What is the Significance of Hands in Mexican Folk Art?
Posted: July 18, 2013 Filed under: Jewelry, Mexican Crafts, Mexican Earrings, Mexican Folk Art, Mexican Style, Mexico, Religious Folk Art, Unique gifts & Jewelry, Zinnia Folk Arts Shop | Tags: Alpaca, Folk Art, Frida Kahlo, handmade, mexican artisans, Mexican crafts, Mexican folk art, Mexican jewelry, mexican style, Milagros, Religious folk art, religious iconography, traditional folk art Comments Off on What is the Significance of Hands in Mexican Folk Art?One of the most frequent questions I’m asked in the shop is, “What is the significance of the hand in Mexico?”
Hand motifs do appear in many pieces of jewelry and religious iconography from Mexico and though there is no absolute answer to the question, here are a few ideas.
One of the most obvious answers is that the hand is so important to all of us in terms of making things (hand-made), performing, communicating, praying (especially when 90% of the country is Catholic) and in making us human. This is just as true in Mexico as it is in other places. The heart in the hand (another common image in Mexico) is a traditional folk art motif, associated with the Shakers, the Amish, and the Pennsylvania Dutch. It is widely considered to symbolize charity, or to mean something is “from the heart”. Others consider it to represent friendship, love and truth.
The hand motif in Mexican jewelry probably increased after Pablo Picasso’s gift of the silver hand-shaped earrings to Frida Kahlo in the 1930’s or 40’s. She painted herself in them and many nicho boxes and retablos created around Frida’s image contain those famous paintings. Some Mexican artisans make beautiful hand-shaped earrings.
Here are a few pieces we currently have in the shop that can give you an idea…
Contact us for this lovely wooden hand covered on one side with milagros. It is $58 and measures 7″ by 4.35″ wide.
This beautiful and amazing carved hand is covered on both sides with milagros. It costs $166 and measures 10.5″ tall by 4.5″ wide.
SUMMER SALE at Zinnia Mexican Folk Arts!
Posted: June 29, 2013 Filed under: .925 SIlver, Jewelry, Mexican Crafts, Mexican Earrings, Mexican Jewelry, Mexican silver jewelry, Mexican Textiles, Silver jewelry from Mexico, Textiles, Zinnia Folk Arts Shop | Tags: Jewelry, textile Comments Off on SUMMER SALE at Zinnia Mexican Folk Arts!It’s Summer and time for a sale! These pieces can all be found in the online shop, right here, and everything in these photos and a few other things are 25% OFF! Just enter the code, “Summer25” at the checkout…Check in the Jewelry, Textile, Religious, Mask and Whimsical Sections. If the item is there, it’s still available.
Need Some Mexican Folk Art Ideas for Valentine’s Day?
Posted: January 23, 2013 Filed under: .925 SIlver, Global Style, Mexican Earrings, Mexican Folk Art, Mexican Jewelry, Mexican silver jewelry, Silver jewelry from Mexico | Tags: handmade, Mexican crafts, Mexican folk art, Mexican silver, Mexican Silver Jewelry, nickel silver, paper mache Comments Off on Need Some Mexican Folk Art Ideas for Valentine’s Day?
Some of these items are on the website–click on the photo and it will take you there. If it’s not on the website and you’re interested in purchasing, let us know through this form!
New Mexican Silver Jewelry from Taxco And Other Places!
Posted: October 16, 2012 Filed under: .925 SIlver, Guatemala, Huichol, Jewelry, Mexican Crafts, Mexican Earrings, Mexican Folk Art, Mexican Jewelry, Mexican silver jewelry, Silver jewelry from Mexico, Unique gifts & Jewelry | Tags: Arracada, handmade, Mazahua lovebirds, Mexican crafts, Mexican folk art, Mexican jewelry, Mexican silver, Mexican Silver Earrings, Mexican Silver Jewelry, silver earrings Comments Off on New Mexican Silver Jewelry from Taxco And Other Places!
Ok, it’s not ALL Mexican jewelry. The bead bracelets are from Guatemala–a very nice young man stopped in the shop with some beautiful bead work bracelets and I bought a few to see how they would sell. They are available right here. But if you’re looking for even nicer bead bracelets from Mexico, the handwork of the Huichol Indians is (in my mind) unsurpassed. Those exquisite and super liquid-y designs are right here but not in the above photo.
The slightly more contemporary designs of a Oaxacan arracada (bottom left corner and top right corner) are from another person who dropped into the shop, a Mexican-American woman visiting Minneapolis from Los Angeles. They are .925 silver and are beautiful. Fancy but not over the top. Those are available right here.
The lavender sachet is lovely and I bought a bunch of them in Guanajuato. They are embroidered and then some old Mexican coins are attached at the corner. Lovely gifts available here.
In the middle right box are a pair of Mazahua earrings with kissing lovebirds and a single drop. They are from just outside Mexico City and are a tried and true every day earring. The kissing birds are very typical of Mazahua earrings and they represent love, peace and serenity. Available here.
All of the others I purchased on my last trip to Mexico in Taxco. Some are traditional motifs and some are a twist on the traditional. One of them is an Aztec design combined with dangles to make a more contemporary earring. They are all sterling silver and they are all for pierced ears. Click on the following to find them:
Filigree Dangle, Upper left corner
Winged Birds with Dangles, Upper Middle (contact me, I forgot to put them on the website)
Oxidized Silver Sacred Hearts, Middle left
Aztec Motif with Dangles, Lower Middle
As always if you have any questions, please contact me below!
Saludos, Anne
Unpacking the New Mexican Folk Art Shipment from Mexico!
Posted: September 7, 2012 Filed under: .925 SIlver, Mexican Crafts, Mexican Earrings, Mexican Folk Art, Mexican Jewelry, Mexican silver jewelry, Religious Folk Art, Silver jewelry from Mexico | Tags: Mexican crafts, Mexican folk art, Mexican jewelry, Mexican silver, Silver jewelry from Mexico Comments Off on Unpacking the New Mexican Folk Art Shipment from Mexico!
Remember a few short weeks ago, I was in Taxco, and other cities hunting for new Mexican folk art, Mexican silver jewelry and beautiful handmade Mexican crafts? The shipment has arrived! And now I’m slowly unpacking, pricing and doing the paper work of keeping track of over 700 items that I purchased for Dia de Los Muertos and the holiday season. I’m starting to put a few things out in the shop and eventually hope to get many of them on the website.
There are LOTS of beautiful Mexican talavera ceramics but I haven’t reached those yet (next week, I hope!). Here you can see a few things that are in the Mexican religious category (the upside down saint with the inscription, ” Beautiful Tonito, send me a man who wants to be my husband”), a couple of ceramics (the Capula pitcher and the talavera canisters) and a couple of pieces of gorgeous .925 Mexican silver jewelry. Also, a bunch of new small Mexican glass pitchers and wineglasses!
People ask me all the time if I have a favorite destination in Mexico. I can honestly say that I truly love all of the great country of Mexico but I especially love the regions that make handmade Mexican crafts–Guerrero, Jalisco, Michoacan, Guanajuato, Puebla, Oaxaca, Chiapas and the Federal District. One can find Mexican folk art almost anywhere, including the coasts and resort towns, but I prefer to hunt it down in the small towns, workshops, markets and coops in the central regions. I also prefer buying directly from the artisan whenever I can and personally selecting the most unusual and beautiful pieces of Mexican folk art.
None of these things are on the website–they are either too fragile for shipping or I just haven’t gotten around to it yet but if you are interested in something in these photos, just fill out the form at the bottom of the page and I’ll get back to you! Or if you click on the photos you’ll be taken to the Zinnia Folk Arts Online Shop so you can see what IS on the website!
Saludos!
Anne from Zinnia Folk Arts
Handmade Silver Jewelry from Mexico
Posted: August 19, 2012 Filed under: .925 SIlver, Jewelry, Mexican Crafts, Mexican Earrings, Mexican Jewelry, Mexican Style, Unique gifts & Jewelry | Tags: handmade, Mexican crafts, Mexican jewelry, Mexican silver, silver earrings Comments Off on Handmade Silver Jewelry from Mexico
Here are a few photos of our latest shipment of silver beauties from Mexico. Some of these pieces can be purchased from the website. If you’re interested in the others you can send me an email with an inquiry.
All of them are in the shop at 826 West 50th, Minneapolis, MN…612-824-4342…Gracias!
Mexican Silver Jewelry On It’s Way to the New Folk Art Shop
Posted: April 23, 2012 Filed under: .925 SIlver, Frida Kahlo, Mexican Earrings, Mexican Jewelry, Unique gifts & Jewelry | Tags: .925 Silver, Frida Kahlo, Mexican jewelry, Mexican silver, mexican style, silver earrings Comments Off on Mexican Silver Jewelry On It’s Way to the New Folk Art Shop
Here’s another sneak peek of some of the lovely .925 silver earrings we’ll have in the shop when we open…the prices range from $140-$200 for beautiful, handmade silver earrings. Enjoy!
The earrings are available right here...
New Mexican Silver and Alpaca Jewelry
Posted: February 11, 2012 Filed under: .925 SIlver, Jewelry, Mexican Earrings, Mexican Folk Art, Mexican Jewelry, Unique gifts & Jewelry | Tags: Alpaca, Frida Kahlo, handmade, Mexican jewelry, Mexican silver, Virgin of Guadalupe Comments Off on New Mexican Silver and Alpaca Jewelry
Click on the photo or here to read more!
Unique Gifts? We’ve got them! Where? Zinnia Folk Arts at GUILD
Posted: December 16, 2011 Filed under: Christmas, Jewelry, Mexican Earrings, Mexican Holidays, Mexican Jewelry, Milagros, Navidad, Religious Folk Art, Santos | Tags: Christmas, GUILD Collective, handmade, Josefina Aguilar, Mexican ceramics, Mexican dishes, Mexican folk art, Mexican holidays, Mexican jewelry, Mexican silver, Navidad, Ornaments, Religious folk art, Textiles, Wood Carvings Comments Off on Unique Gifts? We’ve got them! Where? Zinnia Folk Arts at GUILD
Zinnia Folk Arts at GUILD
4414 Excelsior Blvd
St. Louis Park, MN
Friday & Saturday, Dec 16, 17: 10-6
Sunday, Dec 18: 12-5
Monday-Friday, Dec 19-23: 10-6 (Yes, we’re open on Monday next week)
Saturday, Dec 24: 10-3
CLOSED on Christmas & Monday, Dec 26
Tuesday, Dec 27: 10-6
Select Online orders by Saturday, Dec 17 to assure Christmas delivery
More Mexican Jewelry Gift Ideas
Posted: December 14, 2011 Filed under: .925 SIlver, Jewelry, Mexican Earrings, Mexican Folk Art, Textiles, Unique gifts & Jewelry | Tags: Alpaca, filagree, handmade, Mexican folk art, Mexican jewelry, Mexican silver, sacred hearts, silver earrings 1 Comment
Christmas is right around the corner so, for you jewelry aficionados, here are a few ideas at different prices.
From left to right starting in the top row:
1. Silver Filagree, $75
2. Silver Open Heart with Dangles, $74.50
3. Silver Earrings with Dragons, $75
4. Alpaca Hand Earrings, $18
5. Lucha Libre Mask Necklace, $18
6. Stunning Silver with Pearl Earrings $95
7. Silver Hummingbird with Red Bead $70
8. Alpaca Sacred Hearts Earrings, $18
9. Alpaca Bracelet, Small, $32
If you’re looking for something in particular, be sure to send us a note and we’ll check to see if we have it!
Zinnia Folk Arts 