Talavera in Puebla

Walking around Puebla can give you a neck crick.  Sara found a walking tour map of notable tile covered buildings in town.  Talavera in Mexico originated in Puebla and the more wealthy used these tiles to cover the facades of their homes.  To me the architecture was reminiscent of some of the buildings I saw in Holland.

This is the shop, a cantina actually, where they sell a delicious raisin liqueur called Pasita.  Founded in 1916, La Pasita is open only for a few hours in the afternoon and after our first bottle we came back for more. Looks like these tiles were applied in the year it was opened.

The Uriarte family has been creating and selling talavera pottery and tiles since 1824. We stopped in the shop to admire their handiwork.

And here are the three patient guys who took the walking tour with us and went to the shop with us. 

 Good work, guys. Thanks.

Alebrijes from Oaxaca

Alebrijes (ali-bre-haze) are fantastical animals carved from copal wood found in Oaxaca.  After Monte Albán we went to the nearby town of Arrazola to visit the workshop of one  of the carvers, Pepe Santiago.

They first chop the soft copal wood with machetes into rough forms.

 Then they shape it more finely with small knives

 and set their carvings to dry in the sun.

Each sculpture is unique and can take from days to weeks to complete, depending on the complexity of the form and painted designs.

Here is Rohan posing with the artist, Pepe Santiago, and his own colorful choice.

We took this little praying mantis home with us.

and this monster came home with us from the market in downtown Oaxaca.

Each part of these sculptures is designed to be packed to fit safely in your luggage, so his wings, tail, and even tongue are removable.  He arrived without damage.
 

Tzumindi Creatures

On our trip last month to Patzquaro we decided check out the nearby town of Ihuátzio where the prime industry is making fanciful animals out of the local reeds. I loved the directions to one of the studios: To find Tzumindi you have to go from Pátzcuaro toTzurumutaro and then take the road that leads to Tzinztuntzan till you get to Sanabria, turn to the left to head to Cucuchucho leaving behind on the left side Ihuatzio, beware of some "invisible" TOPES and then you're done. Well, that's about right.




There were real-life horses grazing in front of the Tzumundi studio where Mario Lopez Torres works his magic.

We knocked on the gate to his home and he invited us in to see his work. Most of his business is through catalog orders so his creations are stacked haphazardly on shelves.
These toucans began as sturdy wire frames
and the thick reeds were woven to give them shape. Their beaks and eyes are metal.
Need a lifesize cactus or bull? This is the place to come.
This photo of my pig friend is for a friend who gets pigs for gifts; you know who you are.
I ended up buying the commodious sewing basket on the left on top of the table.

Pineapple Pottery near Patzquaro

A quick trip last week to Guadalajara and Patzquaro turned in to 4 days because there was just too much to see. We were with our friends Yoli and Victor and one of Yoli's goals was to buy some pineapple (piña) pottery from the source.

Just outside of the village of San José de Gracia we found these two pots placed by the road and we knew we were there.








This little shelter was the shop where we met Maria Cruz, the artist.

She graciously showed us how she hand builds the pottery with no wheel and applies the surface texture by pulling off a little bit of clay and "pinching" it onto the pot.Then she places it in her wood-fired kiln
which produces these intricate pineapple pots
and pottery sculptures.
Pineapple pottery is an acquired taste for me but I was charmed by these clay tables she makes to hold her plants.
We drove on into the town and found several more little shops along the road
where Yoli happily added more pineapples to her collection.

Fun with Trasteros

Last week we drove to a particularly handicrafty grouping of towns around Lake Pátzcuaro in the state of Michoacan. Our goal was to buy two carved wooden shelves, or trasteros, in the traditional Mexican style. These shelves are used for storage in the kitchen or dining room.

Entering the woodworking village of Cuanajo, we saw several being loaded into a truck. The charming driver, who was on his way to a larger town to sell them, insisted on unloading some for our perusal. Here are Yoli and Bryan supervising.

We bought two but Yoli wanted a different style. The driver left his loading crew by the road while he drove with us around town to peer into sawdusty workshops trying to locate one with a fish motif.

We were successful but the search took nearly an hour. When we asked the young man why he was being so helpful, he explained that he had lived and worked in Texas for several years and really appreciated the help he got from Americans there.


Here are our two purchases with their legs cut off, painted to go with our house, and hung to display some of my plates. Are we in Mexico yet?