Anth Final Art Project

Mayan Calendar

This is just an update on my current progress with my Art & Society final project. I decided as an art topic I would recreate a Mayan calendar for a few reasons. Initially I wanted to recreate an art object of a pre-Columbian,  indigenous American culture but I wasn't sure what. I remembered the Mayan calendar painting that my girlfriend and I bought in Mexico last summer while visiting Chichen Itza and decided I would recreate it in wax since I had the access and experience with it.

Using a circular piece of wood, I slowly poured hot wax over the surface several times to form a layer about a centimeter thick. After it cooled and the edges were trimmed I mapped out the general form of how I would carve the calendar. Using several images online of Mayan calendars, I recreated the central image as well as started on the several months written in hieroglyphics.

As a side note I was really surprised and somewhat disappointed in the amount of Aztec calendar results I received when searching online for "Mayan" calendars. Almost 80%  of the search results were the Aztec calendar with the sun god in the center. The Mayan calendar has a man bearing gifts/tribute on his back while he kneels.

I'm actually pretty impressed with how the sculpture is looking so far and I am looking forward to having the finished product. Here are a couple pictures of what I have so far. Once I finish all of the details I will go back and clean it up as much as possible, redefining faint lines and collecting loose wax.