A look at the beautiful folk art that inspires us at El Interior. Includes information on the talented artists behind the pieces available in our store.
Take a virtual tour through the Mask Museum of San Miguel de Allende, guided by Bill Levasseur, founder and curator of the museum, and dive into the world of mask ceremonies in Mexico. The webinar is free to watch (you can access it by scrolling to the bottom of the page), although a $5 donation […]
Celebrations of traditional Zapotec Culture in the Tehuantepec Calenda in the streets of Oaxaca. Zapotec women from the isthmus of Tehuantepec on a float in Oaxaca City. “They’re celebrating their identity and their community’s traditional values. This is also an act of reciprocity, a way of giving back to their community. The participants sponsor the […]
The non-profit Austin Friends of Folk Art (AFFA) began in 1987 between two passionate folk art collectors and advocates, Ted Warmbold and Marcia Lucas. At the time Ted was president of the established San Antonio Friends of Folk Art while editing the San Antonio Light. Marcia was busy forming one on one relationships with […]
Many changes have occurred in the life of Ed Jordan and his beloved Collection of Folk Art in the last 10 years. (Click here to view our tour of his home in February 2007.) One of the biggest, was his decision to sell his 100 plus year old home! We recently visited with Ed at Mexic-Arte […]
In 2014, famous potter Josefina Aguilar of Ocotlan, Oaxaca Mexico became blind. I remember visiting her shortly after her blindness struck and discussing with her how her hands were going to become her eyes: “My hands know what to do,” she told me. To back that up, I am sharing a few photos from a demonstration […]
Owner Marcia Lucas recently returned from a trip to Oaxaca, Mexico with a wonderful new piece from folk artist Demetrio Aguilar. He calls it the Caballero Juaguar or “Gentlemen Jaguar”. Watch this video where he explains the meaning behind the artistry.
Isidoro Cruz is a master wood-carver from San Martin Tilcajete, Oaxaca. He is also the father of Nayeli Cruz, who followed in her father’s tradition and married fellow wood-carving artist, Gaspar Calvo Fabian. Isidoro started carving at a young age, making masks for local carnivals. He continues to make masks, as well as all sorts […]
Concepción Aguilar, the youngest of the famous Aguilar Sisters, was just nine when her mother died without teaching her the skills she had previously passed on to her three other daughters. However, Concepción developed her incredible skill with clay first by imitating her sisters and then constantly pushing herself to further develop her talent. Perhaps because […]
To burnish is to rub the surface of an unfired clay figure or pot with a hard object until it develops a semi-gloss shine. While the earliest known pottery can be traced to 12,000 B.C., the earliest known burnished pottery dates from 5,000 to 4,500 B.C. Used by the Badarian People of the Nile Valley […]
Update: Josefina Aguilar is now blind, as of 2014. Read more about how she continues to create folk art, despite her disability, here: Josefina Aguilar – Artist Update Josefina Aguilar of Oaxaca, Mexico, is perhaps one of the most collectable folk artists today. Josefina’s skill was noticed when she was quite young, and by the time […]
Guillermina Aguilar, the eldest of the four famous Aguilar sisters, was born in Ocotlan de Morelos, Oaxaca. Inspired by her fertile imagination, her ceramic repertoire is rich. In the beginning, she created figures of ducks, hens and bulls, and later turned to more complicated female figures in highly detailed costumes, down to their dangling earrings. […]