fire sculpture

This little green and black poison arrow frog, also called poison dart frogs, will brighten up your room -- but don't worry, he's harmless. Artisan Elena Herrera of Costa Rica handcrafts this torch-fired glass figurine and adds colorful details with glass paint.

On fire with divine and eternal love, Jesus' wounded heart centers this beautiful cross. A symbol of Christ's love for man, the Sacred Heart was first venerated in 11th-century monasteries. Devotion to the Sacred Heart is devotion to Jesus himself. Alejandro de Esesarte creates this elegant wall sculpture and paints it by hand with a vintage crackled finish.

Because each piece is individually handcrafted and painted, size and color could vary slightly.

Gae sa lak is a traditional Thai sculptural process used in carving for decorative purposes. Kanda takes this method and apply it to a series of ceramic products, each one with floral and organic shapes hand-carved into the clay before the piece is fired. The vase is then glazed in the traditional celadon method, giving it rich pockets of glaze and a lightly crackled antique appearance.

Mauricio Morales crafts a small ceramic bird figurine that features exquisite hand painted detailing. "The process for making these small animals was something I learned when I was small...since then it has become a passion of mine," says the Guatemalan artisan, adding that the bird sculpture is made for, "...all of those who love birds." He starts by mixing the clay and carefully shaping the figure,and then he adds aluminum legs and feet. After the bird is fired, he sands it, mixes his own colors and paints the figurine. The result is a charming and precise depiction of a jacobin hummingbird complete with blue head, slender bill, white belly, and green plumage.

Mauricio Morales crafts a small ceramic bird figurine that features exquisite hand painted detailing. "The process for making these small animals was something I learned when I was small...since then it has become a passion of mine," says the Guatemalan artisan, adding that the bird sculpture is made for, "...all of those who love birds." He starts by mixing the clay and carefully shaping the figure, and then he adds aluminum legs and feet. After the bird is fired, he sands it, mixes his own colors and paints the figurine. The result is a charming and precise depiction of a green-breasted mango hummingbird complete with slender bill, green plumage, and orange-brown tail feathers.

Using the same materials and techniques as those used by his ancestors, Nicaraguan artisan Luis Miguel Campos creates this beautiful ceramic candle shade. The spherical shade is formed from terracotta before being incised with an openwork pattern that allows the candlelight to shine through. It is then given an army green glaze and polished smooth before being fired in a kiln.