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Alebrijes: Oaxaca Wood Carvings

• Carved by hand with simple kitchen or pocket knives from the wood of the copalillo tree (copal).
• Painted with acrylic housepaint, using brushes made from hair and assembled without glue.
• By families of peasants living in rural areas of the Mexican state of Oaxaca
• World recognition of this local folkart has brought modest prosperity to the area, fluctuating with global markets.

Jim and I visited Oaxaca in June, 1995. We took a bus from Mexico City and I was swept away by the mountain desert scenery. Oaxaca City is an amazing conglomeration of the ancient, the colonial, and the folkloric, with a perfect climate -- and I hear tell a favorite destination for the magic mushroom people back in the day. We let the spirit wash over us. Jim sought out the pre-Columbian roots, with a pilgrimage to the archaeological site at Monte Albán. I sought out the jewelry and discovered yalalag crosses. The shops were full of whimsical alebrijes, but I didn't really "see" them. Jim did.

Some time after we returned, Jim discovered a local shop Animas Traders, owned by a school teacher turned folkart trader, who traveled back and forth to Mexico, bringing back the best he could find. Jim went wild for the wood carvings, claiming they were better than what we saw in the Oaxaca City shops. Thus, a new collection was born. He was particularly fond of the work of Francisco Melchor, whose family's work was featured in Smithsonian magazine in 1991. His work is selling for a pretty penny now on eBay (couldn't help a peek).

When you have shelves full of pretty little things -- intricate things with unglued parts that fall out when the door slams, you start thinking of them as demanding knick-knacks, whining when they turn gray with dust.

But then... pick one up. Look. An artist signed his name on the bottom. A Mexican campesino picked up a chunk of copal and his pocket knife and carved this whimsical cat with the draping leg and alert tail (image above). Using the designs perfected by his people, he paints. His finished product catches the eye of our trader and his cat is on her way to Rochester NY, where Jim is enchanted and brings it home. Some global heartbeat circulates the spirit far and wide.

Soon after, our trader fell in love, sold his shop, and moved to Oaxaca.

Art connects us.

MORE

Alebrije. Wikipedia

Oaxaca Wood Carving: the Magic in the Trees. Shepard Barbash (Author), Vicki Ragan (Photographer). Increasingly prized by collectors worldwide, Oaxacan woodcarvings are among the most popular form of folk art available today. These fanciful, brightly colored figures created by rural Mexican woodcarvers reflect the myths and traditions still very much a part of the carvers' daily lives. A spectacular gallery of over 160 full-color photographs beautifully portrays these artisans and their work, while an informative text examines the intricacies of the carvers' craft. The only volume devoted exclusively to this distinctive and magical art form, Oaxacan Woodcarving will inspire and inform anyone with an interest in folk art, photography, or anthropology. 1993

11.17.2016

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