handmade statue

Grinning widely, this small skull figurine adds a cultural accent to any space. Miguel Diaz in Mexico crafts the papier mache sculpture in the tradition of Huichol crafts, attaching tiny glass beads in elabourate patterns using beeswax as an adhesive. The Huichol or Wixarika are an indigenous people in central western Mexico.

In traditional Huichol style, tiny glass beads are individually applied by hand to this small papier mache skull using beeswax. Mexico's Miguel Diaz designs and crafts the sculpture, which features peyote flower motifs, a common element in Huichol design. The Huichol or Wixarika are an indigenous people in central western Mexico.

Working in papier mache, Marina Lozano of Mexico creates this beautiful catrina statuette. The skeletal sculpture is elegantly dressed, with flowers in her hair and a macaw at her bosom. Lozano designs the figurine after the original "La Calavera Catrina", a zinc etching created by the artist José Guadalupe Posada in Mexico around 1910. Posada created the character, a female skeleton with an elegant hat, as a satirical portrait of Mexican natives who aspired to European style and denied their own heritage. The catrina has since become an emblem of Mexico's Day of the Dead celebration and a popular folk art subject.

Lifting the hem of her wide skirts, a beautiful catrina in blue launches into a sevillana. Maria Lozano in Mexico crafts the stunning skeletal figurine from papier mache, painting it carefully by hand. Lozano designs the figurine after the original "La Calavera Catrina", a zinc etching created by the artist José Guadalupe Posada in Mexico around 1910. Posada created the character, a female skeleton with an elegant hat, as a satirical portrait of Mexican natives who aspired to European style and denied their own heritage. The catrina has since become an emblem of Mexico's Day of the Dead celebration and a popular folk art subject.