quirky sculpture

Carved by hand from pinewood, this unique nativity scene is comprised of nine pieces. Jose Canil Ramos depicts the Holy Family with an angel, the Three Kings, a donkey and a cow. The figures appear as calaveras, literally "skulls," a popular theme in Guatemala for the Day of the Dead, November 2.

The angel's wings and Joseph's staff are removed for shipping, and cotton felt fabric protects the base of each figurine.

Jose Canil Ramos combines Guatemala's Day of the Dead customs with Christian traditions for the design of this extraordinary nativity scene. "I thought it would be fun to make it with innocent skeletons," explains Canil. He carves each pinewood figurine by hand, allowing each piece to bake to achieve an aged, rustic appearance. This nativity scene includes the Holy Family, the Three Kings, and angel, and mule and an ox, for a total of nine pieces.

Joseph's hand and staff, as well as the angel's wings are removed for shipping.

Wearing colorful clothing with beautiful camellia flowers, this catrina sculpture is lovely. Mexican artisan Juana Ponce creates the ceramic sculpture, painted by hand in the style of Talavera handicrafts. The image of the catrina has strong historical roots in Mexico, originally used as a critique of upper class society.

Jesus and Roxana recreate the axolotl, one of Mexico's rarest and most iconic creatures, in colorful alebrije form. They hand-carve it from copal wood and decorate its body with joyful geometric patterns in a palette of saffron yellow, dark green, bright red, and purple. The axolotl's gills are detached for safe and easy transport.

Jesus and Roxana come from a Zapotec community in Oaxaca where a large number of the residents work crafting alebrijes. Jesus takes care of the carving part while Roxana works her magic creating the colorful patterns that decorate the pieces.

Ready to celebrate the Day of the Dead, this cute duck comes to your home with hand-painted details inspired by the famous Catrina, an icon of Mexican culture. Indonesia's Ira S. crafts the sculpture from bamboo root and teak wood, making a lovely decorative accent full of tradition.