the craft: carved gourds
Fine-art carved gourds are made in three types:
Black background
The gourd is carved and the background tinted with a black material, using an oil baseColors
Both natural colorings and acrylic paints are usedBurned
Natural burned finish
The brown and black colors are obtained with a heated tool made from the quinual,tree. The color depends on the distance from the gourd at which the tool is held, and the amount of time the gourd is exposed to the heat.Burned with a white background
The process is the same as with the natural burned finish. White earth is then applied to the background.
Gourds before being worked. The gourd, or mate, is the artistic raw material, which grows in the warm zones in Peru in different forms and sizes.
Tools used for our work: burils and baceadors. The buril is a tool honed to a "v" point; baceadors are tools honed flat. The latter are used primarily for the creation of the "springtime" gourd style, with colorful flowers.
Tools used for our work: Types of cuchukos, for different cuts.
First, the design is drawn on the gourd, and the carving commences.
A gourd partially worked. It will be finished as a black-background gourd.
Once finished, for the black-background type of gourd, oil is rubbed onto the gourd covering the incisions of the design.
Black material, cenisa, is applied to the surface.
Cenisa is the residue left over from some use; in this case we use residue of ichu; newspaper may also be used. Ichu is the a wild plant eaten by llamas, and other animals in the Andean heights.
Finally, the gourd is washed with water.
When it is clean, the ceniza will remain painted in the incisions of the design, thanks to the oil.
The finished fine-art carved gourd.