Artisan Crafted Ceramic Christmas Nativity Scene 'Christmas in a Reed Canoe' Item ID: 2669904196

The artistry of Dionisio Rojas Gutierrez has been featured in the Cincinnati Inquirer.

Dionisio Rojas Gutierrez is an artisan from the Andes mountains of southern Peru. He has worked since the age of ten with his cousins, who are also ceramics artists, and his aunt who had an art store in his hometown. Rojas sold his ceramic artwork locally as a teenager and won art contests at local, state, and national levels as his skills progressed. Alongside his lovely wife, he fully dedicates himself to his ceramic artwork, in particular churches, lamps, animals, and musicians.

He forms the vases on the potter's wheel, while figurines are shaped by hand or in a hand-made mold. The pieces are fired it at a temperature of 900º C (1,652º F). When they have cooled, Rojas paints the motifs and protects each piece with a coat of varnish.