The Maya Trading Company is pleased to announce the first Day of the Dead Celebration to be held at Urban Art on Saturday, October 30^th from 6-10pm. The event will coincide with the Closing Reception at Istvan Gallery, which currently features the work of Lori Oden and Kate Rivers. 

“The Day of the Dead is a time that we can honor our departed family members and friends, but it is also an opportunity to laugh and enjoy the present,” said Milo Borges, co-owner of the Maya Trading Company.

The celebration will feature performances by Aztec dancers and musicians and Mexican cuisine from local restaurants. The Maya Trading Company will present authentic and unique handcrafted Day of the Dead items including dancing skulls, painted sugar skull heads, and catrina figures made by artisans in Mexico. Local artists will create Day of the Dead altars utilizing papel picado, which is colorful, handcut paper, and other traditional items such as pottery, calaveras (skulls), and fruit. The public will have an opportunity to participate by adding photographs, notes, or other items of remembrance to an interactive altar installation during the celebration.

Day of the Dead (El Día de los Muertos) has been celebrated in Mexico since pre-Spanish times and is a special day in which the living lovingly remember departed relatives and friends. For centuries, skillful Mexicans have created fascinating art expressions of the Day of the Dead and transformed wood, clay, tin, and paper into magnificently decorated skulls and catrinas, exquisite candelabras, joyous trees of life, and humorous skeletons.

“What I found so fascinating by experiencing Day of the Dead celebrations while living in Mexico was that rather than fear death, Mexicans laugh at it…there’s a very definite element of humor in Day of the Dead,” said Amber Sharples, co-owner of the Maya Trading Company.

We invite you to join us to delight in an impressive selection of artisan craft and enjoy delicious Day of the Dead pastries and Mexican food. The event is free, open to the public and will include entertainment, Mexican-inspired hors d’oeuvres, and beverages.

For additional information, contact Amber Sharples at (405) 604-2668 or amber@mayatradingcompany.com. Para obtener más información sobre este evento, por favor, contacte Milo Borges al (405) 604-2668 ó milo@mayatradingcompany.com.

Save the Date! Tax Free Weekend August 6th, 7th and 8th

Mark your calendars for the tax-free weekend this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, August 6th – 8th! Our exclusive line of beaded masks, black pottery, and papier-mâché handmade works of art and home décor products will be 10% off in conjunction with the tax-free weekend!

Huge Jewelry Sale at Maya Trading Company

Our entire line of jewelry is 25% off for the entire month of August! We are highlighting the handmade jewelry of Angelina Villalba. Angelina is an artisan of Nahua heritage. She currently resides in Mexico City, the capital of the former Aztec empire. A fluent Nahua speaker – the language of the Aztec culture – she continues the indigenous tradition of creating sophisticated jewelry from materials such as coconut shell and glass beads. A specialist in handcrafted beaded jewelry, Angelina exemplifies how the next generation of artisans has mastered traditional materials and techniques while experimenting with funky styles and colors. Go back to school with a special unique accessory that will set you apart from the rest of the class!

Opening Reception on Friday, August 13^th

Maya Trading Company will be open on Friday, August 13^th from 7:00pm-9:00pm during Isvtan Gallery’s Opening Reception featuring the work of Lori Oden and Kate Rivers. Be sure to stop by!

Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) Celebration at MTC – Saturday, October 30^th!

MTC has set the date for the first Día de los Muertos celebration at Urban Art. This will be an event that you won’t want to miss!

Barro Negro (Black Clay) pottery by Edmundo Mateo (Zapotec)

Edmundo Mateo is a Zapotec artisan who has been working with barro negro for over four decades.

Barro negro is one of the crafts most strongly identified with Oaxaca and one of the most popular styles of pottery in Mexico. Known for its lustrous sheen and plant designs, each contemporary piece of barro negro carries a decorative, textured, often floral motif. When the piece is almost completely dry, it is polished with a quartz stone to produce the satin luster surface.

Primarily created by families in the small town of San Bartolo Coyotepec in the southern state of Oaxaca, the origins of this pottery style extend as far back as the Monte Alban period. The ancient Zapotecs fashioned barro negro into jars and other articles for utilitarian purposes. For almost all of its history, barro negro has been available only in a matte grayish finish. Until about 50 years ago, the vessels were also used to transport mescal from hillside farms down to the local communities where it was sold in the markets.

Plastic jugs were introduced into the area and the much heavier clay containers were soon abandoned. Facing the demise of their livelihood, potters were forced to find new applications for their products.

In the 1950s, a potter by the name of Doña Rosa discovered that she could change the color and sheen of the pieces by polishing the clay piece and firing it at a slightly lower temperature. Her “secret” process was eventually uncovered and emulated by many villagers as the popularity of this new style of pottery grew. The locally dug clay is actually red, and it is the surface that blackens after it is fired in home built brick ovens, underground fire pits or kilns. After firing, the piece emerges a shiny black instead of a dull gray.

The color of barro negro is due to the properties of the clay, and is not colored. The earth used to extract the clay is cleaned to remove impurities, which can take a month of soaking and settling out the clay from the rest. After this process, each piece takes about twenty days to complete.

Traditionally, the clay is molded on plates balanced on rocks to that they can be spun by hand. Modern potters’ tools are not used. Large pieces, such as cantaros are fashioned from the bottom up adding clay as the piece grows. After it is shaped, the pieces are set to dry in a well-insulated room to protect them from sudden changes in temperature. Drying can take up to three weeks. When the piece is almost dry, it is polished. The surface of the piece is lightly moistened and then rubbed with a curved quartz stone. This compacts the surface of the clay. At this stage, decorative accents such as clay flowers or small handles are added. The designs of barro negro objects are unique to this area. The pieces are then fired in brick ovens, underground pits, or above ground kilns, using wood fires that heat the objects to between 700 and 800°C. When they emerge, the shine is metallic in nature.

The Mateo family alfareria is located in San Bartolo Coyotepec about 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) south of Oaxaca and is the biggest in the village. The workshop is still in the family home, where shelves and shelves of shiny black pieces for sale line the inner courtyard.

Urban Art Welcomes the Maya Trading Company

Maya Trading Company is a gallery and retail space that offers a distinctive selection of fine craft made by artisans in Mexico and Central America. Founded by Milo Borges and Amber Sharples, the mission of Maya Trading Company is to support indigenous artisans and present original products of superior craftsmanship for your decorating, gift giving, and collecting needs. Our exclusive line from handpicked artists features jewelry and accessories, home décor, and works of art of the highest quality for the beginning to established collector.

Come visit us and check out our artist’s handcrafted works of art at our Grand Opening and Open House, May 14-16, 2010.


Bienvenidos a Maya Trading Company

Maya Trading Company es una galeria de exhibicion y punto de venta en donde podran encontrar una gran variedad de fina arte hecha por artesanos Mexicanos y de Centro America. Fundada por Milo Borges y Amber Sharples, nuestra mision es apoyar a los artesanos indigenas y presentar productos originales de la mas alta calidad artesanal para sus decoraciones, regalos y los mas exigentes coleccionistas de arte. Nuestra magnifica linea de collares y brazaletes, arte huichol, asi como la gama de espejos o articulos decorativos son completamente fabricados a mano con la mas alta calidad de produccion artesanal

Danos la oportunidad de mostrarte el poder hispano del arte indigina y otorgate una vision de nuestras raices.

-Amber y Milo