Author Archives: Admin

Ruth Cortés Rodriguez lives in the state of Guanajuato. She is a silversmith extraordinaire working in Alpaca. Alpaca is not sterling silver but close. “Alpaca” is a trade name for nickel silver and electro-plated nickel silver and is used primarily in Souca, Germany, and the Scandinavian countries. Originally named for its silver-white color, Alpaca is also referred to as German Silver or New Silver.

The alpaca Ruth works with is composed of 10% silver, with varying percentages of copper, zinc or nickel. Alpaca does not lose its brightness over time, does not get rusty, and doesn’t peel off. On the contrary, it becomes brighter with daily sunlight, cleaning, and use! The result is a bright, resistant and beautiful alloy. Continue reading →

Miguel Paredes is 50 years old and has been working at his craft of making art objects for Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) for over 20 years. His folk art has been passed down through the generations from his grandfather to his father and now to him.

Miguel and his wife, Lilia, live in the state of Puebla, Mexico where he handcrafts calaveras de barro (clay skeletons), nichos (shadow boxes, dioramas), and all types of objects that have been made in Mexico for decades.

They are typical of the lighthearted satire that is classic in Mexican Day of the Dead art. The art is fun and festive and not meant to poke fun at the dead, but rather to honor them… Continue reading →

Don Isaac Ramos Padilla passed away in 2010. This true maestro of Mexican weaving will be missed by all who have marveled over the years at his unbelievable creations. He had been weaving since he was 10 when he started to learn the trade from his family of weavers. Don Isaac would arise at 5 am and work for 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, to produce an average of two rebozos a week.

He did all the steps of the process himself – mixing the dyes, dyeing the cotton, setting up the warp with the thousands of strands, painting on the pattern, and the final weaving. He was known to have said, ‘Mucho tiempo, poca ganancia’ (so much time, so little profit). His rebozos garnered a considerably higher price than the more standard ones found in markets around Malinalco. Continue reading →

A small town in Jalisco is home to Martin Ibarra. He lives across the street from the town’s sixteenth century church whose lofty wall surrounds the colonial structure. Often you will see colorful balls and earthenware virgenes, engraved with geometric designs, drying in the air on top of the wall. The pieces are the art of Martin Ibarra who supports a family of elders and youngsters from the damp clay of the surrounding hills.

Martin’s style is distinctly different from that of his now deceased father, Sixto. Martin has had big shoes to fill following in his father’s footsteps. Sixto died in 2001 and had been working with clay over 40 years, after discovering an ancient cenotaph in the foothills near his home. The workmanship and whimsical nature of the pre-Conquest pottery found at the burial site inspired young Sixto to begin experimenting with the medium. Continue reading →