As is my nature, I have gone off on a romp into another area of indigenous and creative ornamental art. Over the past few months I have been creating animals and plants with a combination of a variety of geometric forms and repeating designs including triangles, diamonds, teardrops, squares, ovals, crescents, dots, lines, and outlines paired with bright colors. These are the creative tools of the artists and artisans of the South American artform known as Chiva Art. A diverse list of the biodiversity subjects I have lovingly decorated includes multiple mandalas and nature panels displaying examples of butterflies, moths, beetles, centipedes and caterpillars, toucans, parrots, catfish, and pileated woodpeckers, along with a few flower blossoms and multiple varieties of green leaves.
Similar to the flame painting, geometric designs, and pinstriping found on lowriders, custom cars, and hot rods, this inventive and expressive artform has been applied to the rural transportation Chiva buses of Colombia with pride and love for over 90 years. As rolling pieces of motorized art, repeating eye catching geometric designs of overlapping lines, circles, and triangular forms combined with decorative bright colors are painted on almost every available surface inside and out on rural transportation buses by these talented artisans. I have had a fondness for indigenous fabric and ornamental art since my childhood and now decorate many of my crafted animals and plants in the same fashion as the artisans of Chiva, Native American and indigenous cultures each of which you can find many examples in my collections on my website. Chiva Biodiversity Mandala, seen above, is just one of many of my hopeful a-Chiva-ments of the Chiva Artform found in my shop. Take a look at others you may also like.
Wander with wander and discover the unexpected moments of awe and surprise in all that Mother Nature provides. I appreciate your encouragement and support and your kind words and purchases of my artwork to decorate your favorite home and office spaces. You will also find some Chiva nature images on coffee mugs and other home goods found in my shop.