Oaxacan Wood Carving

This amazing folk art from small villages in Oaxaca, Mexico are made of Copal, trees that jump up in the mountains of Oaxaca. Called Alebrijes, they are traditionally painted by men and decorated by women. As you can see in the picture, they are mostly whimsical animal figures as well as religious and mythological ones. Several of the famous carvers like Zeny Fuentes, Jacobo Angeles, Eleazar Morales, Armando Jimenez and Agustin Cruz Prudencio, the carver we met this weekend at the exhibition in the Tucson National Parks Store are so creatively funny and fantastical that many now have come to love and collect their art.

Oaxacan Folk Art Wood Carvings Source: aesta1

Here's one of St. George wielding his sword.

St. Jorge. Source: aesta1