This is a detailed hand painted, hand-sculpted wood figure of a mother possum and three babies hand-painted in a bright orange color with blue and gold accents.  The babies are separately carved pieces that carefully link onto the mother's tail. 

Artist/Sculptor Moises Jimenez, has signed the underside of the piece which was made in Arrazola, Oaxaca.  The pieces features a pattern of black "dashes" common to the Jimenez family.

Moisés and his brother Armando are the grandsons of Manuel Jiménez, founder of the Oaxacan woodcarving tradition. In the late 1950s shepherd, Manuel Jimenez began making wooden animals. The pieces were bought by a folk art store owner in Oaxaca City. When the creatures were quickly purchased by tourists, Manuel was asked to make more. Seeing Manuel’s success, other figures began to imitate his work. Eighty other families in their town of Arrazola also make woodcarvings.

To begin the process of making a figure, Armando and Moises first carefully look through their wood pile. They say they can see the creature inside of each log. Next they carve the figure with a large knife called a machete. When completed the figure must dry for several days. Everyone in the family helps out in some way to make the pieces. Moises' children, Nancy and Eduardo, and Armando’s son Alex sand the pieces. Then wives Antonia and Oralia paint each figure.