Product Description
It's Cactus Metal Art Haiti
Handcrafted Haitian Home Decor, Grape Frame, Fair Trade Art Sculpture
Size: 34.5"x34.5" (MIRROR/GLASS NOT INCLUDED)
This piece is hand cut from recycled 50 gallon steel drums. Both ends of the drum are removed and placed inside of the remaining cylinder along with scrap paper, dried banana or sugar cane leaves. It is set on fire, to burn off any paint or residue. When cooled, the drum is cut down the side and flattened out to create a "metal canvas" of approximately 3' x 6', upon which the design is drawn. Using hammer, chisel and various primitive tools, the shape is cut and the various decorative patterns are pounded into the metal, creating a unique and treasured piece of primitive art. The finished design is coated with a protective finish. Can be hung indoors or outdoors.
Care of Sculpture: Made of recycled steel, this sculpture will rust over time if it is exposed to the elements. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, some people like the look of a weathered patina. If that isn't you, don't despair. Taking five minutes once a year to apply a spray-on enamel clear coat will keep your sculpture looking exactly the same as the day you bought it.
**Although we try our best to photograph in a way that best represents the color, due to the nature of photography, lighting, computer resolution, other factors, colors may vary slightly in person.
Artist Bio
Winston Cajuste
“Two friends, they give me a job to flatten 5 drums. It was my first experiment and I practiced it with naked hands. It tore my hands, but they gave me money and that put much joy in my heart. In the following day, they gave me 10 drums to flatten. Quickly, I completed them and they gave me much more money. It was one of my more beautiful memories that I now had my own moneys.” Thus begins the story of Winston Cajuste's work in metal sculpture.
“I cut out my first drums with a man called Meda. I benefited from this and thought about creating my own works. The first one of my own was a musician. On that basis, I created many others different models.”
Winston is a man with a close association to the spiritual world. Although Voodoo is an integral and vibrant part of Haitian cultural and spiritual life, the country is actually considered by academics to be over 80 percent Catholic. Like its Creole language, however, religion is blended in Haiti. Winston’s themes tend to reflect angels and nativity scenes very recognizable in Western culture, though with unmistakable Creole flavor.
When he thinks back upon the time of the 2010 earthquake, Winston recalls that catastrophe in great detail. “I go home to see many bodies through the street, people seriously wounded, houses completely destroyed, and parents screaming for their children. All things have blocks at this time. My family had no house, no water, nor the bank or even food available. During the night my family sleep on the street for two weeks, not even a piece of cloth to cover us.” In desperate need of relief, it came quickly from It's Cactus. “That is when the first person who think of us was Casey, with money to help. We did not even believe of so very nice gesture as that.”