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Elias and David

"Hi, we're Elias and David from the state of Jalisco, and we share a workshop in which we enjoy exploring the decorative possibilities of iron work. Our history began as independent artists that follow the artistic legacy of their hometown.

"I, Elias, come from a long line of ceramic artists, therefore I grew up surrounded by handcrafts. I used to work in the family workshop, but it didn't feel like I was doing my thing. I felt I had something else to do. I have a very dear friend, J. Blas (a Novica featured artist), who grew up in the family's iron workshop, and I was drawn to his type of work.

"I worked for nine years with an artist who was expert in this field, who taught me a lot. We then went our separate ways before I met up with David, an old friend from a workshop where I had previously worked."

David says, "I come from the same village as Elias, but I do not share his background in handcrafts. However, I have always enjoyed working with iron, especially for decorative purposes. I started my apprenticeship when I was young, helping experts forge iron into beautiful pieces. As time passed, they gave me more responsibilities and assigned me important jobs, until I became the workshop leader. That's how I met Elias, but he was working with somebody else at that time. When Elias decided to work on his own, he looked me up and now we now make a good working team.

"We begin our work by cutting iron sheets with a plasma machine, which uses fire to cut. We hammer the iron until we achieve the desired shapes, and then we polish them. We weld them together and then paint them by hand, and finish them with a semi-mat varnish."

Elias adds, "We design our creations together, and then we each proceed with our specific talents. David is in charge of production, and welding the metal together, and I'm in charge of painting and finishing.

"Our art is a team effort in which we strive to create beautiful, original, and innovative decorative items."