Oaxaca Artists

Cabot's Museum brought in amazing artists from Oaxaca, Mexico. It was very interesting to me as we'd seen them there on our 2007
 49 day RV Caravan throughout the Yucatan peninsula.
The Trading Post displayed 3 distinct arts today.
The weaving is a dying art in the Zapatec native tribes.

It has been taught by the elders using techniques centuries old. The dyes are natural, from plants and insects. To get the red from an insect, one must use 6000 insects to get 1 lb. of dye.

This artist has been instrumental in liaising with the Smithsonian Institute and they are helping this weaving to survive. They are apprenticing 15 young people learning the trade.

The 2nd craft is hand carved mythical animals and whimsical creatures.
The artist who doesn't speak any English used to climb up to the ruins of Monte Alban and gather the Copal wood for the carvers in his village. While delivering the wood, he observed the carvers and eventually honed his his skill until he is now world famous. All the painting is done by hand.

There was  woman painstaking making silver jewelry much designed like the colorful embroidery  on the women's dresses.
The black pottery is amazing. We visited the home of Doona Rosa when we were in Oazaca wheere her children and grandchildren now carry on.She discovered this technique in 1950 by firing at a low heat, then polished the clay with a quartz stone to bring our the black colour.