This owl sculpture by Rocio Fabian is a truly exquisitepiece. The copal wood has been carved into a powerful, upward-reaching form, with the owl caught mid-landing, wings spread wide and high above the body in a bold, asymmetric arc. The large fan of feathers above seems to completely defy the weight of the wood. Each feather has been carved in relief with sharp, layered detail; consistently, each one maintains its shape across the entire spread of the wing.
The palette marks a dramatic shift in this piece. Rocío has selected a bold mix of deep charcoal gray, near-black, and burnished gold, giving the owl a nocturnal, almost otherworldly appearance.
In Mesoamerican tradition, the owl was revered as a keeper of hidden knowledge, a creature whose gift of night vision made it a natural guardian of secrets and a symbol of profound wisdom. In Zapotec belief, its ability to navigate the darkness with perfect clarity connected it to the sacred, a spirit that could perceive what ordinary eyes could not.
What makes this piece even more extraordinary is that the entire sculpture, body, base, and that great sweeping wing with all its individually defined feathers, has been carved from a single piece of copal wood. No joints, no assembly, no room for error!
