Alebrijes Oaxacan Wood Carvings

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Alebrijes Oaxacan Wood Carvings
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Alebrijes are animals or mythological figures
that are carved out of the soft copal tree found
in Mexico.
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In the early 20th century Oaxaca was a poor
community. Artists learned how to make
sculptures from carving the wood of the copal
tree. Soon others started to see their artwork
and the artists started to sell their creations.
Artists soon taught others how to make the
sculptures and the town of Oaxaca started to
flourish by selling the artwork.
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The creation of the sculptures is a team effort.
Usually the men gather and carve the wood while
the women and children paint the wood.
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Many colors and patterns are used to created
the decorations on the sculptures.
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All images for this presentation were found at
www.Oaxacafinecarvings.com/index.html