a friend.

Hasta luego, Lawrie, Lynda, Sparky, and Thomas the Cat

Isla Mujeres Mystery Series

Death in the Vineyards Mysteries

The Adventures of Thomas and Sparky