Monthly Archives: August 2017

Eclectic Jewelry and Folk Art Collection Sale, August 11, 2017

I’m back in North Carolina for a while and it’s time to go through my collection of Mexican folk art, jewelry and contemporary American art pieces. I’m beginning to consider what I no longer use or wear and offer them for sale to you. I’ll be listing an eclectic mix of pieces over the next weeks. Keep your eyes open! They are one-of-a-kind!

  1. Taller Spratling Monkey (Taxco, Mexico) Copper Pendant inlaid with turquoise, with hand-woven copper chain made by a North Carolina artisan. Pendant is 2-1/4″ long by 1-3/4″ wide. Chain is 20″ long. Newer piece. Priced at $145 for both, plus shipping USPS.

William Spratling inspired the Taxco silversmith industry. He researched iconic pre-Hispanic Mexican designs, of which this is one. This is a newer piece with the stamp of the current owners who use the original molds. Shows some wear. Needs polishing.

2. SOLD. Huichol Lime and Turquoise Hand-Woven Cotton Shoulder Bag. This is a double-faced weave, which means you can turn the bag inside out and it becomes reversible. The bag is 9″x 9″ (approx.), with a 1-1/2″ gusset that continues into a 44″ long strap. Bag is woven on back-strap loom by Jalisco Huichol women. $85 plus shipping.

3. A la Frida Kahlo, Handmade Sterling Silver Filigree Earrings with Garnets from Patzcuaro, Michoacan. 2″ long and 7/8″ wide. Length measured from where hook affixes to earring. Add length for hook into earlobe. $95 plus postage.

4. Designer Jay Strongwater freshwater pearl, glass beads, sterling necklace, 16-1/2″ long, and Majorica 10mm black pearl studs, from Saks Fifth Avenue. Sold together. $185.00 plus mailing.

5. Frida Style Handmade Sterling Silver Earrings, hands with drop flowers, rose quartz centers, from top Oaxaca jewelry shop purchased over 10 years ago. They don’t make them like this any more. Size 1-1/2″ long from where hook meets hand and 3/4″ wide.  $158.00 plus mailing.

6. Turquoise and Red Huichol Shoulder Bag, handwoven in Jalisco, Mexico, double-faced on a back strap loom. Bag body measures 8″ x 8″.  Gusset and strap are 1-1/8″ wide. Strap is 42″ long from where it meets the body of the bag. Turn the bag inside out and it becomes reversible. Inside pocket and tassels on this one. $98.00 plus mailing.

Questions? Send me an email. Want to buy, send me an email with the number of the item, date of this blog post, plus your mailing address.  I will send you an invoice that includes mailing costs.

Thank you. Norma

Mexican Folk Art for Sale: Vintage and Reproduction Ex-Votos

Ex-votos came to Mexico from Spain with the 1521 conquest. They are devotional prayer plaques applied to shrines in thanksgiving for a miracle received from a particular saint. These small votive offerings are hand-painted on tin and naive folk art. Usually the supplicant, the person giving thanks for the miracle, hired a local untrained artist who could also write to express gratitude.

Often, though, you find misspelled and illegible words, which reflects the lack of sophistication and charm of the piece. The painting often includes the name of the town or province and the date of the offering. They were usually nailed to an altar or shrine.

Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera had one of the largest collections of Ex-votos, many of which are on display at Casa Azul in Mexico City.

Vintage Ex-Votos for Sale: 1930’s-1940’s

#1. San Martin Caballero. This first one, below, is a naive vintage painting on tin, surrounded by the original tin frame, of Saint Martin on Horseback.  Saint Martin (San Martin) of Tours is usually depicted giving a piece of his cloak to the poor. My art collector friend says this is from the 1930’s to 1940’s, though it is undated. Size: approx. 6″ wide x 8″ high. $345 USD plus shipping and insurance.

San Martin Caballero ex-voto in original tin frame, vintage, primitive. $345

Back of San Martin Caballero frame

Giving thanks for a miraculous recovery from typhoid fever. $345 USD.

#2. XXX Garcia La Pez, my son (first name partly illegible), has recovered from typhoid and is now healthy because of this miracle. Created by Fresnillo. Zacatecaz, in memory of my father Lupercio Garcia B.  Size: 6-1/2″ x 10-3/4″

$345 USD plus shipping. Note: Colors are pure, as depicted in photo. Small tear at bottom of the tin border. 1930’s-1940’s.

Back side of Fresnillo, Zacatecaz, ex-voto

Thanks for a prodigious miracle.

#3. Lupema Lora Rosales from Zacatecas gives thanks for a prodigious miracle. We don’t know what it is, but we see her photo affixed to the ex-voto in the lower left corner — an unusual application! The saint is surrounded by flowers, a burning skull, a naively painted Jesus, and children. $345 plus shipping. Size is 6-3/4″ high x 9-3/4″ wide (approx.).

photo of back of A Prodigious Miracle ex-voto

Condition of Vintage Pieces: These are between 70 and 80 years old. There will be some surface scratches, rust and imperfections due to age.

Ex-Voto Reproductions for Sale: New

These two ex-votos (below) are painted and signed by contemporary Mexico City artist Rafael Rodriguez, noted for his whimsical ex-voto depictions. They are reproductions based on the artist’s knowledge of the genre. I acquired them. from a well-known collector in Mexico City. It is offered to you for sale. Size: 9-1/2″ high x 12″ wide, at $95 each, plus shipping.

Wild turkey guajolote did not devour the boy Jose Luis Arreola. Give thanks. New. $95.

# 1. The wild turkey, Mr. Guajolote, was about to gobble me up!

Ruperto Chaves offers thanks for being saved from the giant octopus. New. $95.

#2. Imagine being strangled by a giant octopus that suddenly appears from a cave.

Terms of Purchase: Please contact me you are interested in purchasing and refer to the subject of the ex-voto or the number. Payment is requested in full with PayPal. I will calculate shipping and insurance based on your mailing address and send you a link for payment. There are no returns or refunds. Thank you.

 

Puppy Rescue in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca–Update

Now that I’m back in my Durham, North Carolina, apartment, people are asking, “What happened to the mama dog and her puppies?”

I guess I need to write an update!

Mamacita. She is a tender, loving puppy mommy and becoming very loyal.

I named the mama dog Mamacita, for lack of any other creative moniker coming to mind. I call her Cita for short.  She was a street dog. Cast out. That’s what happens to female dogs. They are unwanted because owners don’t want repeated pregnancies. They also don’t want to neuter their dogs — a financial and cultural issue.

Mamacita has a bad left eye with partial blindness. I presume someone chased her away with a rock and she took a hit.

Sombra (left) and Luz (right) growing up.

Mamacita‘s two babies, just a fistful at birth almost five weeks ago, were white and dark brown. I called them Luz and Sombra, light and shadow.

For the first few days after birth, they lived wild on the land behind my house, nestled in the tall grass shaded by a young guaje tree. Then, I cajoled them into a dog house provided by my friend, Merry Foss, who runs a spay and neuter clinic in the village. By the end of the first week, puppies and mama were living protected in my gated patio.

Dear, wonderful Sylvia, who came to my dog care taking rescue, with Luz.

I fattened up bony Mamacita with twice-a-day doses of chicken soup, beef stock, cooked bones and meat. It was like taking care of a sickly child.

Soon, I had to leave because of work commitments. I sent out the word via Facebook and a blog post. The universe provided.

Mexico Free Spay Neuter Clinic — Click on DONATE

Dog lover Sylvia Johnson Feldman from Connecticut volunteered to come and house sit, mostly to take care of the dogs. She arrived on July 19. I left on July 20. Sylvia will stay until August 17.

Curious puppies roaming the patio. Sylvia got them colorful collars.

In the next week, the pups will get their first inoculations. Sylvia is making an appointment with the veterinarian who comes from neighboring Tlacolula. Cost for the house call and medications is about 250 pesos.

I’m getting updates from Sylvia along with photos showing how the puppies are weaning, lapping pulverized puppy food and milk. Mamacita seems pleased and domesticated, though Sylvia says she bolts the patio through the iron grill work to run during the early morning hours.

Puppy love, a little nipping, a little biting, dog acculturation.

As soon as puppies are fully weaned, we will spay her. This will likely happen during Kalisa Wells’ watch. She arrives on August 16 to take over for Sylvia.

Both Luz and Sombra have both been spoken for, again via Facebook. Luz will go to a family of alebrijes makers in San Martin Tilcajete. Sombra will go to the sister of a friend who lives in Oaxaca, and will eventually return with her to Washington State. We will send them on their way at about 10 weeks old.

I’ve read it is so important to keep mama and puppies together for at least 10-12 weeks so they have a chance to model behavior. So many are adopted out too early.

An early photo of Luz, under one week old.

I will keep Mamacita if she chooses to stay. With my travel schedule, I’ll have to figure out how to keep her and feed her when I’m not in Oaxaca. All suggestions welcome!

Sombra and Luz are spoken for, will go to good homes. So happy about this.

I’d like to urge you to DONATE to the spay/neuter clinic that Merry Foss operates in Teotitlan del Valle. This is tax-deductible and goes a long way to support dogs and cats, especially the females. With this attention, we can help the animals avoid pregnancy and cut, maybe even end, the proliferation of street dogs, a tragedy throughout all of Mexico.

  • Spay/neuter costs about $25 USD per animal
  • Feeding a foster dog costs about $100 USD a bag for 2 months
  • Flea and parasite treatment costs about $20 USD per animal
  • Puppy vaccinations cost $20 per animal
  • No cost for care giving and providing a permanent or foster home!

For me, I took this dog in because of her helplessness, because she is a female, I identified. She has no voice, and there were these two tiny babies depending on her. She could not nurse and hunt for food and water. Not ever having been a dog owner, I learned to give care and compassion to an animal living paw-to-mouth.

Thanks to many of you who have already made a contribution to Merry’s clinic. Thanks in advance to those of you who will.

Donate with PayPal

FYI: Merry has gotten support from Teotitlan del Valle El Presidente Panteleon Ruiz to hold the spay/neuter clinic at his house! This is a major milestone for the village, recognizing the need to control animal reproduction.

Sunday Afternoon on the Last Aztec Lagoon: Xochimilco

We packed it in. After a Sunday morning at Casa Azul followed by seeing the largest private collection of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo paintings at the Museo Dolores Olmedo, we took an UBER (safe, easy, the only way to get around in Mexico City, despite USA negatives) to the Embarcadero de Nativitas in Xochimilco for a boat ride on the last Aztec canals in Mexico City.

Colorful fun. Fake flower crown vendors, Xochimilco.

Sunday is definitely the day to go. You get the full experience of what it is like to party on the trajineras — the flat bottom boat that can hold huge families,

How about some lively mariachi music? A Mexican tradition.

plus an entourage of mariachis playing guitars, trumpets, accordions and violins.

Sunday is the best day to be on the Xochimilco lagoons for people-watching.

It’s almost like riding a gondola in Venice, Italy. Maybe better. Much more colorful.

Dancing the afternoon away, Xochimilco

Sometimes families bring their own cook and the smell and smoke of grilling meats pervades the waterways. Sometimes families bring their own beer and the bottles pile up for the longer rides through the canals.

You can buy a pig en route, just transfer from their boat to yours.

It is festive, relaxing and the quintessential Mexican experience.  Is it touristy? Yes. But, it’s also real because locals do this as part of birthdays, anniversaries, and any other excuse to have a celebration.

Expand the party and tie two boats together

Sometimes, you see two trajineras tethered together, so groups of forty or more can jump between boats, dance, sing and generally carouse. Children find their entertainment, too, relaxing in the sun, playing games, and dancing along with the adults. Just being together.

It’s a perfect way to enjoy the family, just 45 minutes from city center

The rate is fixed per boat: 350 pesos per hour. We went out for two hours and the next time, I think being out on a four-hour excursion would be better.

Doll island. Some say its haunted.

Then, we could get into the more remote areas where birds and flowers are more prevalent than people.

I had fresh roasted native corn on the cob. Valeria chose esquites.

Hungry? A small boat will pull up and entrepreneurial vendors will sell you grilled corn on the cob slathered with mayonnaise, chili and lime juice. Thirsty? Beer and soft drinks are delivered the same way.

How about a pulque? Fermented agave sap for Aztec power.

Want a souvenir? Buy a fake flower crown in any color of the rainbow. Need a pit stop? Clean facilities offer service for five pesos.

Buy a synthetic shawl or a plastic doll. Cheap fun.

On the return trip to the docking area, we had a traffic jam.  Boats jammed up against each other, unable to move.

Moving the boat along. You can even buy plants from passing gondolas.

The gondoliers doing a ballet of pushing the long stick into the muck and against the next boat to jockey into a clear passageway.

Straining to move the boats on the last leg of our voyage.

Sometimes, they jumped boats to help each other out.  Muscles straining, taut. Bodies at forty-five degree angles to the water.

The push-pull of getting out of the traffic jam.

I never heard a curse, only the sound of laughter and music from the party-goers, only too happy to spend extra time on the water as the boatmen sorted it out.

A jumble of color at the docking station.

Xochimilco is the last remaining vestige of what the lake region looked like during the Aztec period, pre-Conquest 1521.

Local emptying, then anchoring his launch.

This is how people got around from one island to the next. The people who live here still do. They are gardeners, growers of fruits and vegetables. It used to be that not too long ago the boats were covered in fresh flowers. Today, they are adorned with painted wood.

A remote waterway off-the-beaten path, like a jungle.

The next time you are in Mexico City, allow yourself at least a half-day to enjoy this respite from city life. Perhaps I’ll spend my next birthday here, hire a mariachi band and dance the afternoon away.

A serenade from shore on an island by the lagoon

For now, I’m at my other home in North Carolina, enjoying August heat and humidity, and the comfort of friends.

Norma Lupita, followed by Mexico Lindo. Porsupuesto.