Destination: Ecuador : Crafty Folk : Art and handicrafts that are lovely, diverse and easy on the wallet

In a village high in the Andes, in a town of whitewashed houses and cobbled streets, lives a 72-year-old saddle maker called Luis Leopoldo Obando. The name of his village, Esperanza, means hope and it was with similar sentiment that we had split from the tourist path for a journey into the countryside to meet folk artists in their villages.

We had left the capital city of Quito at dawn in search of him--his photo and the name of his village our only clues to his whereabouts. When we finally found him at his home and workshop, there was no doubt that it had been worth every spine-jarring mile over corrugated roads.

What we found was not just the artisan but several of his beautiful saddles--which are said by Marion Oettinger, curator of Latin American Folk Art at the San Antonio Museum of Art, to be among the finest in South America. Photos of his dog-shaped leather tapaderos (stirrup covers) appear in books on folk art, such as Oettinger’s “Discovering the Folk Art of Latin America” (Dutton Studio, $19).

Like his father and grandfather, Obando began making saddles and other equestrian equipment when he was a boy and his work can be found on horses around the world.

Despite his fame, one of his beautifully handcrafted saddles costs less than $1,000. Tapaderos, such as those he designed from a picture given to him by my traveling companion, photographer C.J. Hadley, cost only $120. (Less detailed stirrup covers sold in the United States can cost $350.) After a few hours we left, having ordered not only the tapaderos but also purchasing a beautiful leather handbag (about $30) that could be transformed into a backpack.

A week later, we were about 200 miles south of Esperanza in the town of Chordeleg in search of folk artist Salvador Lopez, who turns lumps of clay into realistic and charming tableaux of rural Ecuadorian life.

Though we enjoyed seeing the birthplace of Lopez’s pieces, which appear in Ecuadorian museums, the world has not exactly beaten a path to his remote door. It took us two hours of hairpin curves and soft shoulders to get to Chordeleg from the Pan American Highway.

Fortunately, Ecuadorean folk art is not usually so difficult to find. During our trip last fall, we saw it in use in every corner of the country--from serving dishes at the restaurant Villa Rosa in Quito to poly-chrome statues of saints in Quito’s church of San Francisco, to a display of hats with brightly colored ribbons decorating a wall of Hosteria Abraspungu, a rustic inn two miles from Riobamba. We also saw it on the bodies of the local people in the form of embroidered skirts and blouses, felt and straw hats.

We likewise saw it for sale everywhere. In small towns like Pujili and Saquisili on market day; in the famous market in Otavalo and in sophisticated city shops, such as Artes Anias el Tucan in Quito and Kinara Tesoros de Arte in Cuenca.

The variety was astonishing. Fashioned of all kinds of material the folk art of Ecuador encompasses everything from hand-embroidered blouses ($15 or less) to clay water jugs, bowls, plates and mugs ($5-$10). We also saw ornamental fruit carved from blocks of wood (starting at about $3). Made by hand with primitive tools or no tools at all, the items are truly artes populares, the art of the people.

*

By 3,200 B.C., archeologists tell us, Ecuador’s indigenous people were already making gold jewelry and creating clay figures in what is believed to be one of the first pottery centers in the Americas.

Through the centuries, both gold-working and pottery-making techniques have been refined and evolved by the amalgamation of the country’s aboriginal people and the various cultures that later settled here.

Each has left its mark: for example the Incas, who conquered Ecuador and resettled the indigenous people in various places; and the Spanish, who assigned the different settlements particular crafts--weaving, woodcarving, leather working--so that they could more efficiently contribute necessary commodities to the economy.

Such geographically-linked craft production has continued through the centuries, so that today the town of San Antonio de Ibarra is home to the country’s premier woodcarvers, who create painted wooden birds, figures of shepherds, saints, even walking sticks.

Leather work is a specialty of Cotopoxi province. Otavalo is the acknowledged center for weaving. In several small Andean towns, the making of decorative candles--important for first communions and other religious ceremonies--has been elevated to a community art.

Popular with collectors are wooden masks, the majority of which are made in Cotopaxi. Imitating everything from wild animals and mythical monsters to political figures, most of the masks are carved from walnut.

Alejandro Jacho from Saquisili is one of Ecuador’s best mask makers, but there are other excellent carvers and we found some interesting masks in public markets, such as a wooden sheep’s head purchased in Quito for $20.

Masks are often made for ceremonial purposes--a local feast day (the sheep’s head is one example)--or for fiestas and religious ceremonies in which musicians adorn themselves with folk art. They may wear wide leather bands festooned with cowbells on their backs, or their drums will be decorated with primitive paintings crowded with mountains, fields, animals, churches and other elements of village life.

I saw the same style of painting on sheepskin canvases in the Otavalo market. Vibrant with acrylic colors, paintings are usually of rural scenes, such as sheep or llamas or the local people performing daily tasks. In an oil painting, for example, the whole village celebrates the birth of a baby. Prices for both acrylics and oils are generally in the $10-to-$25 range.

*

Two outstanding ceramists, Pablo Moscoso and Mauro Phazin, work in the city of Cuenca. Phazin’s fanciful figures incorporate a good deal of symbolism that adds to their aesthetic appeal.

Even more innocent are ceramics produced in the village of Pujili, where primitive molds are used to create scenes of village life, such as a piece featuring dancers and the town band.

Though the quality of the work varies, even the most childlike pieces are charming. My ten-member band, resplendent in blue uniforms with red and gold trim, cost about $20.

Because so many different materials are close at hand, the folk art we discovered most often was in the form of baskets, colorful or fiber-hued. Hemp, reeds, wicker and palms, as well as paramo and palmetto straw are woven into stars, crosses, whistles and candle holders perhaps to be blessed at mass on Palm Sunday. They’re also made into baskets, place mats and little boxes; wall coverings, floor mats, Panama hats ($10-$45 in the Cuenca market), hammocks, fishing nets, brooms and colorful bags.

We came upon the fiber weavers’ work in public markets, as well as out-of-the-way places such as the Incan ruins at Ingapirca, 60 miles northeast of Cuenca. And there, in the shelter of a weather-beaten refreshment stand, we found an Indian woman named Maria, who weaves tiny ornaments ($1-$3) and tiny boxes within boxes ($1-$2) and small baskets topped with woven figures (about $3), no two of which are exactly alike.

Fabric weaving also appears in many designs, including earth tones accented with colors such as plum and turquoise and black. I saw a 16- by 14-inch bag ($8-$15 from artisans at the markets), a shawl ($8-$20), pillows ($6-$10), sashes ($3).

In contrast to folk artists such as Maria are the highly organized members of the Otavalo group of indigenous people, whose market at Otavalo is one of the most celebrated in South America.

*

The Otavalenos have become so successful commercially that much of their work is rejected as folk art by those who contend the articles produced specifically for tourists are not artes populares. However, many of those items--such as the graceful wooden flutes we purchased ($10-$25)--are still one of a kind, and for that reason qualify under the broader definition of folk art.

Though the experts may not agree on what precisely constitutes folk art, they’re unanimous in advising that collectors buy the items they like once they see them, since no two pieces of folk art are exactly the same.

But investment is probably not the best reason to buy art. Although the best folk art often appreciates in value, it’s the buyer’s appreciation of a piece that should determine whether or not it is purchased.

Those serious about acquiring Ecuadorian folk art should be prepared to spend a good deal of time looking for it. Certainly, there is folk art in the country’s markets. But to find the best of the artisans, it may be necessary to embark on a sort of South American treasure hunt.

As our experience indicates, determining which artisans are the best at their particular crafts and finding out where they live is not as easy as it sounds. But information can be gathered by visiting a folk art museum--such as Museo de los Artes Populares in Cuenca and Museo de Communidad Gualaceo in Gualaceo.

While it may be possible to get some information from tourism offices in Ecuador’s major cities, it’s probably a better bet to visit the villages known for particular crafts and start asking around.

For maximum flexibility, most serious collectors travel to the villages by car (taxis with drivers who speak some English work well for non-Spanish speaking collectors). A visit to one folk artist usually leads to others, so a comparison of work is possible.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

GUIDEBOOK

Just Plain Folk

Market days: Chordeleg, Sunday; Cuenca, Thursday and Saturday; Gualaceo, Sunday; Otavalo, Saturday, although some vendors are there most days; Riobamba, Saturday; and Saquisili, Thursday.

Stores: Artes Anias el Tucan, Gran Colombia 7-90, Quito.

Kinara Tesoros de Arte, Galleria, M Sucre 7-70, Cuenca.

Ocepa (government-regulated craft stores), in major cities including Quito and Cuenca.

For more information: Ecuadorian Consulate, Tourist Information, 548 S. Spring St., Suite 602, Los Angeles 90013, (213) 628-3014.

--C.E.