Wooden figures form a less prominent part of what we sell at Milagros, but they embody one of our core beliefs, which is that craft can help to sustain communities and keep them together. One of our most core values at Milagros is to try and support people to stay in their communities so that they don’t have to succumb to the pressures to separate their families by moving to cities and possibly even migrating – sometimes under dangerous circumstances.
The wooden figures that we sell in the shop are mostly sourced from one village outside the city of Oaxaca, Mexico, San Martin Tilcajete. It is a small settlement, with a population of about two thousand people, but they’ve been a hive of wood-carving activity for decades.
Interestingly enough, wood-carving is new craft tradition, which first emerged in its current form in the Oaxaca of the 1970s, when an increase in tourism and cruises from the United States brought foreign buyers in search of souvenirs. Mexico has a long and laudable tradition of supporting and championing its craft traditions. This has roots in the post-revolutionary push for “Mexicanidad” in the 1930s: the quest to develop a post-imperial, independent Mexican identity. As part of that tradition, each state has its own Casa de Artisanias (a gallery showcasing the work of local artisans and the area’s specialties), and there is a national association, Fonart (Fondo Nacional para el Fomento de las Artesanías ) dedicated to promoting and protecting craft traditions all over Mexico.
Historically, San Martin is a community of subsistence farmers who own small plots of land, tending goats and cows and growing maize. Wood-carving was largely a pastime activity, done to while away the hours when tending grazing livestock, or used in the production of ceremonial masks. More recently, it has become an activity which has enabled families to earn an income on the side of farming. Today, this remains by and large the case, but with tangible effects: such is the popularity of wood-carving that the villagers are able to build new and better houses, and paved roads! Families in San Martin have intermarried and often collaborate, sometimes sharing gallery spaces (sheds on the road into town, to pick up tourist custom off the highway), and ideas for designs get shared between generations and in-laws.
Interestingly enough, wood-carving is new craft tradition, which first emerged in its current form in the Oaxaca of the 1970s, when an increase in tourism and cruises from the United States brought foreign buyers in search of souvenirs. Mexico has a long and laudable tradition of supporting and championing its craft traditions. This has roots in the post-revolutionary push for “Mexicanidad” in the 1930s: the quest to develop a post-imperial, independent Mexican identity. As part of that tradition, each state has its own Casa de Artisanias (a gallery showcasing the work of local artisans and the area’s specialties), and there is a national association, Fonart (Fondo Nacional para el Fomento de las Artesanías ) dedicated to promoting and protecting craft traditions all over Mexico.
Historically, San Martin is a community of subsistence farmers who own small plots of land, tending goats and cows and growing maize. Wood-carving was largely a pastime activity, done to while away the hours when tending grazing livestock, or used in the production of ceremonial masks. More recently, it has become an activity which has enabled families to earn an income on the side of farming. Today, this remains by and large the case, but with tangible effects: such is the popularity of wood-carving that the villagers are able to build new and better houses, and paved roads! Families in San Martin have intermarried and often collaborate, sometimes sharing gallery spaces (sheds on the road into town, to pick up tourist custom off the highway), and ideas for designs get shared between generations and in-laws.
As with all things, the aesthetics of the woodcarvings go in trends, and Tom has now been working with the artisans long enough to spot when a design has made its way back around from thirty years ago, most likely seen in a family album from a parent or grandparent. The villagers’ lives and schedules are still governed by the land, with them scheduling their wood-carving around the growing season. One famous decorator of woodcarvings, Maria Jimenez, stops production entirely to tend to her maize crop, and makes famous tamales from her maize every Sunday.
Inspiration for the wooden figures themselves comes from many sources, including folk and fairy tales from all over the world, and Tom prefers the designs which depart from familiar animals and add a whimsical twist, which is where you might see some animal musicians made by Juventino Melchior, the dancing chickens by the late Ventura Fabian, or a cat-owl by the Xuana family. Tom tends to look for pieces that are beautiful examples of craftsmanship without being overwrought, still possessing, in his words, ‘spirit’. All the pieces that we sell are signed by the person who made them.
“Alebrije” is a catch-all term applied to these fantastical pieces, but it actually originates in Mexico City, with papier-mâché figures made by Pedro Linares, who once had a childhood fever so extreme, he hallucinated all kinds of fantastical creatures, and these fevered dreams provided him with enough inspiration to for a lifetime of work. Tom’s taste is not for the most outlandish multiheaded-headed extravaganzas that the term “alebrije” tends to denote, however, nor for the products of the more industrial workshop set-ups in Oaxaca. Instead, he has built up his base of artisans in this slightly remote village, making multiple trips over decades, gradually getting to know many of the more talented families of wood carvers. It is only in the last decade or so that he has really been accepted as a serious buyer of this work. He buys from individuals or families working in their homes, where the men typically do the carving and the women the painting, and has had the good fortune of working over time with multiple generations of some families.
Muchos gracias, as ever, and buena salud,
Milagros
