I am currently working with several indigenous groups in Costa Rica that are known for their arts and crafts. What they do, in fact what any artist does, is amazing when you think about it. It especially amazes me when something incredibly beautiful is created simply from the natural resources that the earth provides, combined with the creativity and ingenuity of the artist. These guys take plants like the jicara fruit, or a piece of balsa or bamboo, with paints created from roots and flowers, and produce truly amazing products. Nothing fancy about what they do. It is pure and primitive, yet beautiful. I guess that is what art is supposed to be….the ability to create something out of virtually nothing. To take a blank canvass, whatever it may consist of materially, and create a masterpiece that others look at and say, wow! Then once you have created it, you need to display it to the world. That’s where I come in. Via Costa Rican Artisans I am trying to create for these expert craftsmen and women a marketing platform. Sure they have their roadside stands in the remote places that they inhabit and once and a while a tourist will stumble by. But their art is too precious, too valuable, to be limited to that marketing forum alone. The whole world needs to know about this stuff and about the humble, honest and honorable people that create it. I am telling you about this to make a subtle point. If value can be created, the word eventually will get out. I truly believe that. It may take time. You could even say there has to be some “luck” involved. I personally don’t believe in luck. I’d rather call it fate, or karma, or something like that. In other words if you create something truly that is of value and do it with a giving spirit, then the universe will return the favor and make sure your creation is publicized. That’s not luck, it’s physics. But we get caught in the trap of worrying about “the money.” As soon as you start thinking that way, then the mentality of lack creeps in and stops us dead in our tracks. The Maleku or Brunka artisan don’t think that way when he or she picks up that piece of balsa wood and begins to carve. The only thing occupying the mind at that point is to unleash that pent up creativity and produce a piece that is a true expression of their love and their culture. I believe we can translate that sentiment of artistic expression to anything that we do passionately. And the world will take notice sooner or later.
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