Woodcarvings Jacobo Angeles Ojeda Maria Angeles Ojeda San Martin Tilcajete Oaxaca Mexico

2nd Annual Village Art Festival "Shiin Naa Lasn"
30th of October to 3rd of November, 2008.
Exhibition of Oaxacan Folk Art and Day of the Dead altars.
Daily from 10am to 6pm.

Inauguration: October 30th at 10am
Closure: November 3rd at 5pm

Place: Restaurante Azucena Zapoteca
Conveniently located just off the highway
at the entrance to San Martin Tilcajete.

Fine Oaxacan Wood Carvings by Mexican Folk Artists, Jacobo and Maria Angeles Ojeda.
San Martin Tilcajete, Oaxaca, Mexico

Read about the artists (below) and view their incredible work in the GALERÍA.

Arrange a carving and painting demonstration in Jacobo and Maria's family home in San Martin Tilcajete.

Have breakfast or lunch in the RESTAURANTE, Azucena Zapoteca, at the entrance to the village.

CONTACT the artists to order a special custom carving. Pieces are highly sought after by collectors who may have to wait up to 6 months for their carving to be finished.

Wood carvings with Indigenous motifs
using natural-colored paints.

Wood carvings with Zapotec pectoral designs
using non-toxic water-based paints.


Panda Bear with black and grey Zapotec Snail design, 7¼" Tall, 9½" Long, 4" Deep	Ram with indigenous motif designs, natural-colred paint, approx. sizes


Jacobo and Maria Angeles Ojeda, pictured above with son Ricardo and daughter Sabina, are a very talented pair of folk artists. Master carver Jacobo, 32 years old, deftly shapes wooden figures by hand and gives life to the carvings with the most basic of tools. Maria, 28 years old, is an impeccable painter, skilfully finishing these works of art by incorporating Zapotec and other indigenous designs.

San Martin Tilcajete, Oaxaca, Mexico
Among the craft villages creating traditional art wood carvings, those from San Martin Tilcajete in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico are the very finest. These works of art are mythical creatures with origins traceable to ancient Mexican religious beliefs that fuse contradictory forces represented by a variety of animal and human features. Hallucinatory and whimsical, the figures embody the spirit of some god or protective power. To make the wood carvings, seasoned wood from the copalillo tree, with a lovely sweet odor, is cut in short lengths. The twists and branchings inspire the artists imagination. Forms are roughed out with machetes then refined with rudimentary pocket knives. A small figure might take 5 hours to carve while a larger piece 30 inches or more could take 3 days. The figure is sanded smooth, treated and thoroughly dried before painting. Over the base coat, patterns of intricate brushstrokes and dots are applied. A maguey cactus thorn is sometimes used to jab up to two or three thousand dots per figure. Each piece is unique in size, color and design, and meticulously created by hand.

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