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| When FOLK ART becomes FINE ART By Stacy Trevenon--Half Moon Bay Review Published/Last Modified on Tuesday, November 20, 2001 10:00 PM PST In Nuestra Tierra, the Mexican fine and folk art store in Half Moon Bay, Ramiro Aragon was demonstrating the skill that has elevated a folk art to fine art among families in his town of Arrazola in Oaxaca, Mexico. From his hands, with help from a machete and small wood knives, animals were emerging from sticks of copalillo, a local wood favored by Oaxacan wood-carvers. There were lizards with legs splayed wide and toes digging into the ground. There were cats stretched out with feline grace and tails aloft. Armadillos glowered. Porcupines displayed quills fanned out like peacocks' tails. They were nearly as colorful as peacocks, too, sporting bright shades of orange, green, purples, turquoise, reddish orange, or pink, and intricate dots, chevrons, stripes or abstract patterns. Some of the cats were tiny at an inch or two, and some were around a foot long, like the giraffes with outstretched necks or the lizards with snaky tails. But with their color and their whimsical, alert expressions, they brought smiles to passersby at Nuestra Tierra, which stocks fine art and high-quality crafts from Mexico. The intriguing assortment of colorful items rooted in Mexico's culture were on a table set up in a front corner of Nuestra Tierra from Nov. 8 to 10. Around Halloween, the table was loaded with shiny sugar skulls festooned with brightly-colored foil and made by Emilio Quintanda of Puebla, Mexico, in commemoration of the Day of the Dead. From Aragon's hands, with help from a machete and small wood knives, the animals emerged from sticks of copalillo, a local wood favored by Oaxacan wood-carvers. Aragon was either carving from Nuestra Tierra or giving demonstrations, some in Spanish, to Hatch Elementary and Wilkinson schools students. They appreciated his visit. "Kids would hold up a piece and say, 'Oooh!'" said Nuestra Tierra owner Charles Nelson. Children have been delighted by Aragon's work for 17 years, ever since he turned his childhood woodworking hobby to the creation of these small animals. In his town the animals are carved as children's toys. In cities around the United States - like the California cities of Los Angeles and San Diego - these "toys" have found new status as collectibles and museum exhibits. At 6, Aragon became fascinated with watching his grandfather carve wooden yokes for his team of oxen. When he grew a little older, he began carving yokes, too. Then he noticed the animals in his rural town: horses, cows, bulls. He experimented with carving some of them. And he found himself finding new ways of carving and characterizing them. There are two types of carvers, he explained - those who do fantasy work and those who stick to the real thing. He says he's in the second category; his art is realistic, just with lots of humor. He begins each animal with a stick or a chunk of copalillo, and hacks out the rough edges with the machete. Then he refines the shape with the wood knives. The knives come from Indonesia and, while Aragon was in town, the machete came from Half Moon Bay. When he traveled into the United States, authorities wouldn't let him bring the tool across the border, and confiscated it. So Nelson went to the Half Moon Bay Farm Bureau and bought him another one. Often, Aragon completes his smaller animals with one thick stick of wood; for other animals, he makes segments from different chunks and glues them together. Porcupine quills are toothpicks. Then, using tiny brushes and a sponge, he applies water-based paint in the finely detailed designs and texturing that give the animals their uniquely Mexican flavor. The whole process takes from an hour for the tiny cats to three days for a big armadillo. At Nuestra Tierra, his work and that of his fellow Mexican artisans sells from $12 to $60. He loves his work. "As long as I have imagination, I will continue to create and continue to improve," he said. He does it for three reasons, he added - to support his family, because he likes it, and because it's not something you see everywhere. Not only does it support his family, it is an Aragon family affair. His wife, Fidelia, also paints, and their three children, aged 6, 11 and 14, help. And in their town, other families carve animals, too. Each family has developed its own signature style. Their efforts delight Americans. Kids love the bright colors and adults like the giraffes. "Americans think giraffes are good luck," Aragon said. |