hand sculptures

Inspired by the Day of the Dead celebration, Mexico's Miguel Zambrano brings us a lovely dog skeleton figurine made from papier mache. After crafting the figure, Miguel hand-paints traditional details on his work, achieving a decorative item full of culture and playfulness.

Drawing inspiration from their cultural roots, Mexican couple Zeny and Reyna craft a black cat sculpture by hand, covering the animal in vibrant floral motifs. The playful kitty is handcrafted of copal wood, making it a bright addition to any home.

Small parts are separated for shipping to protect from breakage.

This black and turquoise mouse figure is a magical alebrije, an animal wood carving painted in fantastic colors. He is named after another fantasy creature, the Ratoncito Pérez, Mexico's answer to the tooth fairy. He is created and signed by artists Gerardo and Teresa Ojeda of Oaxaca, Mexico. The tail detaches 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.