Each item in the hand carved wood collection makes a beautiful accent or statement piece in a home. The designs are hand carved and finished using paints and techniques that give each piece its own unique quality and aged appearance.
HAND CARVED SANTOS COLLECTION
Each piece is an individual work of art combining the talents of expert wood carvers and Eric’s own hand finishing.
Santos, originally Spanish for saints, are usually smaller statues that were used for processionals or in private home chapels. These wooden figures have simple frameworks since they were covered and dressed in elaborate costumes and wigs for each feast day or religious holiday. The Madonna was the most revered, and many variations of her image created.
For the Eric Cortina Santos Collection, the process begins in the Philippines where the European art of carving Santos and religious objects has been passed down for many generations. Artists start with Eric’s original design and hand carve each figure piece out of mahogany. A different expert carver then creates the head and hands using softer wood. Every piece is unique and has its own personality which is displayed in the carving of face and glass eyes.
After each piece is carved, it is entirely covered in gesso which provides a surface for the various layers of paint used in Eric’s finishing process. They are then packed, crated and shipped to the Cortina studio.
The painting process begins with Eric applying 2 to 3 individual base colors and then stains to the body that gives the piece an aged appearance. The heads and hands are then given special attention with additional layers of paint and stain to give a lifelike look and the appearance of aged enamel paint. The Santos is then sanded and hand distressed making each piece unique.