Art Hot Spot of the Month
Lake Mary Preparatory School

This month, we chose a spot quite close to home - faculty homes in fact! Over the years, we've collected many "alebrijes" or colorful wooden animals from Oaxaca, Mexico. In the 1930's, a poor shepherd living in Arrazola, Mexico, a tiny village outside the bustling city of Oaxaca, began carving crude animals from copal wood as he tended his sheep. Having several children but no money, he began to perfect his carving by making toys to keep them occupied while they were too young to work in the fields.

As the years passed, the shepherd, Manuel Jimenez began to sell these "toys" to tourists and a new art form was born. Many families around Oaxaca began to create these fanciful creatures and many styles and themes now abound! Don Manuel Jimenez and his sons traveled the world, showing their artwork in Asia, South America, the United States, and Europe. Lake Mary Prep students had the opportunity to meet Don Manuel on two occasions before he passed away in 2005. The tradition of the alebrijes continues on with the sons of Manuel Jimenez and other families such as those of Susano Morales, Luis Palo Menendez, and David Blas just to mention a few.

Flip through the pictures here and you'll see a variety of styles and colors of alebrijes from all around Oaxaca! All are from the private collections of past or present faculty members of LMP!