Oaxifornia2013bsm2c

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Catálogo2014

un proyecto colavorativo entre artesanos y diseñadores en Oaxaca, México

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Oax-i-fornia

Oax-i-fornia is an academic project using play as

a catalyzer for collaboration and exchange between

artisans, designers, and artists, since 2005.

Directed by designer Raul Cabra in collaboration with

Universities in Mexico and the US, the project is

currently based at the Ex-Hacienda de Guadalupe in San

Jerónimo Tlacochahuaya, Oaxaca.

The project’s main goal, is to broaden creative

opportunities for local artisans through multidisciplinary

and collaborative work with other professionals in visual

and creative fields thereby providing spaces for ancestral

traditions to assert themselves in a contemporary world.

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A Oax-i-fornia object is an artifact that by genesis,

oscillates between worlds. It is an object that is not

easily definable as either craft, design or art, but

that hovers somewhere in between all these disci-

plines, incorporating aspects of each into a new and

cohesive whole. They are novel objects, which follow

a local way of making, but negate the formal quali-

ties that time has imposed on tradition. They bring

together the best of experience and experimentation

into a conceptual realm that is as intriguing to the

viewer as it to its makers, not fully apprehensible to

either at first glance. They are open objects; objects

that enlist the user dynamically and creatively not

only through the enactment of the formal aspects in-

herent to their use but also in the way in which they

invite a range of conceptual connections, forging an

intimate space for dialogue and enunciation.

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COLLECTIONS

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EsperanzaSIE R R A J U A R E Z

(SILK COCOONS)

In the 1940s, representatives of the government arrived

in towns in the Sierra Juarez with seedlings of mulberry

trees; a number of years later they returned with

silkworms. In this way, the craft of weaving silk

was revived in the sierra. For decades, the family

of Esperanza has raised silkworms, spun silk from the

cocoons, and woven silk rebozos, working for months

to create a single, extraordinary piece. As a child,

Esperanza collected the cast-off cocoons that could not

be used for weaving and fashioned whimsical animals; now,

out of these same cocoons, she creates jewelry and other

objects of incredible intricacy and breadth. During Oax-

i-fornia’s workshop, the explorations centered around the

luminescence in the material, as well as collaborations

with her siblings through work that brings harmony to

weaving, macramé and cocoons. From these experiments

emerge diaphanous, seemingly impermanent pieces, like

subtle memories of her prodigious hands and impeccably

trained eye, pushing the boundaries of the material and

its qualities.

with Z A R A L O G U E F I N E A R T S

A D E L A I D A M E J Í A D E S I G N

H E A T H E R M U N Z E R F I N E A R T S

S I T A B A U M I K F I N E A R T S

R O S A L I E W I L D D E S I G N

E M A N U E L D E S I G N

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C A P U L L O

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O L A

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B O U Q U E T C U E N T A S

S E M I L L A S

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C U E N T A S Y F L O R E S

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P O D S

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R E B O Z O Y C A P U L L O

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C A M P A N A S E N R E D A D E R A

T O R N A S O L

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G O T A S T E J I D A SE N R E D A D E R A P E T A L O S

F L O R E S

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A V E

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P A S T O C U E N T A S

R O S A S

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P O P P Y

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B O U Q U E T C I R C U L O S

P R I M A V E R A

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C I R C U L O S

B E G O N I A S

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AlexVAL L E D E T L A C O L U L A

(COTTON GARMENTS)

Two generations ago, Alex’s family started making cotton

clothing with the desire of preserving colors and designs

through a dynamic, progressive fashion. Alex brings to

that tradition his professional knowledge in accounting

and business, which has allowed him to strenghten the

family venture. For him, Oax-i-fornia has offered the

experiencce of encountering a new creative process and the

possibility of exploring the tension between tradition

and innovation through the play and fusion of material

and form, as well as the opportunity to establish work

relationships with other artisans such as weavers and

screen printers in his constant search for new ideas,

but still rooted in tradition. Alex was the recipient of

the FONAES 2011 national award for young entreprenuers in

artisanal families for his work with Oax-i-fornia.

with K A Z N A K A N I S H I D E S I G N

E M I L Y J A N F I N E A R T S

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O J A L Y B O T O N

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B O T Ó N J E W E L

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OrozcoTLA C O L U L A V A L L E Y

(PEDAL LOOM)

Each time the shuttle shoots across Orozco’s loom he

is reminded of his grandfather, who became his primary

caretaker after the untimely death of his father, a fighter

for social rights. He began teaching him the craft of the

pedal loom when Alfredo was only six years old. Alfredo

now has his own weaving workshop while his wife Veronica

and his older son, eleven year old Yaolt, specialize

in making fringes and tassels. In addition to weaving,

Alfredo is an accomplished master and teacher of Wu-

Shu martial arts. The discipline and physical strength

required in Wu-Shu are also necessary in the dance-like

choreography of weaving on the pedal loom.

Alfredo was enthusiastic to collaborate with students in

the Oax-i-fornia workshop experimenting with materials,

while pushing the boundaries of technique and the loom

itself.“I want to produce more innovative designs and

develop new uses for my craft. I want to expand the idea

of what craft can be.”

with E M I L Y G I B S O N D E S I G N

M A D E L E I N E Z I N N W R I T I N G

I S E L A B R I C E Ñ O F A S H I O N

D I G N A G O N Z A L E S D E S I G N

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M I S S M A N N E R S

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S W A T C H

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P A R A I S O

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M O L U S K O

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MargaritaVAL L E D E T L A C O L U L A

(TOTOMOXTLE)

Creating beautiful objects out of ordinary corn husks

is nothing new for Margarita. She grew up helping her

father, an artisan of china paper, make complex moving

paper displays. In the early 1970s she participated in

a course sponsored by the Oaxaca State Government which

introduced her to the tradition of Totomochtle, using

corn husks to shape ornate flowers and dolls. Thirty

years of refining her technique have not shut her eyes

to new creative experiences however. To her, Oax-i-

fornia was a priceless opportunity for the encounter

of different personalities and countless ideas, where

materials serve not simply for the creation of concrete

functional objects, but in time, also as substance of

poetic abstract gestures.

with N A O K O O K A B E F I N E A R T S

L U I S E N R I Q U E G A R C Í A D E S I G N

J O A N N A P A U L L I N T E R I O R A R C H I T E C T U R E

A L I S S A G O S S C E R A M I C S

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S U S H I

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E S L A B O N

S U S H I

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N U D O

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P A P E L

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CesarOAX A C A D E J U A R E Z (SILVER)

Cesar has been working silver and filigrine for over

twenty years. Self taught, he observed and learned the

various techniques for traditional jewelry making in

Oaxaca, practiced since colonial times. Over time, he

also developed several techniques of his own, such as the

ingenious use of rubber stamps for quickly creating molds

from two dimensional forms. During Oax-i-fornia, he teamed

up with CCA Jewelry maker Beth Morris from Oakland, to

create a series of locally inspired pieces that poetically

echo not only the city and its surroundings, but also the

fantastic biodiversity that Oaxaca is famous for.

with B E T H M O R R I S M E T A L W O R K

R A U L C A B R A D E S I G N

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G U A N A C A S T L E

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G U A J E

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C H I C H A R O

C U A P I N O L

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A G U A C H A R M

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A G U A P E N D A N T

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A G U A K E Y

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A G U A P E N D A N T

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Doña MagdaVAL L E D E T L A C O L U L A

(CARRIZO WEAVING)

The families of Magdalena and her husband Timoteo’s have

each been working with carrizo for four generations. Like

the traditional baskets they make, many generations of the

two families are interwoven into a community of linked

houses in the middle of the Tlacolula Valley, in Oaxaca.

For 36 years, Magda has been weaving traditional carrizo

baskets, and more recently she has begun to expand

her range. Four of her children are still at home and

participate in the family’s craft. For the Oax-i-fornia

studio, she involved another eight of her family members

in creating a range of objects that playfully engage the

intricacies of weaving through sensuous and enigmatic

forms, a way of revitalizing not only object but also use,

value and perception.

with R I E H I R A I FI N E A R T S

M I C H E L L E M A R T Í WO O D F U R N I T U R E

Z A K T I M A N GL A S S

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E S T R E L L A

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A L M E J A

Y O Y O

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M A G D A

M A T E O

R E V E S

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M A T E O

R E V E S

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B L O W F I S H

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M A N T E L E T A

M A G D A

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R U E D A S

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M A T E O

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B I Z N A G A C H A I R S

M A T E O

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Maestro SosaOAX A C A

(WOOD CARVING)

Who would have thought that an encounter with the devil

could help one recuperate from illness and start a whole

new profession? That is precisely what happened to Jesús

Sosa Calvo, a woodcarver of alebrijes when he was thirty

years old. Maestro Sosa was on mandatory bed rest after

a serious illness when his wife bought him a piece of

copal wood and suggested that he attempt to carve.

Completely self-taught, only a month later he took a

chance and decided to enter an alebrije contest. He won

second place for a woodcarving he created of the devil.

This initial success led him and his entire family on a

new life path.

Sosa’s work continues to thrive as he is constantly

challenging himself as the case of the Oaxifornia

project, where the challenge moves him from narrative

to abstraction, in a search to make use of discarded

pieces of wood full of knots and imperfection and thus

useless for Alebrijes, now the very elements that trigger

creativity and guide the knowing hand.

with J A Y D I O N F I N E A R T S

J O Y U M A L I W O O D F U R N T I U R E

N A T A L I A N A K A S A W A F I N E A R T S

H A N N A V O G E L C E R A M I C S

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H U E S O S

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A L E B R I J E S

H U E S O S

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A L E B R I J E S

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H U E S O S

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A L E G O R I A S

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A S E M B L I J E S

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newOBJECTS

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Jaime y LorenaVAL L E D E E T L A

(CLAY)

with C A R L O S F R A N C O DE S I G N

M I C H E L L E B R O W N PH O T O G R A P H Y

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P I E D R A S

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M O L C A J E T E S C H I C O S

Mtro ZacariasVAL L E D E T L A C O L U L A (STONE)

with R A U L C A B R A DE S I G N

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F R U T E R O

106

Colectivo BiidauuVAL L E D E T L A C O L U L A

(WOOL)

with C A T H E R I N E I S A A C S DE S I G N

A B E L I N O R O B L E S AR C H I T E C T U R E

W A H E G U R U K H A L S A FI N E A R T S

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T E O T I

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B O C H O

M A P A

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Fernando NietoVAL L E S D E O C O T L Á N

(CLAY)

with R A U L C A B R A DE S I G N

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Felipe MartinezVAL L E S C E N T R A L E S

(SEEDS)

with J I M E N A B I R O G U E R R E S I IN D U S T R I A L D E S I G N

P E T E R V A N D E R P A S S IN D U S T R I A L D E S I G N

P A N A L

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T R A P E C I O F R U T O S

A V E S

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C A L D E R L L U V I A

S O L A R

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N I D OC U E N T A S

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117G U A R A C H E S

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Juan Manuel BautistaMIX T E C A B A J A

(EMBROIDERY + NATURAL DYES)

with C A T H E R I N E I S A A C S DE S I G N

A B E L I N O R O B L E S AR C H I T E C T U R E

W A H E G U R U K H A L S A FI N E A R T S

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S P I N E

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H A N D S

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M O S Q U I T O

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D E V I L

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(WWW.OAXIFORNIA.ORG)

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Oax-i-fornia

Oax-i-fornia is an academic project using play as

a catalyzer for collaboration and exchange between

artisans, designers, and artists, since 2005.

Directed by designer Raul Cabra in collaboration with

Universities in Mexico and the US, the project is

currently based at the Ex-Hacienda de Guadalupe in San

Jerónimo Tlacochahuaya, Oaxaca.

The project’s main goal, is to broaden creative

opportunities for local artisans through multidisciplinary

and collaborative work with other professionals in visual

and creative fields thereby providing spaces for ancestral

traditions to assert themselves in a contemporary world.

14

A Oax-i-fornia object is an artifact that by genesis,

oscillates between worlds. It is an object that is not

easily definable as either craft, design or art, but

that hovers somewhere in between all these disci-

plines, incorporating aspects of each into a new and

cohesive whole. They are novel objects, which follow

a local way of making, but negate the formal quali-

ties that time has imposed on tradition. They bring

together the best of experience and experimentation

into a conceptual realm that is as intriguing to the

viewer as it to its makers, not fully apprehensible to

either at first glance. They are open objects; objects

that enlist the user dynamically and creatively not

only through the enactment of the formal aspects in-

herent to their use but also in the way in which they

invite a range of conceptual connections, forging an

intimate space for dialogue and enunciation.

EsperanzaSIE R R A J U A R E Z

(SILK COCOONS)

In the 1940s, representatives of the government arrived

in towns in the Sierra Juarez with seedlings of mulberry

trees; a number of years later they returned with

silkworms. In this way, the craft of weaving silk

was revived in the sierra. For decades, the family

of Esperanza has raised silkworms, spun silk from the

cocoons, and woven silk rebozos, working for months

to create a single, extraordinary piece. As a child,

Esperanza collected the cast-off cocoons that could not

be used for weaving and fashioned whimsical animals; now,

out of these same cocoons, she creates jewelry and other

objects of incredible intricacy and breadth. During Oax-

i-fornia’s workshop, the explorations centered around the

luminescence in the material, as well as collaborations

with her siblings through work that brings harmony to

weaving, macramé and cocoons. From these experiments

emerge diaphanous, seemingly impermanent pieces, like

subtle memories of her prodigious hands and impeccably

trained eye, pushing the boundaries of the material and

its qualities.

with Z A R A L O G U E F I N E A R T S

A D E L A I D A M E J Í A D E S I G N

H E A T H E R M U N Z E R F I N E A R T S

S I T A B A U M I K F I N E A R T S

R O S A L I E W I L D D E S I G N

E M A N U E L D E S I G N

22

B O U Q U E T C U E N T A S

S E M I L L A S

39

AlexVAL L E D E T L A C O L U L A

(COTTON GARMENTS)

Two generations ago, Alex’s family started making cotton

clothing with the desire of preserving colors and designs

through a dynamic, progressive fashion. Alex brings to

that tradition his professional knowledge in accounting

and business, which has allowed him to strenghten the

family venture. For him, Oax-i-fornia has offered the

experiencce of encountering a new creative process and the

possibility of exploring the tension between tradition

and innovation through the play and fusion of material

and form, as well as the opportunity to establish work

relationships with other artisans such as weavers and

screen printers in his constant search for new ideas,

but still rooted in tradition. Alex was the recipient of

the FONAES 2011 national award for young entreprenuers in

artisanal families for his work with Oax-i-fornia.

with K A Z N A K A N I S H I D E S I G N

E M I L Y J A N F I N E A R T S

47

OrozcoTLA C O L U L A V A L L E Y

(PEDAL LOOM)

Each time the shuttle shoots across Orozco’s loom he

is reminded of his grandfather, who became his primary

caretaker after the untimely death of his father, a fighter

for social rights. He began teaching him the craft of the

pedal loom when Alfredo was only six years old. Alfredo

now has his own weaving workshop while his wife Veronica

and his older son, eleven year old Yaolt, specialize

in making fringes and tassels. In addition to weaving,

Alfredo is an accomplished master and teacher of Wu-

Shu martial arts. The discipline and physical strength

required in Wu-Shu are also necessary in the dance-like

choreography of weaving on the pedal loom.

Alfredo was enthusiastic to collaborate with students in

the Oax-i-fornia workshop experimenting with materials,

while pushing the boundaries of technique and the loom

itself.“I want to produce more innovative designs and

develop new uses for my craft. I want to expand the idea

of what craft can be.”

with E M I L Y G I B S O N D E S I G N

M A D E L E I N E Z I N N W R I T I N G

I S E L A B R I C E Ñ O F A S H I O N

D I G N A G O N Z A L E S D E S I G N

51

P A R A I S O

55

MargaritaVAL L E D E T L A C O L U L A

(TOTOMOXTLE)

Creating beautiful objects out of ordinary corn husks

is nothing new for Margarita. She grew up helping her

father, an artisan of china paper, make complex moving

paper displays. In the early 1970s she participated in

a course sponsored by the Oaxaca State Government which

introduced her to the tradition of Totomochtle, using

corn husks to shape ornate flowers and dolls. Thirty

years of refining her technique have not shut her eyes

to new creative experiences however. To her, Oax-i-

fornia was a priceless opportunity for the encounter

of different personalities and countless ideas, where

materials serve not simply for the creation of concrete

functional objects, but in time, also as substance of

poetic abstract gestures.

with N A O K O O K A B E F I N E A R T S

L U I S E N R I Q U E G A R C Í A D E S I G N

J O A N N A P A U L L I N T E R I O R A R C H I T E C T U R E

A L I S S A G O S S C E R A M I C S

63

CesarOAX A C A D E J U A R E Z (SILVER)

Cesar has been working silver and filigrine for over

twenty years. Self taught, he observed and learned the

various techniques for traditional jewelry making in

Oaxaca, practiced since colonial times. Over time, he

also developed several techniques of his own, such as the

ingenious use of rubber stamps for quickly creating molds

from two dimensional forms. During Oax-i-fornia, he teamed

up with CCA Jewelry maker Beth Morris from Oakland, to

create a series of locally inspired pieces that poetically

echo not only the city and its surroundings, but also the

fantastic biodiversity that Oaxaca is famous for.

with B E T H M O R R I S M E T A L W O R K

R A U L C A B R A D E S I G N

75

Doña MagdaVAL L E D E T L A C O L U L A

(CARRIZO WEAVING)

The families of Magdalena and her husband Timoteo’s have

each been working with carrizo for four generations. Like

the traditional baskets they make, many generations of the

two families are interwoven into a community of linked

houses in the middle of the Tlacolula Valley, in Oaxaca.

For 36 years, Magda has been weaving traditional carrizo

baskets, and more recently she has begun to expand

her range. Four of her children are still at home and

participate in the family’s craft. For the Oax-i-fornia

studio, she involved another eight of her family members

in creating a range of objects that playfully engage the

intricacies of weaving through sensuous and enigmatic

forms, a way of revitalizing not only object but also use,

value and perception.

with R I E H I R A I FI N E A R T S

M I C H E L L E M A R T Í WO O D F U R N I T U R E

Z A K T I M A N GL A S S

89

Maestro SosaOAX A C A

(WOOD CARVING)

Who would have thought that an encounter with the devil

could help one recuperate from illness and start a whole

new profession? That is precisely what happened to Jesús

Sosa Calvo, a woodcarver of alebrijes when he was thirty

years old. Maestro Sosa was on mandatory bed rest after

a serious illness when his wife bought him a piece of

copal wood and suggested that he attempt to carve.

Completely self-taught, only a month later he took a

chance and decided to enter an alebrije contest. He won

second place for a woodcarving he created of the devil.

This initial success led him and his entire family on a

new life path.

Sosa’s work continues to thrive as he is constantly

challenging himself as the case of the Oaxifornia

project, where the challenge moves him from narrative

to abstraction, in a search to make use of discarded

pieces of wood full of knots and imperfection and thus

useless for Alebrijes, now the very elements that trigger

creativity and guide the knowing hand.

with J A Y D I O N F I N E A R T S

J O Y U M A L I W O O D F U R N T I U R E

N A T A L I A N A K A S A W A F I N E A R T S

H A N N A V O G E L C E R A M I C S

102

Jaime y LorenaVAL L E D E E T L A

(CLAY)

with C A R L O S F R A N C O DE S I G N

M I C H E L L E B R O W N PH O T O G R A P H Y

104

M O L C A J E T E S C H I C O S

Mtro ZacariasVAL L E D E T L A C O L U L A (STONE)

with R A U L C A B R A DE S I G N

106

Colectivo BiidauuVAL L E D E T L A C O L U L A

(WOOL)

with C A T H E R I N E I S A A C S DE S I G N

A B E L I N O R O B L E S AR C H I T E C T U R E

W A H E G U R U K H A L S A FI N E A R T S

110

Fernando NietoVAL L E S D E O C O T L Á N

(CLAY)

with R A U L C A B R A DE S I G N

112

Felipe MartinezVAL L E S C E N T R A L E S

(SEEDS)

with J I M E N A B I R O G U E R R E S I IN D U S T R I A L D E S I G N

P E T E R V A N D E R P A S S IN D U S T R I A L D E S I G N

P A N A L

116

118

Juan Manuel BautistaMIX T E C A B A J A

(EMBROIDERY + NATURAL DYES)

with C A T H E R I N E I S A A C S DE S I G N

A B E L I N O R O B L E S AR C H I T E C T U R E

W A H E G U R U K H A L S A FI N E A R T S

119

S P I N E

128

(WWW.OAXIFORNIA.ORG)