Testimonials

!FANTASTICO! Barbara and Otto welcomed me and my husband to Tierra Magicá in June 2018 with smiles and hugs! This was the happy start of our first trip to Costa Rica, planned around my finding an art class to add a creative highlight to our travel adventures.
 
On my internet search I found an intriguing workshop on painting with clay on canvas. Photos of the “earthy” artwork created by Barbara Yglesias impressed me with its surprising match to my own interests in both ceramics and painting. She is an accomplished artist passionate about her Costa Rican heritage. Finding out that she offered private classes right in her home was truly magical! My husband and I booked our room for an entire week at this charming B&B near San José for the opportunities of exploring the capital city before traveling to other areas.

For several days I studied Barbara’s current designs and sketched ideas for my canvas. After many years of making pottery on the wheel as well as handbuilding, I chose a primitive vessel design. It seemed the perfect subject for painting with the natural clay rocks we were about to go out and find in the river. (An unexpected thrill is that my husband was invited to go on the expedition!) Barbara showed me how to search the river bank for soft rocks that release their color pigment when scratched. This is the clay that is used for painting on canvas. After gathering clay, the four of us made a day of it … with a stop at a local artisans’ fair, a “tico” lunch, and a visit to a local pottery. What a hands-on “field trip.” I even found a very old coin on the banks of the river which I used in my artwork!

I was introduced to the depth of Barbara’s philosophy about her work, her lifelong inspiration from nature, and the uniqueness of her creations over the years in various mediums. In contrast to her complex artworks, it is refreshing to see her using bare essentials to create her work: a piece of canvas tacked to a wooden easel, a bowl of clay rocks selected from the riverbeds for their pigment colors, a bamboo vessel holding a few brushes, and a much-used mister bottle along with a bowl of water and some wiping rags. She is committed to using only natural materials in her recreation of nature’s patterns. 

Barbara worked alongside me to make suggestions for fitting the design to the canvas size while thinking about light and shadow when painting with the clay. She supported my ideas while flavoring the outcome with her creative eye. Once all painting is completed, the canvas is moved from the easel to a table. Sand is carefully selected for color and size to enhance the painting with more pattern and texture; then the final work is sealed with an acrylic medium.

I treasure the instruction I received and the creation I brought home! It has given me great happiness to stay in the home of the artist, surrounded by works of art she created throughout her life journey. I felt in harmony with the paths she opened for me to explore, using the elements provided by our earth—the clay from the living rivers and the sands gathered from many lovely beaches. I am so grateful for this unique opportunity to focus on working in a new way to create a significant piece of art.

“Muchas gracias” to Barbara and Otto for this memorable journey.