Flamin’ Hot Impressionism

Join local artist Alondra M. Garza for a playful, small-format painting experience that transforms Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and Blue Heat Takis into tools for drawing, painting, and mark-making. Inspired by borderlands of her home and the waterscapes of Minnesota, this class invites participants to explore early modernism and abstraction in the present while using an unconventional brush and palette.

Garza’s art and educational approach draws on her experience in desert between Texas and Mexico. With Flamin’ Hot Impressionism Garza reappropriates the narrative of “food deserts” in a playful workshop that bridges everyday people, places, and cultures.

Participants will receive a canvas and create a finished landscape to take home. This experimental class is hands-on with tactile, expressive techniques offered by the artist in a welcoming group setting.

Open to all experience levels. Snacks included.

Details

• Facilitator: Alondra M. Garza

• Duration: 2 hours

• Cost: $50 per person

What to expect

Participants will begin with a brief introduction to the class and its material approach, followed by guided experimentation using chip-based drawing and painting techniques. After a short sketching period using provided reference images, the group will move into the creation of a final work on paper.

Reference options may include images of the Rio Grande, the Mississippi River, the Pigeon River, and other waterscapes connected to ideas of movement, place, and memory. Participants may also arrange in advance to work from a personal photograph of a meaningful body of water.

Materials

All materials will be provided, including:

• Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, Cheetos, and Blue Heat Takis

• Mixed-media and sketch paper

• Pencils and erasers

• Brushes, water cups, and napkins

• Disposable gloves

• Printed reference images