Taller Leñateros In the heart of Chiapas, in the ancestral home of the Mayan people, in a town defined by 16th Century Spanish Colonial buildings, Taller Leñateros (The Woodlander’s Workshop), an indigenous book and paper cooperative, has been creating innovative and engaging handmade books for over thirty years. Critics are impressed with the artistic vision and technical skill that permeates each book. Don’t miss this opportunity to acquire a thoroughly original artist book at a reasonable price and to support an important group of bookmakers at the same time.
Bolom Chon: Every page is a dazzling burst of color. Stunning graphics and text in Tzotzil (one of theMayan dialects still spoken) and English are inspired by the oral literature of Mayan Mexico and the ancient songs of the Bolom Chon (an antique Mayan spell that is open to many interpretations). The many features include:   Offset printing with additional silk-screening and other decorations added. A ferocious pop-up centerfold Jaguar with a maguey-fiber tongue and whiskers. Historical and cultural background information. An audio CD with several versions of the song, Bolom Chon A colophon with the signature, animal glyph, or thumbprint of every artist. Covers made mostly from recycled cardboard boxes mixed with coffee and printed on an 1895 Chandler & Price letterpress. Or, as the cooperative explains, “The handmade paper cover was stepped onto by the Bolom Chon so its footprints remained as a testimony of its passing through the world.” A bright yellow, Jaguar-spotted silk-screened corrugated-board carrying case. Book size: 8¼”H x 8”W. If you want an extra-special book, there are a few copies left of the original limited edition of Bolom Chon. The big difference is that instead of being offset printed, all of the pages are original woodblock and silk-screened prints. Only 99 Tzotzil/English, 50 Tzotzil/Spanish, and 20 Tzotzil/Japanese (a remarkable book!) copies were produced.
Incantations by Mayan Women: Reviewed in the New York Times, this anthology of contemporary Mayanwomen’s songs and magic spells in Tzotzil and English is illustrated with 70 original silk-screens bycontemporary Mayan artists. This book is currently on exhibition at the National Museum of Women’s Art in Washington DC, as part of the permanent collection. It has a bas-relief mask on the cover, and comes in a beautiful handmade box lined with handmade paper. 150 Mayan women worked for over 30 years to create this treasure. 10 5/8” Square, 296 pages.
Portable Mayan Altar: A case in the form of a traditional Mayan house opens to create an altar with a clay incense burner, tiny colored candles, 2 candle holders in the form of animals, and three small “Pocket Hex”books (2 ½ x 4 inches), profusely illustrated with spirit paintings by contemporary Mayan artists: Hex to Kill the Unfaithful Man, Mayan Love Charms, and Magic for a Long Life. You’ve never seen a book like this before!
Taller Leñateros is the only publishing house in Mexico run by Mayan artists. Founded in 1975 by poet Ámbar Past, the Workshop is located in San Cristóbal de Las Casas. Among its objectives are the documentation, praise, and dissemination of Amerindian cultural values in song, literature, plastic arts, and the Mesoamerican tradition of painted books. The Leñateros have produced the first books to be written,illustrated and bound (in paper of their own making) by Mayan people in over 400 years. The Workshop foments artistic creation among the most marginalized communities and benefits the ecology by recycling agricultural and industrial wastes in order to create crafts and objects of art. To place an order, CLICK HERE. They are imaginative books and they can be a valued part of your library if you act now.