Artistic Staycation in San Antonio

For many of us drawing and painting ended as a pastime in our early grades in school. For those who are art lovers, here is a week's worth of suggestions to encourage and feed your inner artist. Hopefully your staycation includes the first Friday of the month as there are gallery openings to visit.

Monday go to Asel Art Supplies on Callaghan Road. Pick up a drawing pad and a colored pencil set. Often there's a sale online where you can pick up the pencils at a discount. The staff is very helpful here and your cost will be under $30.

When you come back home with your new supplies take a moment to try out the colors on your drawing pad. You'll be amazed at the colors you can create. Take your pad and pencils along when you visit the museums. Whether you write, draw or just capture your impressions you'll build a memory book of your artistic staycation in San Antonio.

Tuesday and it's time to do some research online. First is Southtown a historic arts district downtown You'll need to map out some locations to visit.

Don't forget to call Garcia Art Glass. Gini Garcia and her team blow the most amazing art glass. You'll need to check for times when they are holding demonstrations 210.354.4681. If you have ever been to Murano Island (in Venice Italy) you will see the influence in the sconces, chandeliers and colorful art pieces.

Also check out the exhibits at the Museo Alameda. Admission is $4 for adults and $2 for children. It's the first official branch of the Smithsonian outside of Washington D.C. The focus is on Latin America and its contribution to the arts. Some of the exhibits have been interesting, but others just have done that much for me. If you see an exhibit you like you can visit the museum on Wednesday when you go to Market Square.

Also call the Mural Tours 210.226.7466 to arrange a tour on Wednesday. The mural tour covers over 25 building size art pieces on the West side. Tour cost is $10 and takes about 2 hours.

Tuesday afternoon it's off to the San Antonio Museum of Art admission is free from 4-8pm. Make sure you visit the Asian art collection and the Latin American art collections. From Korean art to Japanese art you'll step into another world when you step off the elevator into the Asian galleries. The various ceramics are exquisite, but I especially liked the 'armor' used.

The Latin American collection is home to the collection of former Governor Nelson Rockefeller and several other collections showing Latin American art over a period of 3000 years. From the Aztecs to the missionaries you will be able to see the trends and changes of art in Latin America.

Some of the special exhibits here are one of a kind. One recent one was that of well known Columbian artist Botero. In addition to many of his paintings, several bronzes were exhibited. So check out the website before you head to the Museum.

Wednesday is Hispanic art day so head downtown to Market Square to Mi Tierra. You can grab some breakfast tacos and definitely catch some local color between the inside décor, the Christmas lights on the ceiling and the circulating mariachi bands. If you can stop eating you may want to add some quick sketches to your book.

Take some time to check out the mural in the backroom. It's a mural by Jesse Trevino a renown Hispanic artist living in San Antonio. The mural is a who's who of San Antonio history. Jesse's story is quite impressive. He is a classically trained painter who lost his hand in the Vietnam war. He has since retrained himself to work with his remaining hand and a prosthesis.

You'll be seeing more of his work on your staycation tour today. As you leave Mi Tierra you may want to stop at the Panaderia (bakery) for some treats for later today.

If you've decided to visit the Museo Alameda then head out the back door and over to the Museum.

If not then walk over a few blocks to Christus Santa Rosa Hospital. On the side of the hospital facing the park you'll see the Spirit of Healing mosaic done by Jesse Trevino. There are over 150,000 individual pieces in the mosaic. Study how the colors blend creating the folds of the angel's robe. Look closely as this is also art meets technology. The mosaic has expansion joints built in so temperature, wind, and other elements will not cause the mosaic pieces to loosen and fall.

Next it's a short drive over to the Guadalupe Center for the Arts. There you'll see another one of Jesse Trevino's works. This is a 40' mosaic candle or veladora mounted on the side wall of the Guadalupe Arts Center. The veladora is said to be the largest reproduction of the Virgin de Guadalupe outside Mexico City. The mosaic is gorgeous and the 'light' inside the candle flickers as a real candle would.

Then it's time for the Mural Art Tour. The tour takes about 2 hours and costs $10. Be sure to bring your camera. The murals are a joint project between a resident artist, local kids and volunteers. Each of the more than 25 murals tells a story which you will learn on your tour. One of the original participants Rigo Luna started in high school and now is studying at the Pratt Institute of Art and Design in NYC. The colors, stories and feelings shared in these murals are unlike those you have ever seen.

Thursday spend some time with your own art pad and pencils. You've seen a lot so far and experienced San Antonio art. But our week is not over yet.

Thursday head over to the McKay Art Museum.Admission is free from 6-9pm on Thursdays. Plan on walking the grounds for the first part of your tour. There are over 23 acres of grounds including a Japanese inspired garden and some fantastic pieces of modern sculpture. Check out the kinetic sculpture by George Rickey in the pond and some of the other pieces by Alexander Liberman and Joel Shapiro.

Then head inside the former home of San Antonio resident Marion McNay. Upon her death Mrs McNay willed her home and art collection to become the first modern art museum in Texas.

This collection will amaze you. You will find van Gogh's 'Women Crossing The Fields' using his familiar palette of greens, yellows and blues and one of Degas' famous bronze sculptures.. You'll also find works by Jackson Pollack, Willem de Kooning, Chagall, Robert Indiana (LOVE sculpture fame), Pablo Picasso, Georgina O'Keefe, August Renoir and Paul Cézanne.

In addition to the modern art, there is a special collection of Medieval and Renaissance art donated by Dr and Mrs Oppenheimer. The religious icons and paintings are a richly colorful contrast to the modern art pieces found elsewhere in the museum.

On First Friday it's time to head downtown to the BlueStar Arts Complex for First Friday in the King William area. First Friday as the name says is the very first Friday of the month when galleries share their opening exhibits. You'll have the chance to catch the newest, the latest and even meet the artists as well.

Parking is $5 and is limited so arrive early and plan to stay for a while. The event is usually packed and has quite a festive air. There are several galleries inside the Blue Star Arts Complex.

And don't forget to stop at SAY Sí . SAYSí is the student arts and training program which recently moved into a new complex diagonally across from the Blue Star. The SAY Sí gallery offers many uniquely original pieces of art from young up and coming artists.

After your tour through the Blue Star Arts Complex take a few minutes to catch a snack, and listen to the music at the Blue Star Brewery from 7-11pm.

Saturday is time to take our last tour and maybe a class as well. It's off to the Southwest School of Art and Craft. Housed in a former Ursuline Convent school for girls the museum and school offers exhibits and classes in a variety of art techniques. Before you go take a look at their website to learn more and see if a class can be fit in your schedule.

It's the end of your artistic staycation in San Antonio. Here's hoping many creative works are in your future.