alebrijes. colourful mexican art

This is one of the most amazing things I have ever found on the internet. Alebrijes are beautifully colourful mexican carvings made from wood or papiermache. They are fantastical animals, often combining different animal parts to create chimeara like creatures. They are wonderfully imaginative and any search for alebrijes on the internet will yield numerous unique creations from across mexico. My website has a more detailed description as to where these originally come from.

I decided I had to create my own alebrije, which was somewhat of a challenge. I began with a wire frame and built up the body using newspaper and tape. I then covered it with papiermache and gave it plenty of coats of white paint and varnish.

I made wings from thick plasticard and attached them to the sculpture with more papiermache. And that's how far I have got. Next I will need to paint the thing which will take some doing! I really need to reasearch some patterns and colourful designs: these are things I have already done and the painting is really effective: