We have been looking at ways to turn our passion
into profit by creating a business that is so enjoyable we’ll
never want to retire. Our focus is on Ecuador because this is where
we know, and this is where we live.
One of the great points of Ecuador is the high
quality artisans. Ecuador runs on a guild system created by the
Europeans back in the 1600s so work is unique and of such high
quality it’s not available anywhere else in the world. Yet
prices are extremely low.
Many countries have plenty of local crafts for
sale, products made by the local economy that seem fun when you
are shopping there, but upon return seem totally out of place.
You ask, “Why did I buy that?” and the handicrafts
gather dust in some closet.
Ecuador has artists…real ones that are
incredibly good. World class. The best. I brag not!
Take for example, one of our neighbors at El Meson,
a well know artist here, Diana Carrasco, who creates among other
things incredible Faberge eggs, horses and wonderful Santos (religious
statues) from wood.
Our man in Ecuador describes Diane’s work. “Diana
prides herself on the strict quality process that each and every
piece passes through. Each piece is unique and laboriously hand
crafted.
“First the products are carved in wood and
the process begins with selecting the correct wood. Diana only
works with wood that has been approved for harvesting by the Ecuadorian
Ministry of Environment. The two woods she works with are naranjillo,
a local wood, and cedar. Diana’s workers select the highest
grade wood that doesn’t have any knots or ‘core.’ Knots
tend to separate after three months. Because it is impossible to
see internal knots Diana never sells any work that has not aged
three months.
“Next, the basic shape is cut and an outline
of the piece carved. For example a horse shape or human figure
etc. Then the piece is sculpted and given a basic polish. At this
point a second control is made – to check on proportion.
“Before the human and religious figures
and horses are passed to the sanding stage, the front of the head
that depicts the face is cut off. Two holes for the eyes are carved
out of the facial portion. Transparent glass is melted into the
holes. Then the face is glued back. The eyes are painted and certainly
look realistic.
“After the piece has been carved it passes
to the sanding ‘department’ where they use up to 80
different grades of sandpaper! A substance, locally is called “tisa” (gesso)
and which is made up of calcium carbonate, plaster and water mixed
together is brushed over the sculpture and then left to dry. The
piece can not be artificially dried in a kiln or oven as that would
likely split the wood. It has to dry in the natural atmospheric
conditions. This means that the sculptures dry according to the
climatic conditions at the time. When the weather is cold or rainy
they take longer to dry. At this point the wood is covered in the
white tisa. After it is dried it is sanded down.
“This coating sanding process is repeated
eight times! This is called the ‘first hand’. The mixture
of calcium carbonate:plaster:water is at a ratio of 40:30:30. After
this the process is repeated ANOTHER six times, the ‘second
hand’, using a more dilute tisa.
“This is an extremely lengthy process but
goes a long way to obtain the incredibly fine finish that one feels
when handling any of Diana’s works.
“The third quality control inspection is
made at this stage.
“The next stage is called ‘encarnardo’ (fleshed) – The
human figures are given skin tones where appropriate; the face,
hands, feet, and occasionally the body. Oil paint is applied only
to figures of humans or angels. As a special order, Diana’s
artists are able to replicate the technique used by the Quito School
of Art. This was the school of art established by the Spanish conquistadors.
The techniques have just about been kept alive over the generations
in Ecuador because of the Guild System, a system of apprenticeship
that has served within the artisan community. Angels and human
figures carved by the ancient sculptors 3-400 years ago were typified
by a shiny finish to the skin. This was achieved by rubbing the
oil paint very carefully and skillfully with a dried sheep’s
bladder. Diana’s artists do this too, although it has to
be said they don’t much like doing it because it is extremely
time-consuming. Nethertheless a fantastic replica of timeless art
is achieved using this ancient technique.
“Following the painting of the skin, gold
leaf is applied to the areas of the sculpture which show gold design.
Typically this design looks as if it has been etched or painted
on to the sculpture with the finest of fine touches. There is good
reason for this. The process is as follows: First a sticky substance
called ‘bol’ based on gum is brushed over the area
where gold design will appear. The surface of the bol is wet with
a cloth and then using a very fine brush, typically made from bison
hair, gold leaf is brushed over the wet ‘bol’ and adheres
to the surface. Then a small tool which is made of a handle like
a paintbrush but instead of the brush has a stone made of agate,
is used to polish and rub the gold leaf so that it is worked into
the bol base and smoothes out any crinkles in the leaf.
“Up until this point the process is the
same for nearly all of the products produced by Diana’s workshop;
eggs, tops, animal figure, jewelry boxes, religious icons. All
are carved and a trademark of Diana’s design is the filigree
gold design that imparts a strong sense of fantasy to the majority
of her work. At this point there is another quality control inspection
to insure that the gold leaf has been correctly applied.
“After this, all the sculptures are oil
painted in a process known as ‘matiza’ which is best
translated as blend. The colors of the piece are painted on the
parts which have gold, that’s to say over the gold, and also
on the surfaces which will only show regular colors. Different
types of oil paints are used and again; the drying time depends
on the type of paint and the climatic conditions. At this point,
if additional oil painting is needed to depict fine details, for
example, small flowers or details of butterflies or humming-birds,
then it is painted over the base colors.
“Then the next stage is to reveal the gold
leaf. In other words, the artists show detail in gold that is at
the same relief level as the oil colors by revealing the gold leaf.
Using a tool called a ‘chonta’, something like a scalple,
they scratch away the oil colors to reveal the gold leaf underneath.
This requires an extremely fine eye for detail and the ability
to hold the concept of the final design in the ‘mind’s
eye’ as slowly the artist scrapes away all the oil around
the finished patterns. At this point a further check is done. Now
the piece is being examined for harmony - … “Are all
the colors and the design in harmony?”
“As you can see from photos of the different
pieces, some of the gold design is at a raised relief. That’s
to say a millimeter or two above the surface of the oil colors
and other gold work. To create this raised gold relief another
paste is used that has the consistency of toothpaste. It’s
made mixing in ocher and then passed through the mesh of a fine
cloth so that once on the other side it has a far finer texture.
The paste is painted on to the sculpture on the relevant spots.
The paste has to dry naturally and this takes between 3-10 days
according to climatic conditions and the consistency of the paste.
“Only the artisans know when the paste is
ready and they judge solely on how the paste feels to touch – years
of experience are called into play. This is crucial because when
the paste reaches the precise level of dryness required, gold leaf
is laid over the sculpture and pressure is applied to the parts
where the paste is and the gold leaf sticks. The rest of the gold
leaf doesn’t stick and is brushed away and wasted. This process
is completed until the correct relief is achieved. This process
is known as ‘estofado’ which refers to the fine dressing
of the sculpture – similar to the final touches made to the
dress of Spanish nobles as they were dressed by their servants
in times gone by.
“Many of the pieces are adorned with semi-precious
stones. A small hole is carved out and the stones are glued into
place. These stones include, but are not limited to, rubies, zircons
and garnets.
“Finally, the finishing touches are applied
where needed. Eyes are painted, lips, hair and eyebrows too. These
are not done at the beginning because it would be easy for these
areas to become dirty during the other processes.
“A final quality control check is made.
It is not unknown for horses hooves to be missing gold trim – but
these sculptures never make it on sale – they are returned
to be finished correctly before returning to take their rightful
place amongst the treasures on sale in Diana’s showroom.”
This goes beyond craft. During each course at
El Meson we visit Diana’s home and place where she displays
her work. A number of our delegates now export her art.
Diana’s work is just one small example of
the high quality products found in Ecuador. See below some pictures of Diana’s work.
Our July Super Thinking – Super
Spanish course in Ecuador is now totally full! Enjoy Ecuador
and the sun! See real estate for sale. Inspect the great markets
as you learn about global investing and business this November.
For details go to http://www.garyascott.com/catalog/ibezecuador.html
Until next message, may you always “have” even
in a “have not” world!
Gary
Is inflation getting to you? Enjoy the hot summer
in cool Ecuador for just $875. See garyascott.com/catalog/ec_monthly_hometel.html
Or take a week’s R & R. See garyascott.com/catalog/elmeson.html
