From the log kept by JM on the Feb/March 2010 Chiripa buying trip.
March 2, 2010. This morning we traveled south to the villages of San Bartolo Coyotepec, San Martin Tilcajete, and Ocotlan. We picked up a good selection of Oaxacan black pottery at the Dona Rosa workshop in San Bartolo, where Dona Rosa's son still presides.
Dona Rosa was, of course, the woman who discovered the technique for making the famous shiny black pottery (you can find it at Chiripa) and a piece or two online.
In Ocotlan, we stopped at the tiny home workshop of the famous Guillermina Aguilar, where we picked out as many clay figures as we could carry.
But the main event was in San Martin Tilcajete, where we met Jacobo and Maria Angeles for breakfast at their restaurant, Azucena Zapoteca (Zapotec Lily). The day was already hot, but there was a cool breeze under the veranda. Jacobo and Maria offered us a spectacular array of traditional Zapotec and Mexican dishes. The food was fabulous, and the presentation reflected Maria's artistic touch (Rick Bayless take note!).
The restaurant, magical as it was, was just a prelude to the workshop. Jacobo and Maria are among the most highly regarded artisans in all of Mexico producing exquisitely carved and painted alebrijes that are in great demand by collectors throughout the world.
Jacobo and Maria with a lion in progress March 2010.
The carved wooden animals have an uncanny lifelike but abstract quality, and the painting--well, you must see it to believe it: elegant designs are executed in unbelievably minute and precise detail, using traditional Zapotec motifs and stunning natural colors. The colors are from natural ingredients grown in the Oaxacan countryside. You can see some beautiful examples at Chiripa.
We also hope to bring Jacobo to Madison in October, so you can meet this great artist (and wonderful human being) in person.
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