Adult Craft: Hojalata Art
Thursday, September 83:00—5:00 PMWheaton J. Lane RoomLane Memorial Library2 Academy Ave, Hampton, NH, 03842
To Kick off Hispanic Heritage Month Kathleen will lead adult patrons in a craft class on Mexican Tin Art or “Hojalata”. All supplies will be provided. Registration is required.
Hojalata (Ho-huh-la-tuh) art is a very colorful style that became popular due to the wide availability of tin in Mexico. Tin was easy to find, and the arrival of the Spanish in Mexico introduced the locals to new and unique methods of using this material as early as the 14th century.
Leftover scraps from larger projects allowed artists a new way to express themselves- because of this, Mexican tin art (aka Hojalata) is still commonly found today. It’s used in masks, mirrors, milagros (small religious amulets), ex-votos (depictions of vows, or promises), and much more. You can see plenty of Mexico’s spirit and history shining through these colorful creations.
While the use of tin is relatively recent, this artform has deep roots in Precolumbian Mesoamerican metallurgy. Artists of the Postclassic period (900-1521 CE) Mixtec cultures of Oaxaca created elaborate metalwork jewelry designs in gold, silver, and copper using the techniques of lost-wax casting and of forging and repoussé, or hammering the metal into shape. Traditional Mixtec metalwork was often religious, depicting gods, goddesses, and sacred symbols. Today, descendants of the Mixtec and Mixtec Mestizo (mixed Native and Spanish heritage) artists of Oaxaca make elaborately forged tin metal ornaments that also have religious themes, but these take the form of Christian characters and symbols–and perhaps symbols that developed from both indigenous and Christian imagery. https://blogs.missouristate.edu/arthistory/oaxacan-metal-folk-art-researched-by-codee-ratliff/
Registration for this event has now closed.