The crafts of Mexico / edited by Margarita de Orellana, Alberto Ruy-Sánchez ; guest editor, Eliot Weinberger

Published in association with Artes de México

Includes bibliographical references

Seeing and using : art and craftsmanship / Octavio Paz -- A vision of the hand / Alberto Ruy Sánchez -- Visible and invisible hands / Margarita de Orellana -- Terra incognita / Alfonso Alfaro -- Ceramics of the five senses / Alberto Ruy Sánchez -- Earthenware of water and of fire / Gutierre Aceves Piña -- The world of Talavera / Alberto Ruy Sánchez -- Talavera : its name and manufacture / Luz de Lourdes Velázquez Thierry -- Tradition and fantasy molded in clay / Luis Mario Schneider -- A lover of clay : interview with Tiburcio Soteno / Chloë Sayer -- The alchemy of clay / Bill Gilbert -- The soul of a potter : interview with Juan Quezada / Marta Turok -- How the moon taught us to weave / Jexa Jiménez López -- A weft of voices / Margarita de Orellana -- The textual textile / Marta Turok -- Flower woman / Sna Jolobil -- The anatomy of a textile tradition / Irmgard W. Johnson -- Weavings that protect the soul / Alejandro de ́Avila -- Lives spun on Teotitlán looms : interviews with Manuel Bazán Martínez, Isaac Vázquez García and Arnulfo Mendoza / Chloë Sayer -- Origins and forms of lacquerwork / Ruth D. Lechuga -- Nature and geometry / Ana Paulina Gámez -- A humble and ephemeral nature / Gloria Fraser Giffords -- Four tinsmiths speak : interviews with Arturo Sosa, María Luisa Vázquez de Sosa, Ramón Fosado and Víctor Hernández Leyva / Magali Tercero.

Crafts of Mexico is a visual celebration of Mexican crafts, presenting page after page of full-color photographs alongside essays by leading art historians, interviews with and profiles of leading craftspeople, and appreciations by leading writers. The section on ceramics looks at the famous Talavera work from the colonial city of Puebla, and the fantastical creations of Tonalá and Metepec; detailed examinations of Mexican textiles, from Chiapas and Oaxaca, include histories of the weavings and a study of the symbolism in the patterns plus a special section on shawls. Basket weaving focuses on the well-known Seri baskets from Northern Mexico; tinwork spans from folk figures to cathedral alters; lacquerwork takes an in-depth look at Mexico's adoption of this traditionally Asian craft; and much, much more. Beautifully illustrated, Crafts of Mexico is sure to become the authoritative work.

English