Noah's Ark

While we were in Africa, we visited the Nairobi Wood Carvers Market. It is an amazing place. There are little shacks/tents set up in the large lot. Each craftsman has his own area where he works at making beautiful pieces. My mom has a larger version of this Noah's Ark in her flat and she knew that I would want one, too. I bought it from Stephen, a young man my parents know, for about $40 US. Not much considering the craftsmanship. All of the pieces are hand carved and finished. Most of the pieces are made from jackaranda wood. The elephants and hippos are made of ebony. It is easy to see the difference. It was so interesting to watch the men using huge tools to carve the intricate details in so many of the pieces. Another interesting thing is that they use shoe polish as a 'stain' to add depth to the color of the wood.

Much of the painting was going on while we were there. They just line up dozens of the same animal and paint the same thing over and over and over. It looked like every piece was identical to my untrained eyes. I'm sure there are slight differences, however, the finished work is absolutely beautiful.