REX C. CURRY/Special to the DMN

A collection of crosses adorns a bedroom wall at the Nonomaques' home.

Christina and Curt Nonomaque never planned to fall so deeply in love with Mexican folk art. The couple lives inside a gated community in Southlake – a world far removed from rural Mexico. And the French surname (pronounced NO-no-mack) reveals no clues about their shared passion for what lies across the border. But walk inside the Nonomaque front door and you'll discover a dizzying, colorful collection that spills from room to room and floods the house with the Latin love of life.

On every wall, in every niche, on the mantels and the bookcases, Mexican and New Mexican folk art fills the house. From precious and fragile works from highly sought-after artists to the inexpensive sugar skulls for the annual remembrance of the dead, Dia de los Muertos, the bright, cheery artwork mirrors the family's smiling disposition. Still, not all the neighbors get it.

The Nonomaques began collecting in 1985, when they purchased a baseball team of painted clay figures by noted Oaxacan artist Josefina Aguilar. "We loved the colors, the feeling of movement of the players and umpire and the expressions on each player's face," says Mr. Nonomaque, CEO of a health-care company.

Today the collection not only sports an impressive number of works but several rare pieces as well. One is Marie Romero Cash's La Familia , a family portrait of the Nonomaques (including Mr. Nonomaque's old red pickup truck) that's especially noteworthy because Ms. Cash, who works with clay, usually does not paint – let alone do portraits. The secret to their collecting success is that the Nonomaques consider themselves close friends with many of the artists represented in their house.

REX C. CURRY/Special to the DMN

A Harley-Davidson Nativity scene was commissioned by the couple. It shows Mary and Joseph riding off, with the Three Wise Men in formation behind them.

"We prefer meeting the artists rather than collecting through a gallery," says Mr. Nonomaque, 50. "We find most artists prefer knowing their clients and welcome collectors to their homes and studios. What they create is very personal to them, and what we collect is very personal to us."

The Noah's ark, for example, that hangs above the living-room sofa and features longhorns, rattlesnakes and deer boarding two by two was created by New Mexican artist Ernie Lujan, otherwise known as "Uncle Ernie" in the Nonomaque household.

"Curt and I first met Ernie Lujan when I was pregnant with Jonah, and we attended Spanish Market in Santa Fe," Mrs. Nonomaque says.

That was the day she and Mr. Nonomaque bought a bulto – a wooden statue of a religious figure that has been carved and painted – by Mr. Lujan called Our Lady of the Rosary, which is more than 4 feet tall.

"Because it was so large and so fragile, Ernie offered to drive it to us in Dallas rather than having it shipped. So he and [his wife] Margaret and their three children came to Dallas, and Ernie got to see where Our Lady was going to be and that she was going to a good home. And whenever Ernie and Margaret come to visit, they get to see her again," says Mrs. Nonomaque, 46.

Every piece in the house is imbued with this kind of sentiment. And, as is traditional in folk art, the recurring themes of life, death and salvation tug at the heart. It's heady stuff, these quirky works in primary colors and clay. Yet, Mrs. Nonomaque says it's the simplicity that first drew her to the genre.

REX C. CURRY/Special to the DMN

The curved wall of a staircase landing displays the couple's collection of retablos, small oil paintings on tin, zinc or wood depicting saints and often used as home altars.

"One of my favorite pieces is a very sweet, simple, unpainted carving by Patrociño Barela called Mother and Child With a Book. I loved it as soon as I saw it. It reminds me of the times when our son was young and we would read together," Mrs. Nonomaque says. "Happily, our son likes it, too. Maybe someday he will have it on a shelf in his home, and it will remind him of the times we used to read together when he was a little boy."

And that is the way it goes in the Nonomaque house: Every corner holds a kiln-fired memory; on every wall hangs an heirloom piece of the family tree. For this reason Mr. Nonomaque says that every time he enters his house, he feels blessed.

"How lucky we are to live with each piece," he says. "Since we know or knew most of the artists personally, a part of them is always with us."

Casa Mexicana, 2710 Live Oak St.

La Mariposa, 2813 N. Henderson Ave.

Owings-Dewey Fine Art, 76 E. San Francisco St., Santa Fe, N.M. www.owingsdewey.com