Mexican Crafts
Mexican Handcrafts “Artesanias”
Mexican handcrafts and folk art is more than a collection of simple everyday items. These items have been created for celebrations, festivities and religious rites. These arts and crafts are collectively called “artesanía”. The artesanía products here shows both the colorful, natural and traditional influences of beautiful Mexico. The brilliant reds, clay and brown colors arise from desert inspiration, to the explosive colors found in the wildlife with Mexico's intriguing animals and plants. You can see the artistic appreciation and inspiration of Mexico in the crafting as well as in the design.
Artesanía can be defined as those items created by common people, using traditional methods which are well-founded in the past. To put it simply it means "hand crafted". Mexican folk art has inspired famous artists such as Diego Rivera, Tamayo, Orozco, Fernández and many others.
Artesanía produced in Mexico can be simple items made for daily use as well as amazing pieces of unique art. Simple or complex, they represent the artistic traditions of Mexico in their decorative details and/or bright colors for aesthetically pleasing and traditional purposes. Even the production of colors ties into the history of craft making. The bold use of colors in crafts and other constructions extends back to pre-Hispanic times. Pyramids, temples, murals, textiles and religious objects were painted or colored ocher red, bright green, burnt orange, various yellows and turquoise. Since pre-Hispanic times the red pigment has been made from the cochineal bug, which is dried, crushed and ground to a powder to mix into a liquid base.
Blown Glass “Vidrio Soplado”
America in the early 1500s. It is said that when they first invaded, the natives were so impressed with items such as glass beads that they would gladly trade them for gold. Up until that point, only naturally occurring volcanic and obsidian glass was known on the continent, but the arrival of Europeans also brought the advent of manufactured glass. The first glass made in the Americas was produced in the town of Puebla, Mexico in 1542. Today, some of Mexico’s iconic glass designs, such as the margarita glass is used in bars across the world to serve a variety of cocktails and Mexico's famous margarita!Repujado
The craft of repujado dates back to the 12th Century. Also known as foil embossing. Repujado is created by pushing and shaping the material to make a three dimensional relief in the metal which includes copper, brass and aluminum. The art of Repujado arrived with the Spanish conquistadors and was used initially to protect icons in churches from smoke and natural environmental elements. Mexican and South American artisans have used this technique for centuries to produce jewelry and ornamental items. Over the centuries Repujado has become one of Mexico’s greatest artist legacies.
The design elements are cut from the metal then hammered and twisted from behind to create the perfect shapes the artist desires. The metal images take shape in a series of steps, then the back of the relief is filled with resin. Some of the color is the original color of the metal and others are stained. A strong adhesive is used combined with metal staples, then the pieces are assembled with a smooth artist eye resulting in a mosaic of up to four or more colors. A wooden frame is the final touch making a piece of art anyone would be proud to call their own.