Creative workshop
A happy group of artists has been working in a former carpenter's workshop for three years, with changing members and the same goal: to find their own style or to push their work forward and enliven the cultural life of Manacor, a town of 40,000 inhabitants. "There's nothing here," says Catalina Julve, the group's founder, "no gallery, no cultural center, no open studios." "Saïm", Schmalz, as the studio and the collective are called, has been around for three years. Julve also recently opened the Papillon Art Centre showroom in the center of Manacor. An old pharmacy now serves as a venue for temporary exhibitions and is only open when this is the case. Those who work in the old carpenter's workshop are open to new ideas. "We welcome visitors," says Julve.
Toni Gomà, for example, who is actually a family law lawyer. He comes in the evenings to switch off. "Instead of sitting in front of the TV, I experiment with my photos," he says at his work table. Collages hang on the wall, overpainted and printed photos, self-portraits or old black and white photos from the flea market in Consell. Behind him is a printing press. "Cati explained the technique to me," he says, "and I'm now really enjoying experimenting with it." The self-taught artist feels he is still at the beginning and has never shown his work before. "Since I've been here, I've developed a lot," he says, "the collaboration simply inspires me."
Roser Oliver is also making good progress in the community studio. The 15-year-old has just won a prize and held her first exhibition. She spends three to four afternoons a week in the studio. She paints brightly colored acrylic portraits on canvas or a background roughened with sand and glue. "Here I have space and peace and quiet to do what I enjoy most," she says. A few months ago, she decided to study art, "preferably at a good art college abroad," she says. She doesn't mind having to leave her home town. "It gets me out of my comfort zone and I learn something new."
"We look forward to visitors"
Toni Gomà experiments with his photos and creates collages.
Roser Oliver paints brightly colored acrylic portraits on canvas.
Anastasia Egóvora finishes tableware, jewelry and works of art made of ceramics
Catalina Julve paints large oil paintings based on old family photos
Anastasia Egóvora moved to Manacor 13 years ago from Astrakhan on the Caspian Sea for love. After several years as a receptionist and hotel manager, she is now a freelance ceramist. "This is what I always wanted to be," she says, beaming, "I've reached my goal." Courses at the adult school in Manacor, training at the pottery school in Marratxi, further training in Catalonia and at the Joan Miró Foundation in Palma were the stages. Now Anastasia makes tableware, jewelry and works of art from ceramics in her corner of the large studio. A turntable, several wall shelves with exhibits and boxes and suitcases with materials are on display. Anastasia has a good sense of form and color, her tea sets can be bought in the tea store Tea Ritual in Palma (C/ de les Monges 6), jewelry and other items on the website: anastasiaegorova.com
Catalina, meanwhile, is creative in the back room. She is sitting at her desk preparing an exhibition at the Museo de Manacor. "Hippies always welcome" is what she calls the presentation of her large oil paintings, which are based on old family photos. "We were hippies here without knowing it," says the 46-year-old. She has named a portrait of her grandparents "Yoko Ono y John Lennon", while many other pictures show children sitting in the forest, in a swimming pool or on the veranda of a country house. "We lived as hedonistically as possible," Julve remembers her childhood in Manacor and the surrounding area. Today, she earns her money in the bar Vermut, which she runs with her husband. She comes to paint in the afternoons. "I need it," she says, "it's definitely better than going to a psychiatrist." - bk
At the end of May and beginning of June 2019, a collective exhibition at the Papillon Art Center (C/ Mercadal, 12) will showcase the work of the Saïm group and other artists from Manacor. The date coincides with the arts and crafts fair, the date of which had not yet been set at the time of going to press. Information on Facebook (Papillon Artcentre).
The workshop can be visited by appointment. Information and registration at
Catalina Julve:
Tel: 666 84 61 01 or
Bar Vermut (C/ Bosch 8)
"We were hippies here without knowing it"
Papillon Art Centre in the center of Manacor
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