mother sculpture

This marvelous alebrije sculpture is from Mexican artisans Gerardo and Teresa Ojeda. Carved from copal wood, a mother opossum carries her three joeys on her back. The sculpture is painted by hand in wonderful detail, and the baby opossums are attached to the mother with aluminium wire.

The folk art tradition of alebrijes dates back to the 1930s in Mexico City. A man named Pedro Linares was taken ill, and in his fevered dreams he saw a strange land populated with curious creatures--a donkey with wings, a rooster with bull's horns, and a lion with the head of a dog. The beasts all ran at him, shouting the nonsense word, "alebrije! alebrije!". Upon his recovery, Linares began recreating the fantastical creatures he had seen in his dream in papier mache. The art form gained popularity, and alebrijes are now made of wood as well as papier mache. The same style of painting can also be found on other (non-animal) items.

I don't know what this monkey is thinking, but I bet his mother taught him to be discreet. This sculpture is an example of a Oaxacan alebrije, a copal wood carving hand-painted in various bright colours and intricate patterns. This monkey is the work of Jesus and Roxana Hernandez, noted alebrije carvers whose work has won awards and media attention. The slender tail is removed for shipping.

Taxiing the little ones around is the least that moms do, even turtle moms. She and her four babies are alebrijes, fanciful animal figures made famous in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. This particular figure is the work of Gerardo and Teresa Ojeda. The little ones detach from mom for safe shipping.

This adorable key fob is hand crafted by Claudio Ojeda in Mexico. The panda alebrije is carved from copal wood and painted in black and white and myriad patterns and shapes in pink and purple. The wood figurine adorns a stainless steel key ring. The artisan signs his pieces with the initials "T.C.", which represent his initial "C" preceded by his mother Teresita's initial "T". Claudio learned the art of crafting alebrijes from his mother.

The folk art tradition of alebrijes dates back to the 1930's in Mexico City. A man named Pedro Linares was taken ill, and in his fevered dreams he saw a strange land populated with curious creatures--a donkey with wings, a rooster with bull's horns, and a lion with the head of a dog. The beasts all shouted "alebrije! alebrije!". Upon his recovery, Linares began recreating the fantastical creatures he had seen in his dream. The art form gained popularity, and alebrijes are now made of wood as well as papier mache.