Once you enter the doors of Artisans’ World Marketplace you feel like you’ve left the terrain of Sarasota and entered into an enclave of worldly treasures which allow you to take mini excursions while actually never leaving the store (except in your mind). One such excursion is to La Paz, Bolivia to see Juan Carlos Mejia’s work.
As an admirer stated, “Juan Carlos Mejia is living proof that imagination and creativity will always find a way to express itself. The way he depicts his animals – llamas, porcupines, turtles, armadillos and cats make them come to life. Their vitality is complimented by his use of color… have you ever seen a yellow llama? A blue cat? A red porcupine? Anything is possible in the world of Mejia and his animals.”
I’ve been delighted by not only his choice of color, but the patterns and whimsical approach he creates in these animals. He gives the same attention to these carved animals an architect might to a dwelling. Patterns wrap around the frog’s belly; painted toe nails; elements like his lips accentuated in color… I’ve been sensitive in my design approach so as not to overshadow the artisan, but rather bring his/her work closer to the viewer. In this ad I shot Juan’s frog and created a background playing off of his palette and pulled in some water droplets and added the drop shadow to both add dimension and direct your eye to the tiny fly on the frog’s tongue. Such fun. So many places to see.
