Magaly Fuentes: Spectacular Hammerhead Shark Woodcarving Colima dog

Magaly Fuentes: Spectacular Hammerhead Shark Woodcarving Colima dogThis hammerhead shark by Magaly Fuentes and her husband, Jose Calvo, is one of my favorite pieces because it captures so much of what I love about Oaxacan folk art. The carving itself is full of movementyou can almost see the shark twisting through the water with incredible grace. What makes it truly special, though, is the painting. Every inch is covered in fine, hand painted patterns: deep cobalt blues that remind me of the ocean, bright rainbow

Fine green lines frame every section

Once the form is complete

Dimensions: 11''Tall  9''Long

pink mosaic body and striped coral and amber shell

and artistic imagination

actually looks like this

Some 550 years later

This delightful alebrije by Oaxacan artist David Blas captures a frog completely absorbed in its book

The only colors are on the face

Hand-formed in the traditional coiled technique

Saint Benedict holds a staff topped with a cross and a book symbolizing his famous "Rule of Saint Benedict"

in the 1970s