nice sculpture

Flowers accessorize Catrina's turquoise dress as she personifies death with grace and humor. As always, she wears a wide-brimmed hat. Artisans from the Angel Cerón Artisan Association are inspired by the celebrated cartoon developed by José Guadalupe Posadas to poke fun at Mexico's high society during the early 1900's. Revealing Catrina's skeletal figure, the Oaxacan clay sculpture is painted by hand.

Catrina's head can be removed.

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.

Husband and wife duo Zeny and Reyna from Oaxaca grew up with the tradition of carving alebrijes (fantastical figurines of real and imagined animals); both of their parents were master carvers in that region's traditional folk art. Here they create a wonderfully colorful snail in great detail. The snail is carved by hand from copal wood and painted in a wide array of meticulous patterns.

Small parts are separated for shipping to protect from breakage.It is said that Oaxaca's alebrije tradition descends directly from Mexico City artisan Pedro Linares (1906-1992). When he was 30, he became seriously ill and fell into a sort of coma. While he was unconscious, he had a most fantastic dream. He was caught between the land of the living and the dead; the place looked like a forest and was populated with creatures with body parts belonging to different animals. The beings repeatedly uttered the word alebrije, and when Linares woke up, he recreated these figures in vivid colors using papier mache techniques and called them alebrijes . His work became famous and eventually influenced artisans in the state of Oaxaca who decided to craft alebrijes using traditional wood carving methods and according to that region's world vision.

God of fertility in some Native American belief systems, Kokopelli is often depicted as a man or a bug who plays a long flute. Mexican artisan Juana Ponce creates this Kokopelli wall sculpture, which is crafted from ceramic and painted by hand with colorful floral motifs in the style of Talavera handicrafts.

Forming a symmetrical circular design inspired by traditional mandalas, this wall sculpture is handcrafted of horseshoes. Ricardo Guerra creates this novel design for all lovers of horses and country life.

Please note: As upcycled parts are used, the dimensions may vary by +/- 5 cm.

Celebrating the condor and its impressive size and strength, the yawar ("blood" in Quechua) fiesta takes place in Peru's Apurimac and Ayacucho regions. The condor represents the people of Peru, while the bull represents the Spanish. If the condor flies, this augurs a good harvest, and musicians accompany the event. Alejandro Chávez crafts the wooden box to house this retablo, or diorama and paints it in vivid colors. The figures are carefully modeled from ceramic plaster and painted by hand.

Working in the retablo tradition, Erika Ulloa creates this decor accessory that celebrates the floral culture of Peru. Composed from petite figurines that are crafted from ceramic and painted by hand, a flower seller arranges her wares within her shop, waiting for customers. The retablo is crafted from wood, featuring floral motifs in relief that are hand-painted and given and antique finish.