At this point you’re probably wondering when I’m going to get on with it and talk about Zeca and what we’re actually doing down here day to day.  Truth is, I meant to do that earlier in the week but I took off to Sao Paulo for a well needed break from small town life…turns out I’m a city girl…big surprise!

Okay, I think I’ll organize this into two posts…this post I’ll just tell you about Zeca and his work, then the next post I’ll focus on our concept and project.

Zeca’s workshop is at the back of his house and although he has everything he needs, it is amazing to see the make-do kind of stuff he comes up with.  First of all, he made his table saw…and it’s perfectly square.  It doubles as a bench, a glue up table and a bee’s nest (there is a friendly bee that has burrowed a hole into the wood and comes flying out when the saw turns on).  He somehow lives without a tilting arbor…we’re cutting a bunch of angled pieces for our project and have made a jig for the planer, which probably works better anyway.  So, yes, he’s got a jointer and planer, and a shaper, which surprised me…and which, to be honest, I’m hesitant to go near.  He has a bit of a cowboy attitude in the shop (although he still has all his fingers) and does some free styling on these tools that totally freaks me out.   He doesn’t have a band saw, a jigsaw or a router which might explain his current disdain for organic shapes.  I haven’t seen any clamps yet except for a few c-clamps which he uses to attach the fence for the table saw.  Check out the picture below to see his solution for a web clamp…pretty smart…although one of the reasons I went into SP was to find some real web clamps because we need a bunch for the project and the stick and rope method isn’t quite going to cut it!  Last but not least, he has rigged up a machine that cleans his wood.  All of the wood Zeca uses is taken from the demolition of civil construction, which is apparently one of the largest categories of waste to impact the Brazilian environment.  In Botucatu alone it is estimated that 40 tons of this stuff is thrown into the fields daily.  So, this is old wood, dirty and covered in paint, and needs to be washed before it can be worked.  I’ll give you a hint about our project: this machine and process is key!

That’s the shop…now let’s check out the work.  In the past Zeca used to do a lot of carving and was really drawn to organic shapes, but now he believes that the wood is organic enough on its own and prefers working with geometric forms.  He recently took a course through the Museum of Modern Art in Sao Paulo which may have spurred on his experiments in geometry.  Zeca is a pretty interesting guy because he is so smart and curious and when you look at the pictures below you’ll see that he is highly, highly skilled with his hands.  However, he can’t really read or write…I mean he can, but not well.  He said that he always had trouble in school and would pretend to read books, but just made up the stories in his head…and when he knew there was going to be a test or reading out loud he would just skip school.  When he discovered woodworking he said that he finally felt like he was good at something and has been working with his hands ever since. 

When I got here I kept asking Zeca to show me his work and tell me what ideas he was interested in pursuing but he seemed really hesitant to do this.  I think it was part shyness and part wanting to be totally open to my suggestions.  Finally though, after enough coaxing, he came around and told me that his most recent work (pictured on the bottom, in the middle) is something he would like to explore.  At first I thought “oh shit!”, why did I ask, how am I going to take this and turn it into something that expresses both of us…alternating wood tones, kill me dead a little bit, right?!  (Now I know some of you are thinking wait a minute honey, what about the Common Chair, alternating woods…but hopefully we can all agree that that’s somehow different).  Anyway, one night I was lying in bed and it all clicked and I knew exactly what we were going to do…I had come up with the perfect marriage of ideas and form…I basically couldn’t sleep all night I was so excited…so, needless to say, hint #2, the project is based around this stool.

Alright, that’s all you get for now…off to make pudim de leite condensado with my surrogate mum, Regina…but this week I will definitely post some pictures about our actual project and how it’s all progressing…

I’m quite fascinated with Artesol so you’ll all just have to hear a little more about them.  First of all, the organization has over 90 projects underway throughout Brazil…I’m just picking one to give you an idea of the scope of work they do.  The Veredas Project, named for the geographical region where the project is based, was started in 2003 after Artesol learned that there was a group of marginalized people losing their traditional skills and living in poverty.  About 25 or 30 years ago the people in this region of Minas Gerais were a self-sustained community, living off the land and their skills as cotton spinners and weavers.  Then, a large cotton company, seeing the opportunity to exploit local resources, moved in, bought up all the land, and started manufacturing cotton products.  After selling their property, the local people had nothing left and their way of living completely changed; they were forced to either move to the cities in search of work or remain in Veredas living in extreme poverty.  Their traditional skills as spinners and weavers were dying because there was no means by which to continue the craft.  However, even after 30 years, many of the locals kept the tools and patterns for their products.  Artesol was able to use these as a basis for organizing and revitalizing the community.  First, they visited homes and went through boxes of old textiles to understand their work and process.  Next, they organized the community into groups: one village spins the cotton, another dyes it, and another weaves the products.  Then, designers were sent in to provide aesthetic guidance and help create mature products that, most importantly, would sell.   The project took two years to complete and in the end the group won first prize in the Premio Objeto Brasileiro (a prize given to stimulate research and innovation in addition to promoting artisans, designers and entrepreneurs who propose new ways to create authentic craft products).  Living conditions for the people in Veredas have improved…the big company is still there…

Now, do any of you reading this have any information on organizations doing similar work in Canada?  If so, I’d like to work for them…if not, do you think I could start something like this?  It would be such a lot of hard work but just think of all the lost craft traditions in Canada.  Seriously, if anyone besides my friends are reading this and you have any information, whatsoever, please let me know…

Okay, the Artesanato Solidario (Artesol) is in fact an NGO, and here is their mandate:

1.  to create opportunities for small producers in the southern hemisphere

2.  transparency and reliability within all links of commercialization

3.  development and improvement of skills

4.  promotion of fair trade

5.  payment of fair price

6.  gender equality

7.  good working conditions

8.  no exploitation of child workers

9.  conservation of the environment

Silvia had a meeting there because she consults them on production processes, organizing workshops and linking designers with craft communities.  Her hour meeting, which turned into about three, meant that I got to wander around the place solo and take it all in.  There was a gallery, store room and library/media room and I snooped my way through every nook and cranny of it!  I particularly liked the baskets below, made from palm tree fibres, the textiles made from Agave and the black and white woven cotton from a craft community in Minas Gerais.  I’ll have more on this in the next post because Silvia’s going to send me all the information on how some of these projects got started and what the results have been.

Now, onto Botucatu because I’m here and happy and can’t believe how much I’ve done already.  We’ve spent the first week going around town to all the different providers and craftspeople.  I’m realizing now that Botucatu is known for their industry, both large and small.  There are airplane, bus, and denim factories here (not all in one!), as well as smaller operations for leather, woodworking, metalworking etc.  And then, of course, there are artists and craftspeople who are experts at what they do but struggle to make a living.  Silvia’s goal is to help these people with creating sustainable methods for generating income so that they don’t need to seek out work in the big cities.  She believes one of Brazil’s major problems is that for so many people migrating to the city is a necessity because it is impossible to make a living at home, with their families, working with the traditional skills they know.

Of all the places I’ve visited this week, the recycling depot, the dump, the leather treatment facility, and the bamboo weaver definitely stand out as highlights.  They recycle everything here and heading to the recycling depot when you need something seems to be the norm.  The recycling facility also has (either makes or carries, not sure which) tetrapak boards that are used for building houses…I think it’s a substitute for drywall.  As for the dump…you’ve never seen a more beautiful garbage dump!  It’s off in the countryside and surrounded by rolling hills and lush green agricultural land.  Zeca said he used to go there a lot to sort through piles of wood and scavenge for the good stuff (he’s been collecting wood since he was 15), but he doesn’t like going there any more because it’s too busy.  You see, as a source of income people go to the dump in search of copper wire; they light big fires, burn all the wire, then pick out the copper and sell it.  Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures of this to show you right now because I didn’t bring my camera…idiot.  In lieu of the dump I’ve got shots of the leather treatment place which was stankerific…almost made me want to become a veggie…almost…

Ze do Balaio is the basket weaver and he has the most beautiful blue eyes.  He is in his 70s but keeps himself quite fit by running everyday…apparently he has a wife 30 years his junior because of it!!!  Lucky him I guess.  Anyway, he is a very nice man and I can’t wait to work with him…I hope I get to spend at least a day with him because I’ve been dying to get my hands on some sort of fibre and start weaving…and I think Ze do Balaio is just the man to teach me…

(By the way…trying to format this thing with pictures inserted is officially pissing me off so they’ll just be at the bottom of the posts from now on…oh, and for no explained reason it doesn’t like the picture of Ze do Balaio so you’ll just have to wait on that!)

Tchau! Tchau!

I wouldn’t have bothered with all of this if I was just traveling around, but, lucky for me, I’m actually down here working on a project.  About a year ago a women named Zoe Melo got in touch with me and asked if I would like to go to Brazil to work on a social design project…naturally I said “YES, when do I pack my bags!”  It wasn’t quite that easy…so, I applied for an Ontario Arts Council grant and was fortunate enough to receive funding which made this whole dream possible.  Thanks OAC!

I’ll be spending the next six weeks living in a small town near Sao Paulo called Botucatu.  Here, I’ll be working with Zeca, a local woodworker who has fine woodworking capabilities but needs help designing and thinking about ways to use his skills for more commercial products.  I’ll be living with Zeca and his family, but I’ll also be working with a bamboo weaver and possibly some waste materials.  To be honest, I’m not exactly sure how it will all pan out…I just hope that we can all work together to make viable products that sell locally and abroad…we’ll see.

Right now I’m in Sao Paulo and loving every minute.  Silvia, the contact I have here is wasting no time in introducing me to all the different resources and people that will help me in completing the project.  Today I walked all over town with Takeshi, a student from the school of architecture and design.  He took me to an area of the city that specializes in building supplies.  So, we went into all kinds of shops that sell finishes, hardware, veneer and solid wood.  First of all let me say that the selection of hardware here far exceeds what’s available in Canada.  Not that this should really come as a surprise.

What struck me most about these suppliers is that getting eco-friendly products is not hard at all.  One of the big chains here, for building supplies, is called Leo…and they have another branch called EcoLeo that only sells green products.  Pretty cool (“legal” in Portuguese which I have had to learn quickly because everyone thinks I’m saying “cu”…Portuguese for ass…lots of snickering!!!).  Here it seems you can get FSC approved lumber easily and you don’t have to buy a whole skid.  There are all kinds of reconstituted boards and veneers and water-based finishes are easy to find.

I’m going to be checking out some local furniture studios tomorrow, as well as the Artesanato Solidario, which, if I’m understanding correctly, is an NGO focused on helping Brazilian craft communities become economically sustainable.  Then it will be off to Botucatu…can’t wait for that because I’m so curious about where I’ll be living, what I’ll be doing, and what will be the end result of all of this…