More Mayan Crafts!

On the way out from dinner, John and I checked out his friend Caesar's wood craft store. A sampling of the works:


A traditional Mayan instrument with some Tepezquintles carved into the part you hit. The piece was carved out what looks suspiciously like bamboo... is there a native bamboo in the Americas? Or is it just all alien invasives from Asia? I've been pondering this for 5 years, I should just look it up.*




A beautiful piece of Natural Abstract sculpture. Behind it you might see a woodblock carving like the ones at Moda Maya, as well as what look suspiciously like Sonoran Palo Fierro sculptures, carved out of a local wood with similar properties.



A wooden vase with some fake flowers in it. I asked how one could put real flowers in it. Ceasar's wife replied you could put a tube in it... I'm not convinced, though it is an awesome vase.


--




* I did look it up, and it turns out the Americas are a huge repository (spanish link) of bamboo diversity! There are more than 400 species of Native Bamboo in the Americas, most of them south of the US border, although there are two species in the States. In my home US state of Virginia, any bamboo you normally see out in the woods was introduced into people's yards and has escaped, becoming a dangerous weed that can choke out entire forests and is almost impossible to stop. It seems like a plant as useful as bamboo should never become a weed, and it makes me wonder why we are cutting down Panda habitat in China to make flooring, chopsticks and decks when we have bamboo weeds that need to be cut down here at home.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

i am writing the blog about bamboo home decor , such bamboo applications make the bambo not even the music instruments, it's also an art!

Groupa Cajola said...

These crafts are beautiful, I am amazed at the skill and the quality of these pieces. If you are interested in beautiful Mayan textile products, check them out at mayamamweavers.etsy.com. We are a women owned and operated textile cooperative in Guatemala specializing in hand-woven and embroidered home goods and accessories, from head bands to hand embroidered pillows, there is truly something for everyone

collector baseball cards said...

that excellent crafts, take the dogs were very good with wood and gold course with the rock