THE FERIA- MUESTROS DEL ARTE
(The Fair of The Masters)
The Feria is held every year in teh grounds of The Chapala Yacht Club-a beautiful place by The Lake to hold such an event.
Artisans attending are chosen on the basis of…..
- The quality of their work.
- Their art been passed down generation to generation.
- The artist use “natural” pigments/materials as was done in the past.
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They an “undiscovered” artist who is worthy of recognition for his or her work.
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Totally handmade by the artist.
The artisans travel for more than a day to get to this event which is becoming a collectors event.
It was the first time for this lady below and her figurines of various characters.
Each are made by the members of the family each doing their part in the figure.
Above-Figurines of Carlotta and Maximillian the usurpers who wanted to rule Mexico.
The local fine tasting Tequila making Sandy and Daniel.
The piece above made from black clay is from Fidel who came from Oaxaca and we hosted him and his daughter .
This year the Lake was almost lapping at the feet of the artisans.
Scroll to bottom of blog for more on the past years Feria.
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A new addition to the galleries in Ajijic carries the work of Mata Ortiz a small village in the northern State of Chihuahua. This area produces exquisite pottery.
If you want to see more do a google search for images here.
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Sergio Bustamante although born in Sinaloa is Guadalahara’s favourite artistic son.
He has lived and worked there for many years.
His gallery is in what is now a suburb of Guadalahara-Tlaquepaque.
His work is very unique and whimsical.
For more information on his work see here and here
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Below-Maybe not by Bustamante but whimsical none the less.
A statue in the old Chapala train station-now a gallery and performance center.
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Below- I wish I knew about these delightful clay sculptures in a Museum in Patzcuaro.
Also in that same Museum/shop this exquisite detail work on laquered metal plates.
Below– Huichol Indian work. The Huichol were never subjugated by the Spanish and still keep themselves distinct.
Below– More assorted pottery designs.
Below-A sculpture in the garden of The Brady House in Cuernavaca.
Below– Mayan ball court player. I doubt it an original but a replica.
This mural below is in a government building in Guadalahara showing the period of the nineteen thirties.
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NOVEMBER 2014
In November we visited the 13th annual “Feria Maestros del Arte”-Masters of their art at the Yacht Club in Chapala.
The mission of the organizers is to preserve and promote Mexican indigineous and folk arts. The artists pay no fees and get to keep the money from what they sell.
“In Michoacán, at least 40,000 families live from what they make by hand. But they’re so dependent on pass-through tourist sales that all it takes to cripple a village is for the federal government to build a highway around the town. This happened to the village of Tzintzuntzan years ago and its ceramics industry lost all its vitality. More than half the village’s residents now live in Mexico City, Santa Ana, or Tacoma.”
See also my friend Jim Cooks excellent blog here.
Below-The location was magnificent looking out over the Lake with beautiful grounds. Here looking back at the town of Chapala and it’s iconic mounded hill and the spires of the old church.
Below-Catherine at the entrada to the Feria.
Because it was still Day of The Dead period this character was near the entrada too !
Below- There were some better looking characters in the crowd.
Below- Huichol Indians I guess from the pictures and masks all made from tiny beads.
Below– Designs made from dried grasses.
Below- Hand painted wooden animals.
Below– You can see from the price tag that these were about 400.00 dollars. Almost got this one as we don’t have a cat yet.
Below-Copper ware.
Below-the types of copper one can have things made from.
Below– Some of the beautiful pottery.
Below-Traditional hand emproidered fabrics
Below– This all female Mariachi Band were absolutely fabulous. Very well rehearsed and well attired they put on a long show to much applause.
Below- Walking back along the Chapala waterfront this Katerina Doll for The Day Of The Dead made from aluminum cans.
The sky turned more dramatic as clouds rolled in.
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One of the best local artists here is Jesus Garcia Lopez.
His work is to be seen in many places. He has a strong indiginous influence on his work.
He is a wealth of information about the history of the area and Mexico in general.
These images below are from the Ajijic cultural center where his history of Mexico adorns the walls.
___________________________Below– Efrem Gonzales is another local artist of repute who paints much village life.
Here he is explaining his painting of the church with a leaning spire.
Below -his underpainting technique.
Below– The work of George Rauch. He was an Austrian Jew who had a remarkable experiences during the Second World War. He survived all that and settled locally near here in the fifties. See his book here.
