Vibrant Snail - alebrije snail
Vibrant Snail - alebrije snail
This vibrant, multicolored snail is hand-carved of copal wood and painted with an array of intricate dotted designs, carrying on the tradition of Mexican alebrije sculptures. Pablo and Lucy Mendez work together to create this addition to your home decor, capturing the lovely creature with excellence. Small parts are separated for shipping to protect from breakage.
Alebrijes are a fairly recent Mexican art form, attributed to Pedro Linares. Unconscious due to illness in 1936, he was presumed near death and yet his dreams were extremely vivid. He tells of a place where all was peaceful and quiet until all of a sudden there appeared a lion with an eagle's head, a rooster with bull's horns and a donkey with butterfly wings. They kept screeching "alebrije, alebrije!" and Pedro began running away. He encountered a man who told him it was not yet his time to be there are and he should continue running towards the exit. In this dream Pedro climbed out of a window and regained consciousness.
- 0.4 lbs
- 5.75" H x 2.8" W x 8.25" D
- Copal wood
- Some assembly required
- Signed by the artist
- Hand-crafted item -- color, size and/or motif may vary slightly
- Warning: Choking Hazard. Small parts -- not for children under 3 years.
- Made in Mexico, ships from US
Pablo and Lucy Mendez
Traditional handcrafted Mexican alebrije figures
"What we enjoy the most is how real and mythical animal shapes can emerge from a simple branch. They can be so colorful and original that they appear to have had a life on another planet."
"We are a young married couple who inherited the knowledge of carving and painting copal wood alebrijes. We have gradually perfected our technique, which we have passed down to our children.
"We have been working for some years with this incredible technique that we learned. In our community in Oaxaca, copal carving is a tradition for families.
"We have several goals, one of which is to teach and share this beautiful art in our workshop. And it's how we learn more.
"You have allowed us to export our alebrijes to any part of the world, permitting us to concentrate on the quality and inspiration we give each piece. This has led us to hire family members for wood carving.
"We also have copal tree plantations that have allowed us to preserve this beautiful tree that has given us so much, and that was facing the possibility of extinction."
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I am extremely happy with my purchase, this is my first alebrije which I feel represents me in such an extremely beautiful way that will also be my last alebrije. Thanks to Cactus Affinity for bringing this to my life as well as Pablo and Lucy for making this awesome peace of art.