Hand Painted Green Turtle on Copal Wood Bookmark from Mexico, "Reading Turtle"

Enjoy reading every book on your list while forging a bond with this little turtle as it remembers exactly where you left off. Ready to live amongst books for years to come, this turtle bookmark starts life in Oaxaca at the Mendez family home, where Pablo carves and polishes local copal wood that his wife, Lucy hand-paints in a motif inspired by the alebrije style unique to Mexico. The husband-and-wife artisans transform their dreams into fantastical animal figures that sprout from mundane tree branches.

The brainchild of the famed Mexican artist Pedro Linares, alebrije blossomed in 1936 as his reaction to the fantastical world imagined while drifting in and out of consciousness during a battle with serious illness. Animal characters abound in Linares' imagined world, existing in forms that simultaneously embody diverse creatures and environments.