Destination 01: Colombia!

Colombia seems so lively! The colorful colonial towns and local fauna were a large inspiration for my selection of bold colors in my artwork. Cartagena in particular seemed to drive much of my inspiration for this month’s art pieces. The landscape of Colombia seems so diverse from the Tatacoa Desert to the lush waterfalls of Santa Rosa Hot Springs. Below are some highlights of the country and some of my personal art and family projects.

When beginning research on a country, I go straight to Pinterest (I have a board for family projects and art inspiration), our local library, Lonely Planet, and we use this book for the kids.

My artwork was inspired by the bright bold colors of the culture and the Spanish colonial architecture. Cartagena had such beautiful colors and life it was a dream for an artist to create around! I kept seeing photos of these smiling women dressed in brightly colored outfits balancing bowls of fruit on their heads. These women I learned were Palenqueras or fruit sellers and had some history behind them.

“Palenque – a small village located in the southeast of Cartagena was ruled entirely by runaway African slaves – signs a Royal Decree stating the town’s independence from Spanish colonial powers. The very first free town of the Americas is born”

This was so inspiring for me to paint a symbol of freedom and such joy. Another piece I created was of El Penon de Guatape, a massive stone rising out of the flat surrounding area. This seemed like such an iconic image and down the center was this large crack where a staircase is now wedged. My Colombian inspiration was endless and I could keep spending days/weeks/months creating pieces inspired by this country’s beauty.

Art Passports Pinterest Board for Families

Cultural Highlights: We discovered a sensational drink in Colombia…wait for it…hot chocolate with…cheese! That’s right, they dunk delicious chunks of mozzarella type cheese into their hot chocolate! This is one local drink we will most certainly be trying! Recipe here

Kids Projects: We created Paper Molas from this video tutorial with the kids. Typically created in both Panama and Colombia, molas are cloth panels created by using a quilting technique. For this project we used various colors of construction paper instead of fabric.

Tools needed: Colored construction paper, glue, scissors, animal patterns

Additional Project Resource

Colombian Cuisine: The most difficult part of selecting a cuisine from a different country is picking just one! For this month’s meal we made Black Bean and Plantain Arepa Sandwiches from the Minimalist Baker and they were easy and delicious!

Where to Visit in Colombia: Cartagena, Ciudad Perdida, Cano Cirstales, Medellin, Ancient Statues San Agustin, San Gil, Png Tayrona Beaches, Salsa in Cali, Colonila Barichara

Thanks for journeying with me to our first country! Please email me with feedback on what topics you want me to cover in our next trip with Art Passports! Next stop…