African Hand Carved Figurines - The Work of an Artisan

Africa has many great artists but in the West African area there are a great number of artisans who specialize in making figurines and statuettes from wood. They are skilled in the art of making hand carved African figurines and wooden sculptures.

This skill is not easily acquired and can not be learnt in one day; it is a craft that on average is developed over a ten year period. When you think about how long it would take to become an expert in this craft you can see why the people of Aburi are definitely one of the best at what they do. There are many different types of art pieces that are made in this region of Africa and these can range from sculptures, textiles to abstract paintings. The process of making wooden African figurines for example is a lengthy and time consuming practice and can take nearly a whole week before it is done.

The process often goes through stages similar to this summary:

To start of with the tree is cut down and taken to a warehouse where it is broken into miniature pieces. Then it is left for the night. When it is morning the expert carvers all from different parts of the town, come to collect the hard woods needed to help them start on their next project. They spend numerous days carving the wood until they can say they are pleased with the end result. The carving then goes through a stage where it is polished till it is noticeably shiny and then left to dry of. Once dry the carving is ready for shipping to where ever it is needed. This is just a quick run through of what needs to happen in order for these fine art pieces to be made and presented to the world.

Even though the African carvers and artisans in most of the third world countries do not make alot financially, especially when we take into context the fact that they are earning not just for themselves but for their families. In the past these artisans were taken advantage of, for their hard work and artifacts. They were being paid extremely small amounts by western countries who paid sometimes something as little as twenty pence for the artisans time and effort spent creating a difficult wooden artifact for somebody else half way around the Earth to receive joy from. There is a new law now in place called the fair trade act which covers these hardworking artisans. The law states that these artisans should have a larger share of the money made from their efforts and craftsmanship. Even though the amounts these artists are making are still very minute considering how much of a contribution they make in order for bigger businesses to survive. The artisans provide the products so its only right that they are also credited through what they are paid.

Source : Ezinearticles