Oaxaca Shopping Mania: Take Advantage of My Weakness

Gold + Silver Leaf Mirror by Talleres Zegache, $125 + shipping

I’ve just published a number of new items for sale on the Gallery–Shop Here page of this web site (see home page, click on button under banner).  I don’t usually shop for and buy Oaxaca art and craft because I need it.  I do it to support the artists and artisans.  The creativity that is expressed through these art forms is extraordinary and often I find myself digging into my pocket or going to the ATM in order to sustain the art, their creators and their families.  You might say, ‘Norma, this is just an excuse.’  Nevertheless, here I confess my weakness.  However, in order to curtail the acquisition in-flow, I am offering a few wonderful pieces for sale that I found during my recent Oaxaca comings and goings.

The piece above is just one fine example.  It is from Santa Ana Zegache, the small Ocotlan area village where famed Oaxaca artist Rudolfo Morales restored and painted an extraordinary church and supported artistic expression through the foundation he established before he died.  Talleres Zegache is a workshop of village craftspeople who restore and reproduce colonial mirrors.  Click on the photo where  I have provided a more complete description.  This particular mirror (above) uses gold and silver leaf, and cochineal red paint.  It is extraordinary!

If you are visiting Oaxaca, please stop by Talleres Zegache.  They are well hidden, not easy to find, tucked way in the back (I suspect because the rent is cheaper), at Plaza Lucero, 5 de Mayo #412. I don’t know much much longer they will be there because business hasn’t been brisk (tourism is down all over Oaxaca because of the drug war scares).  A pity, since the area is safe, family-friendly and gorgeous.