Wooden Door Imports

Mexican Artists

From Pre-Columbian times to the Spanish invasion to moden day, the arts have been a center point of Mexican culture. It is no surprise that as one walks down the streets of Mexico City artisans of every medium and talent line the sidewalk selling their wares. In nearly every town across this vast country you will find small museums, shops, artisan studios, and churches that display and celebrate the Mexican arts.

Contemporary Mexican crafts are especially beautiful, and often combine the past with the present as well as focus on the celebration of life. Natural materials, tribal patterns and shapes, vibrant colors, and simple lines give the carfts a deeply magical and passionate quality.

That is why we chose to categorize our collection with the headings Elegant, Bold and Rustic. What we found hard to resist were these three elements, which respectively could be described as: simple beauty, fiery, passionate expression, and a return to nature.

The other very important part of understanding th Mexican art and carft in this collection and throughout Mexico is recognizing the perfected skills and techniques applied to every piece. Families producing fine handmade crafts pass their techniques through the generations. And traditions do not die easily. Take for example the town of Santa Clara del Cobre where some of the worlds most beautifully hand hammered copper has been made for hundreds of years. Today, as you walk through the center of town each storefront is a celebration of the time-honored skill. A sense of pride instead of production prevails as you listen to the sound of hammer hitting copper in a small workshop in the back as the shop owner hovers eager to answer questions and show you more.

Felipe Ortiz Tajonar

Miguel Garcia Calderon

May we introduce Felipe Ortiz Tajonar and Miguel Garcia Calderon, a painter and a weaver both shown in our collection, who work solo into their older years expressing the magic of Mexico through their work. You can find Felipe in Mexico City selling his paintings of simple innocence in the open-air art markets on Sundays. And Miguel, a master weaver, creates in a small shop pedaling his loom most days in the town of Patzcuaro.

These are only several examples of what exists of the important arts landscape of Mexico. Our collection, though small, gives you a window onto the beauty and vibrancy that is out there. Though it is best to go Mexico yourself and live there among the people for a time to really experience the place, we hope that you can take from our collection what we hoped to give...a taste and respect for the country and the art that it produces.

See also our links page for further information about Mexican travel, recipes, culture and more.




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