Birds of Paradise

Papel Amate, or handmade bark paper, is an art form of ancient Mesoamerica that still exists today. Otomi artisans in the Mexican state of Puebla craft the paper from mulberry or fig tree bark, then sell or trade the homemade paper to other indigenous groups for decoration.

Most of our Traditional bark paintings are by Luis Cabrera Ortiz. Luis is a Nahua from the village of San Augustin Oapan, in the Rio Balsas river valley of Guerrero. Luis and his family have been painting scenes of colorful birds and other local wildlife on handmade amate paper for three generations.

The modern technique of making traditional bark paper, or Papel Amate, is an art form with clear pre-Hispanic origins. Five hundred years ago in historic Mesoamerica, the handmade paper was originally considered a specialty of the village shaman and used only for special rituals. Today, authentic Papel Amate is still made by indigenous Otomi communities in the Sierra de Puebla mountains northeast of Mexico City. A variety of different tree barks are used, most commonly fig and mulberry tree bark. The process begins by boiling the bark mixture for 3-4 hours in salted water. Afterwards, the softened bark is rinsed and placed on a large stone tool called a Metlatl. The Metlatl is used to smash, intertwine and extend the fibers to the desired thickness and dimension. The final step is leaving the flattened fiber sheets in the sun to dry.

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