Mateo

May 15th. Mateo has been working quietly in his corner for the most part. He struggled for more than half a day trying to come up with a drawing, since he works with 3-D palosanto wood carvings. Verena invited all the woodcarver to this workshop since we thought they might be interested in the woodcuts as well. It is interesting to see however, how all the wood carvers are struggling a lot with the tools, since they are held very differently from the tools they are used to.

Mateo says he has never drawn before and he surprised us with a beautifully drawn snake and a sophisticated background pattern in his image.




















If I may pass judgement, I want to say that his is one of the most successful prints that have emerged so far. He was also very adept at printing, and while others struggle to get the ink just right or to get the pressure just right, he smoothly pulled one after the other.

To earn his money, Mateo works as a day labourer on a farm or ranch where he does odd jobs from time to time. His talent, passion and true vocation are quite obviously his wood carvings.

May 18th, update. Here is one of Mateo's Palosanto snakes that he carved. I thought I'd show you the work he's comfortable with. Mateo didn't return to the workshop after the two days he attended.