SCHOOL PRESENTATIONS

The school presentations consist of five 45-minute sessions at each school. The visiting artists set up a basic "workshop" and proceed throughout the school day to create from raw wood a complete, highly detailed work of art. At adjacent tables, a wide array of their crafts is laid out for viewing. Throughout the session, as Norberto works on his original carvings, all phases of the craft will be shown. A study guide is provided to all participating schools prior to the visits.

After introductions are made, the audience is shown the artists’ village on a large map of Mexico. The students proceed to watch a 10-minute video produced by Nina Hasin about the artists and their community that features animated segments of Ventura Fabian's carvings. She then gives a 20-minute talk about the history and craft of Oaxacan woodcarving, the daily life of the artists and their family in their woodcarving village, and a description of each phase of the process that culminates in the hand-carved, hand-painted figures. Examples of the work are passed among the audience in order to view the detail in the figures more closely.

Nina Hasin coordinates the event and translates for the artist as they answer questions from the audience in the 20-minute Question & Answer period that ends each session. As the audience leaves, they file one by one past the table display to view the artwork. The school staff and any parents attending the sessions are invited to purchase the figures on display at the end of the school day.