Create Your Own Talavera-Inspired Coasters

Today, make your own Talavera-inspired coasters! I love this project. It’s simple, inexpensive, and fun.

Yesterday you learned about how Talavera pottery is made. It would be tough to go through all those steps at home. Most of us don’t have kilns in our houses. Instead, pick up a couple of small tiles from your local hardware store and paint your designs with glass paint.

Supplies Needed:

Small Tile
Glass Paint
Paintbrush
Pencil
Rubbing Alcohol
Cotton Balls

Cover your work space with newspaper. Clean your tile with rubbing alcohol and let it dry. (This is something an adult should help you with.)

Decide what you want to paint on your tile. If you need some inspiration, check out this site. Draw your design lightly, in pencil.

Fill in your drawing with glass paint. I filled in all the blue parts, let them dry, then filled in all the red parts and let them dry. It took a little longer to paint in sections like that, but I didn’t end up with paint all over my hands.

If you want a quicker project, try using only one color. You can find Talavera pottery that is only blue and white. Maybe those pieces will inspire you.

Glass paint needs to dry for a long time. Read the instructions on your paint. Some paints give you the option of baking your artwork. In my experience, the paints that you can bake stay on better than the ones you have to let air dry.

When your tile is completely dry, use it as a coaster or have an adult frame it and hang it on the wall.

Coasters make nice gifts for parents and grandparents.

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Frida Kahlo

Yesterday I mentioned Diego Rivera’s wife, Frida Kahlo. For a long time she was better known as Rivera’s wife than as an artist in her own right. After her death, though, she became very well known around the world. Several movies have been made about her and many books have been written. Today, you’ll learn about Frida Kahlo, the artist.

Kahlo was born in Mexico in 1907. Her life was a painful one. Even as a child she saw suffering and fighting all around her. Her parents argued a lot and were not happy together. Furthermore, the Mexican Revolution for independence from Spain began in 1910. Fighting continued for 10 years. The revolutionaries (the people fighting for Mexico) sometimes hopped the fence around Kahlo’s house and stayed for a meal and a safe night’s sleep.

It was a painful experience that led Kahlo to paint. She was studying medicine until she was in a terrible bus accident. She broke nearly every bone in her body and had stay in bed for a long time. Kahlo’s mother set up a special easel and Kahlo learned to paint. It was one of the only activities she could do from her bed. During this time she painted a lot of self-portraits. She painted more than 50 self-portraits over the course of her life. Look at this self-portrait from 1930 and this self-portrait from 1937

Kahlo was inspired by Mexican Indians, as Diego Rivera was, and she used bold colors. She painted realistic scenes but she was influenced by surrealism. For an example, look at Four Inhabitants of Mexico. Many of her paintings are quite disturbing. Because her life was painful, pain showed up in her art.

In 1929, as you know, Kahlo married Diego Rivera. Their relationship began as a friendship. Kahlo liked Rivera’s art and asked him to help her with hers. About a year later they were married.

Kahlo continued to paint until she became too sick. She created nearly 150 paintings. Frida Kahlo died in 1954.

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Create Your Own Ojo de Dios

The Huichol tribe of western-central Mexico doesn’t have TVs or computers or microwaves. They live simple lives, remaining separate from what we think of as society. Instead of a writing system, the Huichol tribe passes on knowledge and stories through traditions, ceremonies, and art. The Ojo de Dios, or God’s eye, is an example of traditional art that is used to pass down knowledge.
An Ojo de Dios is made by wrapping string around sticks. It represents the eye of God which sees and understands all things. The father weaves the inner eye when his child is born and then another layer is added each year until the child turns five. The Ojo de Dios is believed to give protection to the child.

To make your own Ojo de Dios, follow the directions below.
Supplies Needed:

Colored yarn
Two sticks or Popsicle sticks
Scissors
Glue (optional)

Gather your supplies. Your sticks should be about the same length. I recommend using thicker sticks than I used because they kept threatening to snap in half as I wove.

Cross one stick over the other to form and X. If you have small hands, use a little glue to keep the sticks from uncrossing or moving around. Wrap your piece of yarn around the cross and tie and knot. Now you’re ready to begin weaving.

Lay the bound sticks in an X in front of you with the knot on the bottom. You will begin with the upper right stick. Wrap the yarn from underneath so the end is to the left of the stick. Then flip the end back over the stick so it ends to the right. Wrap the yarn under again so the end is to the left of the stick. This makes one complete loop.
Now spin the sticks clockwise and repeat these steps on the nest stick. Continue going around until the eye begins to form. Keep in mind that as you work you are looking at the back of the Ojo de Dios.
Change colors if you’d like, or complete the entire Ojo de Dios with the same piece of yarn. To change colors, just tie a knot between the two pieces of yarn and continue weaving with the new piece. You should tie the knot over one of the sticks because it will be easier to hide. Don’t clip the first color too short. You should do a few rotations with the new color to hide the end before cutting it off.

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