Kicking Antelope: Jacobo & Maria Angeles

This realistic carving of an antelope demonstrates how Jacobo catches the essence of animals in his art. He captures the true character of the antelope by depicting it scratching itself with the hind hoof. The painting style is in the fantasy genre of his wife, María. Her precision and delicacy compliments her husband’s carving and her use of a wide range of colors makes us smile.

Jacobo, 35 years old, is responsible for carving pieces, while his wife, Maria, 31 years old, skillfully paints them. She includes Zapotec and other indigenous designs from southern Mexico. Jacobo and Maria come from San Martin Tilcajete, Oaxaca, which is located about 200 miles southeast of Mexico City. Their work has been featured in museums, art shows, and galleries all over North America. The couple visited the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in March of 2007 to exhibit and promote their work.

The couple are among a plethora of people carving mythical creatures with origins traceable to their ancestors. The process of making such carvings is involved and the Angeles have perfected the art. Carvings are first roughly cut by machete from seasoned wood of the copalillo tree. This tree has a sweet odor and twisted branches. The rough forms are refined with pocketknives before being sanded smooth, treated and dried, and then painted. A small figure might take five hours to carve while a larger one can take days. On top of the base coat patterns of brush strokes, dots, and other designs are added, sometimes with spines from the local maguey cactus. Every piece is uniquely created by hand and has its own character.