huichols art

Formed of three blue peyote buds, a lighted candle is radiant in this exquisite nierika, or votive beadwork painting by Kupihaute. A butterfly alights on either side in his composition, which takes the shape of a flower with five wide petals.

The artisan, who writes fluently in the Huichol, Nahuatl, Spanish and English languages, talks about this work in his own words. "The nierika is a mirror that is offered to the sea together with the first corn that has been harvested, in order to renew the cycle of rains that will give life to the next crop cycle. As in most of the ancient cultures of our planet, the candle represents our trajectory between being born and returning. For this reason, even today, during the celebration of our birthday, it is customary to light and blow out as many candles as solar cycles have elapsed. The butterflies and spirals are indicating that existence is energy in permanent transformation between arising from and returning to earth."

The intricate images are formed with tiny seed beads. Kupihuate patiently places them one at a time with a needle made of abalone shell onto a huanacaxtle wood backing. Beeswax is used instead of glue.

The process is totally spontaneous, with no previous sketch or design. It is guided by the artist's unconscious to tell the stories that remain in our collective ancestral memory. He signs his work with the symbol of a butterfly on the reverse side of the nierika.

Mexico's Ana Maria González honors Huichol art with the design of this jewelry box. The multicolored composition captures the essence of the Huichol cosmogony including Werika the eagle hailed as the Huichol mother, and the deer, regarded as their brother. He is the intermediary between humans and deities. González masters decoupage techniques on a pinewood jewelry box featuring a floating deck that is perfect for earrings.

This delightful small box is from Miguel Díaz in Mexico, who works to preserve his Huichol or Wixarika culture and artistic legacy. The round box is crafted from papier mache and covered with tiny glass beads in elabourate patterns that include the peyote flower, an element significant to the Huichol. The beads are individually affixed to the box using a beeswax adhesive.

This delightful decorative box is crafted by Miguel Díaz in Mexico in the style of Huichol handicrafts. Formed from ceramic and papier mache, the small round box is covered with tiny glass beads in elabourate patterns. The beads are applied one by one using beeswax, and the designs include the peyote flower and corn, both significant elements of Huichol life. The Huichol are an indigenous people of central northwest Mexico with a rich culture and artisanal heritage.

Featuring traditional Huichol imagery, this limited-edition giclee on canvas is a reproduction of Enrique Ruiz' original painting Después del Ritual, or 'After the Ritual'. Two blue deer center the artwork, crowned by a peyote flower. At each side, marakames or shamans collect the peyote flowers for the annual ritual. The Huichol or Wixárika are an indigenous group living in the states of Nayarit, Jalisco, Zacatecas, and Durango in Mexico. Peyote is a native plant with hallucinogenic properties; it is used by the Huichol to commune with the spirits of the ancestors.

Replete with traditional Huichol imagery, this limited-edition giclee on canvas is a reproduction of Enrique Ruiz' original painting El Mara Kame, or 'The Shaman'. Fantastical creatures, suns, flowers and other figures fill the figure of the shaman, which looms large in a desert landscape. The Huichol or Wixárika are an indigenous group living in the states of Nayarit, Jalisco, Zacatecas, and Durango in Mexico.

Strands of tiny seed beads in shades of purple align with fuchsia, burgundy and white. Meticulously crafted by hand, these dramatic statement earrings are more than four inches long. Artisans from Mexico's Huichol Center for Cultural Survival and Traditional Arts craft their jewelry by hand, meticulously placing each diminutive one by one and adding colorful globes for accents.

A cascade of aqua, tangerine, peach and espresso is transformed into earrings almost five inches long. By skilled artisans from Mexico's Huichol Center for Cultural Survival and Traditional Arts, these bold waterfall earrings make a dramatic fashion statement. The lovely seed beads and faceted globes dance on sterling silver hooks.

Evoking dreamcatchers, these opulent statement earrings are some five inches long. Crafted entirely by hand, this design by artisans from Mexico's Huichol Center for Cultural Survival and Traditional Arts is exquisite. Their intricate beauty comes from seed beads in black and greens, meticulously placed one at a time. They dance on sterling silver hooks.

Rivulets of spring green, yellow and golden brown flow together with white and espresso. They evoke a wide river of colors more than three inches long. By skilled artisans from Mexico's Huichol Center for Cultural Survival and Traditional Arts, these dramatic waterfall earrings make a bold fashion statement. The lovely cascades of seed beads dance on sterling silver hooks.

Finely crafted diamonds combine black and white. Superimposed upon one another, they form a mandala. Scintillating seed beads cascade from three corners in a beautiful and original necklace. Diamond-shaped talismans known as the "eyes of God" refer to the four cardinal points in Huichol belief and direct one to the correct path of life. Meticulously handcrafted by artisans of Mexico's Huichol Center for Cultural Survival and Traditional Arts, this design showcases the pendant on a double strand of black and white beads.

There are no lions native to western Mexico, but the Huichol (Wixarika) people were introduced to them through the Spanish. This is an interpretation of the animal using glass beads attached over a papier mache form. Artist Miguel Díaz hand presses each bead individually using beeswax as a kind of glue to create the intricate patterns and colours that you see here.