About us

Zeny Fuentes and Reyna Piña, are from a Zapotec town in Oaxaca called San Martin Tilcajete, Zeny is the third generation in his family in the art of hand-carved and painted wooden figures, better known as alebrijes, he learned to carve wood When he was 7 years old, seeing his father (Epifanio Fuentes) and his grandfather (Emilio Fuentes), at first they began making toys for children, angels and saints, masks for carnival and some animals such as armadillos, lions, yokes and cats, at the beginning he He used aniline to paint these works, however over the years the color faded and they decided to use acrylic paints. A characteristic piece of the Fuentes family were the lions painted with hair and their mane was represented with agave ixtle. which we continue to preserve. 

Currently Zeny together with Reyna with more than 40 years of experience, continue this traditional art creating their own style, their artistic identity where color and sculpture have a specific meaning. 

Teaching art

One event that had a great effect on Zeny and Reyna was when they were invited to teach their work to children with disabilities at a school in Michigan. Among them was a child who did not obey, did not eat and did not pay attention. In any case, they began to teach and Zeny began to carve a log of wood into a bear, and this boy was amazed by the magic of transforming wood into an animal. I get his attention and help him make a figure with a floral sponge. When he finished, he looked quite pleased with himself. Later, their mother told them that when he got home, he was very happy. He ate and then drew Zeny, calling him Art Boy. The experience seemed to have helped him get out of his depression. When their mother said this, they felt great satisfaction. They had no idea how much they could help someone, a child, through their art. They consider art as a door that opens the world where Reyna and Zeny can show people their work.