Oaxacan Ceramics Traditional Fold Art by Oaxacan Women

Prized by collectors worldwide, Oaxacan crafts are among the most popular forms of folk art today. This celebration of Mexican ceramics combines a gallery of more than one hundred stunning photographs with an insightful text that illuminates the artistry and the artists--all of whom are women. The fanciful, brightly colored works spring from the rich imaginations of rural women drawing on enduring religion, mythology, and themes from their everyday lives. Oaxacan Ceramics tells the remarkable story of six of the most renowned artisans who live and work in villages near the city of Oaxaca. Their exuberant, whimsical creations range from the fantastic to the religious, including mermaids, angels, Zapotec creatures, figures of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, vases, candle holders, and decorative plates--all finely crafted and distinctly colored. Oaxacan Ceramics paints an extraordinary portrait of a vibrant culture and its art.

Lois Wasserspring teaches at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, where she is director of Latin American Studies.

Vicki Ragan is a photographer whose works are in the permanent collections ol the Brooklyn Museum of Fine Art in New York, the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson, Arizona, and Polaroid Corporation's International Art Collection in Amsterdam. The aut