Oaxaca de Juárez, Oaxaca

Olegario Pascual uses gourds, or mates burilados, to tell both communal and personal stories. These beautiful, engraved gourds can be representational or whimsical, with scenes depicting everyday life or bright floral, geometric, and random patterns. These gourds are handpicked then sanded smooth and left in their natural state, or painted with pigments.