\u201cMy mentor said he didn\u2019t want the art form to die with him,\u201d C\u00e1rdenas told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cI was really excited because I felt like I wasn\u2019t just teaching a workshop to teach it.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MarqueArtYouthExhibition-1024x576.jpg\")
Local artist Arely C\u00e1rdenas and teaching assistant Lucia Muerta taught middle school students maque y la laca perfilada, a traditional lacquer art form from Michoac\u00e1n, Mexico. Photo by Maryanne Casas-Perez.<\/p>\n
C\u00e1rdenas returned to her family\u2019s hometown of Uruapan, Michoac\u00e1n last winter for the first time in nearly 18 years \u2014 searching for an elder artisan who specialized in maque y la laca perfilada, or Mexican lacquerware,\u00a0where artisans use intricate hand-painted designs outlined in gold to decorate lacquered wood and dried gourds.<\/p>\n
She found Hector Zarco Vargas, who C\u00e1rdenas said is one of the last people in Uruapan still teaching the art form. Over four days, he taught her the intricate painting techniques while sharing he continued teaching local children the art to keep it alive.<\/p>\n
Returning to San Jose, C\u00e1rdenas built a weeklong curriculum introducing students ages 10 to 13 to the traditional art form while encouraging them to tell their own stories through it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think more powerful than teaching someone how to develop a skill is how you made them feel when they were learning,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
That philosophy resonated with Medina, who almost didn\u2019t sign up for the workshop.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t sure because I\u2019m not good at socializing and talking to people,\u201d Medina told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cBut \u2026 I love art, so (I thought) it would be good to learn more about art, do art and make new friends.\u201d<\/p>\n
As she learned the careful gold outlines, layered colors and floral patterns characteristic, Medina also learned about the history behind the tradition.<\/p>\n
The lacquer art traces its origins to Indigenous communities in Michoac\u00e1n, where artisans decorated wooden objects, gourds and furniture using natural oils, minerals and pigments long before Spanish colonization. Over centuries, Indigenous techniques blended with European artistic influences, evolving into the intricate floral and wildlife designs recognized today.<\/p>\n
The tradition has survived through generations of artisans who teach the craft by hand, often within families or apprenticeships.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m glad I took this art class because it showed me a lot of the history behind the maque art, and I got more connected to my culture,\u201d Medina said.<\/p>\n
For 13-year-old Nevaeh Gonzalez, the tradition inspired a monarch butterfly honoring her own grandmother. By the beginning of opening night, the painting had already sold.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhenever I see a monarch butterfly I think of her (my grandmother),\u201d Gonzalez told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MarqueArtYouthExhibition-2-1024x576.jpg\")
Nevaeh Gonzalez, 13, made her maque y la laca perfilada butterfly painting inspired by her late grandma. Photo by Maryanne Casas-Perez.<\/p>\n
C\u00e1rdenas\u2019 workshop was hosted through Local Color\u2019s Color Me Rad youth program<\/a>, which gives students the chance to learn directly from professional artists, exhibit their work in a gallery and receive a $100 stipend recognizing the value of their creative work.<\/p>\n \u201cAll labor, including creative artistic labor, has a value,\u201d Carmen Gaines, deputy director of Local Color, told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cWe want to make sure that kids know, even at a young age, you\u2019re creating work, you\u2019re spending time creating work or exhibiting work \u2014 that has value.\u201d<\/p>\n As families wandered through Noble Gallery stopping to admire hummingbirds, monarch butterflies and colorful floral designs outlined in gold, C\u00e1rdenas saw more than a week\u2019s worth of student artwork.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m passing on something that was passed on to me,\u201d C\u00e1rdenas said.<\/p>\n Contact Maryanne Casas-Perez at [email\u00a0protected]<\/a> or @CasasPerezRed on X.<\/p>\n![\"In-line](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/interactive-321838904008.png\")
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