The Artisans of Oaxaca

The artists/craftspeople of Oaxaca are known for textiles and wood carving, especially distinctively carved and painted animals. You see them all over Oaxaca and the quality varies considerably. This man and his family made all the pieces on the table. These are pretty small, but in some of the nice shops we saw large, very elaborate pieces.

We bought a couple of the small pieces from this guy for gifts and I bought the frog below for myself at the artisan's market. It is a little bit larger piece. The frog is about the size of my hand.

Embroidered clothing is another specialty. Emily, if you are reading, this is where I bought your blouse. You might be able to spot it there in the center of the picture.

There is an indoor artisan's market with aisles of wonderful goods.

One of our favorite places was the women artisan's cooperative shop.

Some of the embroidered goods there were amazing. This ensemble looked like something from the Frida movie. Every flower and leaf on that outfit is hand-embroidered.