Master Oaxacan Artist Elvis Castillo
         featured at California Gift Show        

Woodcarvers created a brand new art form less than 50 years ago, when began carving lively creatures from the rare green copal tree wood, the Aztec “tree of heavens” from the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca.  The gnarled pliable copal grows aggressively in the high elevations above Oaxaca City.
 
One of Oaxaca’s preeminent artists, Elvis Castillo, an internationally renowned artist being featured by ibiz360 at the California Gift Show, has been carving for more than 20 years. He has given exhibitions in Los Angeles, New York, San Diego, Texas, Maryland and throughout Mexico.
 
“Ever since I was a boy, I’ve loved art. I watched my dad carve wood when I was a kid.  My father was a mango, lemon and tomato farmer.  We were very poor; he just carved to make toys for his six children.”
 
Elvis forms the copal, working with large machetes and chisels to small pocketknives.  After drying in the hot Oaxaca sun, the object becomes lighter and harder. A sealer is used to protect it from insects.
 
Copal trees are now in short supply in areas that it once flourished, potentially threatening the new art form. 
 
“My ethics will not allow me to cut a tree down, but for every branch I cut, I plant 10 more trees.   I probably plant more than 400 seeds a year.”
 
Zapotec characters and traditions inspire Elvis’ art, with colors often from the natural seeds and plants.
 
Elvis’ art is known not only for its whimsical images, but also for the intricately detailed designs he paints upon them.  His tools are also part of his art, including a carved cactus needle and a used Bic pen that he has recycled into a paintbrush with excess cat fur. “I use the fur from the stomach; it’s the softest.”
 
Elvis resides in the village his family has lived in for four generations, San Martin Toxpalan, in the hills above Oaxaca city. His success has created many jobs in his village, vitalizing the local economy. He resides with his wife Claudia, a dentist, and two children. Their sons, Elvis, Jr. and Sied, help him in his art studio.