colorful tops

Rendered in the style of traditional alebrije folk art sculptures, the cover of this journal depicts a colorful jaguar with wings. On one side is the note, "Jaguar, Mexican animal at risk of extinction". The signed artwork, from Alejandra Aceves' "Everyday Stories" collection, graces a spiral-bound notebook of lined paper.

Wearing a floral crown, a smooth fuchsia skull seems to smile. Bright butterflies browse the colorful blossoms in a ceramic candleholder by Javier Ramirez. He designs it to use a single taper candle.

Wearing a floral crown, a smooth black skull seems to smile. Bright butterflies browse the colorful blossoms in a ceramic candleholder by Javier Ramirez. He designs it to use a single taper candle.

Rendered in the style of traditional alebrije folk art sculptures, the cover of this journal depicts a colorful armadillo. On one side is the note, "Armadillo, Mexican animal at risk of extinction". The signed artwork, from Alejandra Aceves' "Everyday Stories" collection, graces a spiral-bound notebook of lined paper.

Vacant eyes and a toothy grin are adorned with flowers and leaves, while a heart is flipped upside down for the nose. Eufrosia Pantaleon creates a cheerful calavera (skull). The Mexican concept of the calavera mocks the spectre of death with a colourful celebration of life. Crafted of ceramic, the piece is hand-painted in festive colours.

Mexico's pre-Hispanic cultures honored their dead through celebrations and commemorations; after the arrival of the Spaniards, these cultural traditions became fused with the Catholic church's rituals and holidays, notably All Souls' Day in November which is now commonly known as the Day of the Dead. Influenced by these ancestral customs, artisans have been creating handicrafts using skull imagery for centuries. Jesus and Roxana Hernandez of the Mexican state of Oaxaca present this eye-catching skull-shaped home decor piece carved by hand from copal wood. Against a yellow base color, black lines are drawn to simulate a scaly texture, then the skull is further hand decorated with patches of geometric patterns on the top and sides in red, green, and pink. The dark eye sockets and nasal cavities are outlined in blue and green. Two rows of pearly white teeth complete the colorful cranium.