Product Description
It's Cactus Metal Art Haiti
Round Grape Mirror, Limited Edition Home Decor, Haitian Fair Trade, 23"x23"
Interior Frame Measurement: 10.25" Diameter (Glass NOT Included)
The traditional Haitian method of creating metal sculptures from discarded oil drums has changed very little since the technique was first developed by Georges Liataud in the 1950's. To begin, the drums are burned out, cleaned up, sanded down and pounded flat. Next, the artist chalks his intended design onto the prepared metal and begins the heavy and tedious work of cutting and detailing, using only a hammer and chisel. Finally, the sculpture is sealed with a weather-proof finish, so that the sculpture may be displayed easily indoors or out.
Artist Bio
Michel Brutal
Michel Brutall, son of Cecile Casseus and Saint-Clearly Brutal, is the eldest in a family of ten children. He blesses the work that enables him to send his two younger brothers and his own daughter to school. Though he seems to carry his burdens with joy, he says frankly, “This trade is very important for me. My family was completely poor and is thanks to this trade that I manage to support on my shoulders the loads of my family in general.”
Beginning with “the business of irons cut out” in 1987, Michel is grateful for the teachings of others, but regrets never having had the opportunity to study directly under Serge Jolimeau and Gabriel Bon Amie. His admiration for their work is unmistakable, however, as the theme of La Sirene and the dimensionality of his bird figures attest.
Now running his own workshop, he takes his inspiration from, “Nature like trees and that by the sea, such as mermaids, the tortoise, fish, and so much other.” As did many of his countrymen, he felt acutely the horrors of the January 2010 earthquake that, “devastated our beloved Haiti.” But with a confounding graciousness in the face of staggering hardship, he recognizes the favors that he has received in his life and seeks to return them in kind.
