Contest Winners

When I was at the Palace of Fine Arts last week there was another exhibition which displayed the winners of the 11th annual contest of "Great Masters of the Artisanal Patrimony of Mexico".  This contest honors the artists and artisans who create the varied and beautiful folk art and handicrafts of Mexico.

Here are some of the works that were displayed...

An enormous tray made by Carolina García García from Olinalá, a town in the state of Guerrero that is famous for its wooden laquerware

 

Cotton fabric woven on a backstrap loom by Sebastiana Guzmán Hernández from the state of Oaxaca

Copper jar with an axolotl (an aquatic animal related to the salamander) for a handle by José Germán Punzo Núñez from the state of Michoacán

A drum carved from wood, similar in style to those of the Aztecs, by René Martín Flores López from the State of México

A clay jug with scenes of traditional life by Esteban de la Cruz Miranda from the state of Guerrero.

A cotton "quezquemetl", a traditional, poncho-like woman's garment, by Juliana Secundino Vargas from the state of Puebla

A clay jug by José Rosario Alvarez Ramírez from Tonalá, Jalisco, a town famous for its pottery.

A wooden tray with marquetry decoration by Juan Valencia Villalobos from the state of Michoacán

A Day of the Dead figure made from sugar paste by José Ignacio González Quinzaños from Mexico City

A carving made from a tree branch with intricate traditional scenes by Samuel Torres Briones from the state of Tlaxcala

I thought this papier mâché Day of the Dead figure was very sweet. It is entitled "The Grandfather", and it was created by Efraín Caballero Sánchez from the State of México.  It shows a little boy painting a sculpture of his departed grandfather, while in the world of the dead, the grandfather is carving wooden toys for his grandson.