THE POWER OF 12 WITH MICHAEL SHEMCHUK
October 3-11, 2025
Oaxaca City, Oaxaca, Mexico
Join Michael Shemchuk aka Shem in the UNESCO city of Oaxaca, the state capital of Oaxaca, Mexico for a dynamic workshop that will allow you to produce a cohesive body of work.
The Power of 12 workshop is designed for artists who desire to create a body of work. With a focus on quality and quantity, we work on 12 (yes 12!) 12”x12” panels.
In this class we take our creative energy onto the production line. This fast paced class is an exercise in design, composition and decision making at a high production level. The grouping of 12 panels presents a pivotal opportunity to format and orient your work in numerous ways. You decide which orientation format and visual dialog you want between your panels — Rows (6 over 6), Stacked (3 over 4), Vertical, Diptychs, Triptychs or all 12 panels in a linear installation. It’s your preference.
Shem demonstrating in the Bellissima Art Studio
AbD (Abstraction by Design)
The Abstraction by Design method is the process of exploring collage and painting techniques by multi-layering the mediums of paper and paint on panels.
The layering of paper and paint enables us to sand, scrape, wet, peel, paint, collage and repeat to create controlled and incidental textured surfaces. We use acrylic polyurethane as a glue to attach papers, as a resist coat, and as a top coat as well.
Collaging involves color selection, paper choices, placement, gluing, mark making, composition and surface extraction. Painting involves panel prep, trowel application, brushing, sanding, surface manipulations, paint mixing and texturing.
Julie Hamilton and Shem
A.R.R. (Action, Review, Reaction)
We begin the AbD process with an action by applying paint or collage to our panels. Pause and review the action, then repeat another action.
This requires taking time to observe your work, measure your response to both the controlled (deliberate) and spontaneous (incidents/happy accidents). We follow the A.R.R. principles as we create your work.
Kathie Vezzani and Shem
ITINERARY
Day 1, Friday, October 3. Everyone arrives and we will meet at 6:30 outside of the studio for a welcome drink and some botanas.
Day 2, Saturday, October 4. Have breakfast and then meet in the studio at 9:30 a.m. to start creating with Shem. We will stop for lunch at 12:30, then afterward, we will take you on a quick walking tour to help orient you to this wonderful city. We will return to the studio and continuing working until 5:00 p.m. At 7:00 p.m. we will walk to our friend Chef Pilar Cabrera’s La Olla restaurant for our special dinner on the rooftop.
Day 3, Sunday, October 5. Breakfast and then into the studio at 9:30 a.m. We will break for lunch and then continue creating. You will have some free time at 4:30 before we meet for dinner this evening.
Day 4, Monday, October 6. TRAVEL DAY Have breakfast and then meet in the lobby at 8:30 a.m. We will travel to the Blind Potter’s studio in San Antonio for a private lesson with members of his family. We will stop for lunch before our back strap weaving demonstration with the lovely Gomez family. Afterward, we will visit Jacobo and Maria Angeles’ expansive studio in Tilcajete to learn about the alebrijes, those colorfully painted animals found in this village. Dinner will be on your own this evening.
Blind Potter’s Studio below
Senora Gomez demonstrating backstrap weaving
The amazing work of Jacobo and Maria’s studio - from carving, painting and some of the finished work.
This Art Escape includes:
8 nights accommodations (double occupancy)
Visits to different artisan villages -alebrijes, backstrap weaving, pottery
Instructions/guidance from Shem
Welcome reception and fiesta
All meals except for two dinners
Visits to markets
2 Cooking Classes
Free time to explore
Farewell dinner
Some supplies
Private Facebook page
New Art Tribe
The price for this workshop is $4,100 and limited to 12 people. A limited number of single rooms are available for an additional $600.
A $1,000 non refundable deposit is due upon registering. The final payment is due June 11, 2025.
Price does not include:
airfare to/from Oaxaca
alcoholic beverages
Travel insurance is required. See FAQs for recommendations.
Accommodations: Located in a colonial building just two blocks from the zocolo, Hotel Naura has free wifi, a restaurant, a pool, bar and rooftop terrace. It is located across from the Textile Museum.
Hotel Naura
Airport: Xoxocotlan International Airport is an international airport located in Oaxaca City, in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. The Airport has only one terminal that handles domestic and international air traffic. Code: OAX.
We will Provide
scrubber sponges
80 grit sandpaper and sanding block
2” chip brushes
gallon buckets
paint rags/stir sticks
White and black latex house paint
Acrylic urethane/varnish clean medium (gloss or semigloss)
Pint/quart plastic mixing containers w/lids
Gallon buckets
Heat gun
Student Supply List
Twelve 12”x12” wood panels
18+ sheets black tissue. Resource: https://www.papermart.com
12+ sheets 18”x22” newsprint.
Variety of personal collage papers and color tissue (color, pattern, graphics, craft paper and re-purposed).
Color paint. 3-6 colors of latex house or acrylic artist paints or liquid pigments
One 6”wide flexible broad knife and
One 1” putty knife.
Scissors
Utility knife
Spray bottle (atomizer)
wiping rags
artist brushes
painters tape
Judy Wise and Shem
Day 5, Tuesday October 7. Breakfast, studio, lunch, studio and then we will meet this evening for dinner of tlayudas.
Day 6, Wednesday, October 8. Same as day 5 except this evening, we will have a cooking class with Chef Ana Elena Martinez.
Day 7, Thursday October 9, TRAVEL DAY. Have your breakfast and then meet in the lobby for our ride to the weaving village of Teotitlan del Valle for our cooking class with Chef Reyna Mendoza. You will have some free time after we return to Oaxaca and dinner will be on your own.
Day 8, Friday, October 10. Breakfast and then meet in the studio at 9:00 a.m. to finish our work. After we clean up, we will have a Show ‘N Tell. You will be amazed at what you create! Then off to the market for lunch and then you will have the afternoon free before we gather for our final dinner together.
Day 9, Saturday, October 11. The trip is over.
Michael Shemchuk is an abstract artist living and working in Northern California. Largely self-taught, Shem did not emerge on the art scene in a conventional fashion.
Shem’s work has evolved over the last two decades, shaped directly by a close engagement with material and process. From the onset, Shem’s focus has been on abstraction and design. Influenced by his earlier faux finish work, Shem’s Meridian series, begun in the late nineties, used paint and plaster as primary media. In 2014, Shem became interested in the changes in art-making stemming from shifts in technology. His response was to re-evaluate traditional materials such as paper and paint, thus simplifying his approach to abstraction with the Tags series. In 2017, Shem was inspired to further his pursuit of abstraction and design by streamlining his materials and employing process as integral to his work. The result is his Surface Tension series, which is based on an organic process involving water, paper, pressure, friction, and time. In addition to his art-making, Shem teaches the principles of Abstraction by Design (AbD) to students and fellow artists via workshops and private mentoring.
