paintings

The God of the Underworld and Lord of Death, Mictlantecuhtli, comes from his spiritual realm to your home, inviting you to explore the marvels and mysticism of the Zapotec worldview. The Angel Ceron Artisan Association of Mexico pays homage to their ancestors' gods through this sublime ceramic sculpture made in the classic Oaxacan style and painted with mineral dyes.

This dancing frog, all in blue, captivates with the vibrancy of Mexican artistry. Zeny and Reyna transform a branch of the copal tree into the whimsical creature and paint it by hand in the style of Oaxaca's alebrije sculptures.

Mexico's Day of the Dead festivities are unlike any other country's, but skulls are part of the national shared imagery and are a favorite subject for artisans all year. After this hand carved copal wood skull from Jesus and Roxana Hernandez of the Mexican state of Oaxaca is covered in navy blue paint with tiny sky blue dots, it is further decorated on the tops and sides with circles containing geometric figures and curving lines. Yellow, black, green, purple, and pink tones are utilized to hand paint the fanciful designs. Around the blackened eye sockets are outlines in yellow and red; the nasal cavity is delineated in purple. Two straight rows of white teeth give the skull a sober expression.

The classic alebrije style brings to life a traditional scene of the prairies. Artisans Jesus and Roxana Hernandez handcraft a copal wood sculpture of a howling coyote, painting the artwork with vibrant motifs and hues that make it a gorgeous decorative item evoking the Mexico of the 1930s. Furthermore, this fascinating piece is not only a unique creation; it also represents cleverness.

The tail can be easily removed and attached.

This excellent small dolphin sculpture is the original creation of Oaxacan artisans Jesus and Roxana Hernandez. They work in the folk art style of alebrijes to carve the figurine from copal wood and paint it meticulously by hand.

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 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.

Hand-carved of copal wood, a beautiful fish performs a "handstand" on its front fins, bringing the elegance of Mexican folk art to your home. Artisan duo Pablo and Lucy Mendez craft the stunning alebrije sculpture, diligently hand-painting the fish with intricate motifs in tones of blue and yellow.

Alebrijes are a fairly recent Mexican art form, attributed to Pedro Linares. Unconscious due to illness in 1936, he was presumed near death and yet his dreams were extremely vivid. He tells of a place where all was peaceful and quiet until all of a sudden there appeared a lion with an eagle's head, a rooster with bull's horns and a donkey with butterfly wings. They kept screeching "alebrije, alebrije!" and Pedro began running away. He encountered a man who told him it was not yet his time to be there are and he should continue running towards the exit. In this dream Pedro climbed out of a window and regained consciousness.