The land provides Irene and María Sabina with the raw material to make the crafts that their mother taught them to make as children and that they have been innovating based on their creativity and the aim of standing out from the competition, which has even copied their designs.
The sisters, who grew up near the Allende dam, learned from a young age to make little deer from plants they found in the countryside. Their mother was one of the first to make these figures, which she offered to those who visited the dam on weekends to walk and eat fish.
“We watched my mother make them and we learned. She has been doing them for ages, about 30 years (…) she taught us, but we didn’t pay attention. Then we saw that, yes, they sold well and we made them. Then we began to imagine new designs,” shared María Sabina.
The women go out to collect the plant, known as ‘deer eye’, after the rainy season. They must wait for it to grow and begin to dry in order for it to be useful. Thus, they can keep it in the shade for years. The ‘deer’s eye’ can grow up to a meter, when there is good rainy weather.
The Damián Ramírez sisters innovate in the design of artisanal figures with ‘deer’s eye’. Photo: Ingrid Devesa
“It grows every year, we collect it and we keep it after it throws the seed, because if it is cut green it does not come out again and if it is left in the field, it toasts and falls apart,” said Irene.
To work the plant, you have to wet it so that it becomes manageable and thus be able to give it the desired shape and tie it well, with thread, to later decorate or paint it.
Irene and María achieve quality and variety with their crafts
The sisters have innovated in their designs. They now offer more than 15 different figures, including traditional deer, donkeys, elephants, Christmas trees, cats, dogs, hearts, giraffes, angels, witches and catrinas, sheep, owls and even hummingbirds, peacocks and complete nativity scenes.
“They have copied our designs and it doesn’t matter, but people should value their work, because then they sell them cheaper and they don’t have the same quality. They have to be tied well so that they last for people. If they are well made, they last for many years,” said Sabina.
Irene and María Sabina sell their figures on the banks of the Allende dam, captivating tourists. Photo: Ingrid Devesa
The detailed figures, made with what the countryside provides, are made in different sizes and are decorated with wild flowers that they dye with natural paints. They can also be used to decorate outdoors, for which the sisters recommend coating the pieces with a coat of spray lacquer.
From curious miniatures to eye-catching large ornaments, customers can order any design in any size, with prices ranging from 50 to 800 pesos.
María Sabina and Irene have been trying to open a sales outlet in the historic center for years. However, they have not been able to participate in the artisan fairs and, when selling on the street, they have encountered confiscations and scoldings.
Currently, they offer their products on the edge of the dam on Sundays and Saturdays, from November to Easter, at the Tianguis Orgánico that is set up at Ancha de San Antonio No. 123, in addition to receiving direct orders.
“There are people around here (by the Allende Dam) who have copied some of our designs and are going to sell on the streets (…) we would like to have a permanent place, because the ones who buy the most are the tourists. Every year we go and ask, but they don’t give us (permission),” they said.
Source: periodicocorreo
