Visit Mexico!

I've got a poster in my house that belonged to my grandparents. In it, a robust and smiling young maiden with long black braids and (yes) nipples erect under her shirt holds a basket of fruit with her impossibly long arms and beckons you to "Visit Mexico." I've always loved doing just that, although most of my visits have been confined to Baja or the Yucatan.

But last week I went to Oaxaca. We were lucky enough to have friends who had been multiple times and so were taken to see all the "best" places. In addition, they are friends with a number of wood carvers and we spent several days visiting carvers' homes and shops (which were typically just a shelf or two in their house). We helped one carver, Saul Aragon, set up an Etsy shop. Be sure to check it out.

Here's a smattering of my photos, including some that may appear in a story I'll be writing for Etsy on the wood carvers and for Magic Patch on Oaxacan textile traditions. Iowa looks pretty monochromatic after a week in Oaxaca.