The Original Tin Angel

When our neighbor Mayolo understood that Amy and I needed frames for our paintings in our little village in southern Mexico, he said, “I can make them out of tin!” My first reaction was to say no. I had never shown a painting in a tin frame and considered it cheap material that is used to preserve foods. Mayolo insisted he could do something that would make us happy. We decided to try one.

Memento Mori,    Steven Boone

I don’t understand Spanish and Mayolo does not speak English⏤Amy does her best to interpret. 

We collaborated with Mayolo to use motifs from our paintings as frame elements, and, the magnificent results that Mayolo created are mind blowing.

Rooster Serendade,    Steven Boone

Mayolo delivers frames that truly delight, proving he is a master craftsman and ingenious artist.

The Key,    Amy Córdova Boone

Best Birthday,    Amy Córdova Boone

Since that first frame, he has delivered to us nine more⏤each distinctly custom made with unique embellishments that enhance the art. In fact, each piece is itself a work of art and adds great value. Thank you, to our dear friend and brother, the one and only Mayolo!

Steven Boone Fine Art

                                                                  Amy Córdova Boone

Magical To My Eyes

 

The hour before sunset is especially magical to my eyes. The light is softer and seems to take a rosy cast. Long shadows race across the landscape. For a photographer or artist it is wonderful drama.

Lately I have taken to walking just before sunset.  We have lived for over two years here in San Pedro Ixtlahuaca, Mexico and up to now never really walked around our area. Partly a fear factor for there are stray dogs and we are “gringos” that do not know the community for the most part. 

We are half way into the dry season. It has not rained for three months. All the green fields have turned brown. Somehow, there are trees that maintain their green leaves. Of course the cactus plants have not a care in the world.

There are many dirt roads that meander over the hills. I follow them, sometimes venturing into a dry field, relishing the space and quiet.

Oaxaca Textures

The central district of Oaxaca is about a forty minute drive from our home on the outskirts of town. The trip would take about half the time but Mexico is the land of speed bumps. They are called “topes.” We need to slow down and cross over at least 50 to get into town. They have a purpose: making drivers more cautious. I see fewer accidents than up north in the USA. 

After 2 1/2 years here, I can say I am still getting used to them.

Our village of San Pedro Ixtlahuaca is a typical Mexican pueblo. The main resource is the church that sits next to the municipal offices. Basic shops and a cemetery complete the picture.

Amy and I are artists and do not have issues with being alone. Our home satisfies most of our needs. We can be creative, feel insulated and comfortable, tend our land with myriad plants and be entertained at night in our living room in front of a big screen television. 

We have not known each other but a short while in the entire scheme of our lives. We married in 2018 and discovered we have had remarkably similar journeys. Both of us share sophisticated backgrounds, having lived in exceptional urban environments most of our lives. 

We go into Oaxaca several times a week for the familiar thrill of sophistication and intellect.

The above pictures are a visual taste of the vibrancy, art, culture and textures of Oaxaca, Mexico.

Summoned to a Reckoning

Vanitas, Noche Encantada, oil on linen, 30 x 40 inches (completed 12/25/2022)

In my recent painting, streaking comets represent the brevity of life. Clouds drifting past the half full moon indicate mystery, and how light of knowledge is obscured. The skeleton blowing the trumpet makes an announcement of death. Two other skeletons dance happily. They are dead and testify happiness exists in the next world too. The lone skeleton on the right is the observer representing reflection. The church setting is from where I live in Oaxaca, Mexico. It is the Santo Domingo church⏤centerpiece of the city. A church represents devotion, spirituality, the connection between earth and heaven.

Lastly, at the foot of the trumpet player, a dog, man’s loyal companion, is looking on with great attention. The breed is xoloitzcuintli. Amy and I have one. “According to Aztec belief, the Xoloitzcuintle dog, whose history dates 3,500 years, was created by Xolotl, god of death, to protect the living and guide the souls of the deceased through Mictlán, the underworld or the city of the dead. The most important function that the Xoloitzcuintles were believed to fulfill was to help the souls cross a deep and mighty river that crosses the Mictlán.” ⏤Mexico Daily Post (see an article for more about Xoloitzcuintles)

“O Son of Being! Bring thyself to account each day ere thou art summoned to a reckoning; for death, unheralded, shall come upon thee and thou shalt be called to give account for thy deeds.”  —The Hidden Words of Baha’u'llah”

Last night was New Years Eve. I walked out on our roof veranda just at midnight as the valley where our house in the village of San Pedro Ixtlahuaca shook with reverberations.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2023