Crafty Customer; DIY Nichos

The following information was sent to Chiripa by Melinda O.  Melinda attended the Nicho "show and tell" session hosted at Chiripa on June 21st. I encouraged participants to share any results from the time we spent together. Here's what Melinda sent:

This is one of the Nichos I made following the workshop in June. I painted it blue, dry brushed it with bronze, glued pearlized mosaic tiles to the interior, and then decorated with a collection of angel jewelry and talismans given to me at the time of my hospitalization 9 years ago. I added a few other bits of jewelry and glass drops to round out the composition. I call it “Angels Among Us” and it reminds me of the kindness of others. It brings positive energy with it. It’s no masterwork, but I like it and am happy with it as a first effort.

This is my second nicho. I intend it as a sort of “house blessing” and kept it pretty simple. I didn’t paint it all, just glued mirrored mosaic tiles (small ones), small mirrored glass heart beads, clear glass drops, and a large red glass heart bead into the interior.  It’s not fancy, but it did turn out pretty much the way I hoped it would. -MO

Thank you Melinda for sharing your nicho photos and explanations. I think they are wonderful! "Angels Among Us" IS a masterpiece that comes from the heart.

If others would like to create your own nichos, stop by the shop. We have a good selection of plain tin nichos and an information sheet to help you get started. You can also find a small selection online.

Merecemos Una Cerveza

It's funny how words or phrases become triggers for a person or a group. The trigger from this last trip was Merecemos una cerveza (We deserve a beer.). That phrase has popped into conversation many times since Estela used it in February at her talavera pottery workshop called Liceagui in Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato, Mexico.

The whole statement was, Despues de tanto trabajo, merecemos una cerveza. (After so much hard work, we deserve a beer.) We had arrived late in the day on a Saturday. Both Estela and her husband Gerardo were at the workshop. We quickly set to work selecting already-made pieces and ordering other popular pieces to be made for us. As we set about on our quest, Estela started writing the order. She's quite fast (and accurate). But, it still took a long time to hand write the six pages of the invoice.

Estela, Gerardo and their daughter Maria

  

At one point we were looking for a large chicken planter and Estela thought she had one in the adjoining production workshop. We had never been in that building and I trouped over with her to check it out (without my camera). There we found the sought-for planter amid piles of rocks and molds and fired pottery. A small machine was in constant motion. Estela explained that the rocks (see photo below) were being agitated to create the clay that is used to form the pottery. It would take at least a couple hours to turn the rock into usable clay. We marveled at the many hours of manual and machine labor needed to produce the colorful pieces we sell at Chiripa.

The rock that gets agitated and dissolved to form the clay for the pottery.

It was evening by the time we finished our selection and Estela was totaling the pages and the final invoice. She then offered us a beverage and said, Despues de tanto trabajo, merecemos una cerveza. Who could refuse! -kl

New Artist: Gregorio Juarez Sanchez

Thoughts and photos from the February 2012 Chiripa buying trip to Mexico.

Chiripa: a happy accident. We often say that that is how we meet our artists. This time, it was a little more complex, but, also a CHIRIPA. I asked folks in our monthly newsletter for ideas for our upcoming buying trip to Mexico. Someone posted the message on a San Miguel de Allende message board and I got an email from an expat living in San Miguel who is neighbors with Gregorio Juarez Sanchez. She sent enough information and a photo to make me want to track down Gregorio.

We wandered around some neighborhoods until we found his address, and Chiripa! he was at home!

Gregorio began his career as a craftsman at the age of fourteen, working as an apprentice to Juan Bautista until his mentor's death. Gregorio's work is finely crafted and painted metal sculptures of animals and bugs and birds. He is a gracious man who was proud of his work, but, also proud of his other profession as a waiter. He showed us photos and autographs from famous people he's served.

We especially like the whimsical nature of the creatures and the attention to detail. We have Gregorio's work on display at Chiripa now. Stop in to see it.  -kl

Around Lake Patzcuaro-Santa Fe de la Laguna

Photos and thoughts from the February 2012 Chiripa buying trip to Mexico.

We don't often get to the far north side of Lake Patzcuaro. But, in the small village of Santa Fe de la Laguna one can find some of the most beautiful and contemporary-looking lead-free pottery. It is the work of Nicholas Fabian and his wife Maria del Rosario. On this trip we arrived to find no one home. And then, a Chiripa (happy accident): Maria came walking down the street and welcomed us into their home. 

 Maria wearing a traditional Purépecha rebozo 

in front of a wall of newly made pottery.

After we had selected the new product for Chiripa I asked Maria to step into their courtyard for another photo. To me, she projects pride and honor. She and Nicolas were part of the first group of potters in that area that recognized the need to switch to lead-free production techniques. She is a proud of their indigenous heritage and confident in their art. She is the one that makes the forms and Nicholas is the one who etches the designs. They are a partnership and both names are etched on the bottom of all pieces.

We were sad to miss Nicolas on this trip, but we learned that he now has access to email when he goes into town. Next time, we'll plan ahead.

A true team: Maria del Rosario and Nicholas Fabian photographed in 2008.

-kl

Around Lake Patzcuaro-Manuel Morales

Thoughts and photos from the February 2012 Chiripa buying trip to Mexico.

Some of our most amazing and memorable experiences traveling in Mexico come from visiting workshops in small villages. The artists are in their natural element.

Master potter Manuel Morales lives and works in Tzintzuntzan, Michoacan, Mexico. Using pre-columbian themes and geometrical designs, he has managed to combine images from his indigenous Purepecha heritage and influences from the greater world of art history. His workshop is the building that was the first hospital in that area. Manuel's work has won numerous national prizes and is coveted in the U.S. and Europe. Chiripa feels fortunate to have several new pieces on the way.

Our current (4/12) remaining piece can be found on the Chiripa website.

We first met Manuel when visiting his mother, also a potter. Ofelia Gamez died about a year ago; a great loss to the community and Chiripa.

We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the new shipment from Mexico. Sign up for the Chiripa mailing list (lower right corner of homepage) if you would like email notifications. -kl

How We Bring Beauty to You-Part 2

Photos and thoughts from the 2012 Chiripa buying trip to Mexico.

Continued from the last post. . .
We eventually regrouped, gulped down some liquid yogurt for lunch, used the baño, and hailed a cab on the street. We told the cab driver we wanted to go to the village of Capula, a center of indigenous ceramic craft. The driver whistled, scrunched up his face and calculated: “Pues, es muy lejos...” (translation: “it’s very far” -- i.e., “it’s going to cost you a bundle”). We agreed on an estimated fare, jumped into the cab and headed out. On the way we passed miles of stone fences, laboriously constructed over the centuries – each stone lifted and set by strong brown hands. The fences looked like they had always been there.
 
In Capula, after bumping down many wrong streets and asking many puzzled bystanders, we finally rediscovered the home of the Juan Rosas family (whom we had not seen for 2 years).  Their son Juan (“Chino”), a brilliant ceramic painter who has won national awards, opened the door. Chino recognized us immediately and sent word to his father, who was in the market. Juan ran the entire distance, and leaned against a wall to catch his breath before he could speak to us. His wife Lourdes joined us later:  “Qué Milagro!” (“What a Miracle”) she said. “We have been thinking about you, and wondering why you hadn’t been back. But now here you are!” Her beautiful smile spread from ear to ear.

 Lourdes with her three sons: 
Brian (Koby), Juan Jr (Chino) and Misael (translator and accountant)

We bought some fine ceramics from the Juan Rosas family, while others gathered around to watch. The family will pack and deliver the ceramics to a stone carver in another village. The stone carver (with whom we had already placed an order), will carry the stone and ceramic pieces to Guadalajara in a pickup truck (we hope they get there). In Guadalajara, crafts from our many other Mexican stops will be consolidated in similar fashion for export to Chiripa.  The daisy chain process takes months.

In Capula, we also bought some delicate ceramic Catrinas from other sellers. These had to be wound in toilet paper and bubble wrap, carefully placed in a box, and carried with us to Patzcuaro. It was getting late in the afternoon, and the taxi driver was getting nervous.  Finally, we were ready. 

The stone carvings in Tzintzuntzan seem to grow up from the ground.

On the way back to Patzcuaro, we stopped to see the stone carver and tell him about the ceramics shipment that would be coming his way. He was eating a light meal with friends, at a makeshift outdoor table under a shade tree. At sunset, the taxi driver finally dropped us at our hotel and we give him a handsome tip (“Muy bién,” he beamed).
 

We left the box of delicate Catrinas in our room and used the baño.  After a long and hard day’s work, we decided that we deserved supper and a beer (“merecemos una cerveza”) at Lupita (photo of patio seating on the left), a new favorite restaurant up near the Basilica.  But first, we had to visit the artisans selling woven linens and milagro hearts....   -JKM

How We Bring Beauty to You--part 1

Thoughts and photos from the Feb 2012 Chiripa buying trip to Mexico.

 

How do we bring the finest handmade crafts from remote Mexican villages to you? With a lot of love and hard work!  

 Corn platter by Nicolas Fabian, Santa Fe de la Laguana, Michoacan, Mexico.

Chiripa is hoping to have more in stock soon.

We personally visit dedicated Mexican artisans in their homes and family workshops. We hand-select works that have a human story to tell. We buy directly from the artisans, so they get the best possible return for their work. We pay in advance, and trust the artisans to deliver. They have never disappointed us. We have found sublime beauty in humble places, and made many wonderful friends. That more than compensates for the extra work. 

On our latest trip to Mexico, we visited the old colonial towns of Guanajuato, Dolores Hidalgo and San Miguel de Allende, as well as Patzcuaro in the highlands of Michoacán. We especially love Patzcuaro, which is within striking distance of a number of indigenous villages producing elegant crafts. On our latest trip, a typical day in Patzcuaro went like this: 

 

We threw off woolen blankets after a cold night, and took (brief) lukewarm showers. Donning sweaters, we went out for hot coffee and breakfast. Joggers were taking gentle morning turns around the sweet old plaza. The soft light filtered through the tall trees and warmed the adobe walls. After breakfast, we jettisoned our sweaters and put on baseball caps. Then to work!

We plunged into the labyrinthine public market to find the tiny stall belonging to Salvador Farran, one of just two remaining practitioners of the traditional Purepecha silver jewelry craft.

You should not expect to find Señor Farfan’s jewelry stall without an expert guide; but, if you want to try, you should look near the large collection of butcher stalls that have unrefrigerated beef sides, pig heads and strings of spicy red and green chorizo prominently on offer.

With a little luck, we found Señor Farfan. To the sound of hacking meat cleavers, we purchased some delicate hand-wrought traditional jewelry for Chiripa. 

We squinted as we emerged from the dark warren of the market. To save time, we divided our forces: some went to the basilica market to buy pine needle baskets, bracelets, weavings and carvings from the indigenous vendors. Others, drawing the short straw, went to the bank to exchange traveler’s checks for cash (artisans in remote villages do not accept credit cards, wire transfers or like forms of payment). The bank never cashes traveler’s checks with undue haste, so there was time to shop most of the basilica market. -JKM

The day in Patzcuaro will continue . . .