diversity sculpture

This ceramic figurine of a yellow-headed parrot looks up alertly, ready to be posed in your home or patio. Guatemalan artisan Mauricio Morales hand sculpts and hand paints this lovely bird with meticulous detail to capture the species' likeness. The aluminum wire legs and feet can bend to position the bird to your liking.

Her hair up and adorned with a blossom, and her outfit complete, a young Balinese woman is ready to go out for the evening. This lovely original sculpture is presented by Made Pastika in Bali. The artisan gives the piece a distressed painted finish, lending it the appearance of a treasured antique.

Jose Canil Ramos combines Guatemala's Day of the Dead customs with Christian traditions for the design of this extraordinary nativity scene. "I thought it would be fun to make it with innocent skeletons," explains Canil. He carves each pinewood figurine by hand, allowing each piece to bake to achieve an aged, rustic appearance. This nativity scene includes the Holy Family, the Three Kings, and angel, and mule and an ox, for a total of nine pieces.

Joseph's hand and staff, as well as the angel's wings are removed for shipping.

Mauricio Morales crafts a small ceramic bird figurine that features exquisite hand painted detailing. "The process for making these small animals was something I learned when I was small...since then it has become a passion of mine," says the Guatemalan artisan, adding that the bird sculpture is made for, "...all of those who love birds." He starts by mixing the clay and carefully shaping the figure, and then he adds aluminum legs and feet. After the bird is fired, he sands it, mixes his own colors and paints the figurine. The result is a charming, meticulously decorated representation of a snowy owl, complete with tuftless head, small yellow eyes, and white plumage with hints of grey.

Mauricio Morales crafts a small ceramic bird figurine that features exquisite hand painted detailing. "The process for making these small animals was something I learned when I was small...since then it has become a passion of mine," says the Guatemalan artisan, adding that the bird sculpture is made for, "...all of those who love birds." He starts by mixing the clay and carefully shaping the figure, and then he adds aluminum legs and feet. After the bird is fired, he sands it, mixes his own colors, and paints the figurine. The result is a charming and meticulously decorated depiction of the world's smallest owl, the elf owl, complete with brownish-grey coloring, a small beak, and a striated breast.

Comfortable in each others' arms, lovers swear everlasting love to each other. Wayan Rendah captures the power of their promise to be forever together as he carves the two lovers from a single piece of suar wood.

This fabulous wall sculpture celebrates the octopus as symbol of diversity and adaptability. Somyot Sawasdee designs and sculpts the marine creature by hand, masterfully recycling paper with cement. The Thai artist finishes the wall sculpture with green and gold paint, creating the illusion of an aged bronze piece.

Richly veined marble adds a translucent contrast to deep rose marble and sleek black onyx. The three varied tones of natural stone unite in a colorful table game by the Sierra Family. Beautiful and unusual, it makes a wonderful gift.

The playing board is created from selected pieces of sectioned marble and onyx slabs. First they are cut with a diamond disk. At this stage, the disk is cooled with water so that the stone will not shatter. The design is then perfected with files before the pieces are polished to a glowing sheen. "For us, it is very important to give our clients the best in quality and originality, transforming stone into functional products - whether for diversion or decoration," Mireya Sierra tells us.

Stone sculpting is a traditional regional handicraft, and the Sierras are famous for the skill and the quality of their work. Because each piece is sculpted individually, there may exist slight variations in the color and grain pattern of the stone. The set includes 60 colored glass marbles.