sculptures of hands

Designed in the shape of a sleepy Gnome, Eka's charming sculpture could use a nap this holiday season. Balinese artisans use hibiscus wood to hand craft the hatted fellow, carefully carving his pointed hat and long beard. Gently polished, the wood's natural grain shines.

Four nsruma, or Akan star ornaments are handcrafted from Ghanaian sese wood, bringing pride to your tree. Emmanuel Nyadedzor designs the ornaments, carving two of them with the image of faces. The ornaments are hand-painted in red, beige, and blue, resembling the colors of the American flag. A distressed finish gives the ornaments a characteristic look.

Costa Rican artisan Blanca Padilla designs and handcrafts this lovely trio of angels from fiber extracted from cabuya or fique, a succulent that looks similar to agave. The cabuya fiber is a beautiful creamy antique white, and the artisan works with its natural texture to from the features of this wall sculpture. Gold thread is woven with the cabuya to accent each angel's halo and the hem of her gown, and she carries a lovely bouquet of paper and natural dried flowers in red, yellow, and green. A star shoots over the trio.

The art and skill of creating handicrafts from cabuya or fique has been handed down through Blanca Padilla's family for generations. The artisan sources her material herself, growing and harvesting the cabuya, extracting the fiber, and preparing it for use in the handicrafts. Blanca Padilla hopes to help revitalize the cabuya craft industry with the success of her designs.