My New Treasures

I went to the Ajijic Society of Artists fair in the plaza this weekend. There were also 8 artisans from Michoacan. Let me show you what I found. Click on any photo to see a close-up version in a new window.

These two prints are by a wonderful local young woman artist by the name of Luz Preciado (Precious Light). The single woman is mixed media of pastel for the face and shawl, acrylic for her dress and oil paint for the surrounding geometric shapes. The mother and child is charcoal. I loved both of them so much, I just couldn't decide which one to buy--so I picked . . .












The Michoacan artisans included Phillipe Horta, whose uncle was a Maestro (Master) of Mexico and included in the book of the same name. Phillipe, like most of his extended family, are mask carvers. The masks that I bought from him are very old, but in good condition. I have no idea where he found them or who carved them, but older masks are difficult to find so I grabbed these two before another savvy shopper spotted them. The green one is a man's face, although somewhat scary, not as scary as some I've seen.





The other mask is of a pig, even though it looks somewhat like a dog. It has leather ears and a long snout.













The last photo is of my "Mask Wall". Although it is a modest collection, the addition of these two older masks are a welcome addition. I hope to acquire more older masks in the future, although they are very difficult to find. I have tried to include masks from different regions, differing materials and different uses or meanings. Each one just "hit" me and I had to have it no matter how strange it looks. You may click on the photos for closeups.