I know I’ve said this before, but Marvin is so talented. He is an artist and a perfectionist, with an eye for design. He made most of the furniture in my house. All I had to do was show him a picture of what I wanted. See Marvin’s masterpieces here and here and here.
Since Marvin is building an addition to our guest house and I have mounds of Pre-Columbian pottery shards piled on my porch, I asked Marvin if he could help me design a turtle mosaic to put above our new door. “No problemo,” he said. In a matter of minutes, we collected the shards scattered in bowls around my porch and fit them, like a puzzle, into the shape of a turtle.
“Look!” Marvin laughed. “These little round shards can be the turtle eggs.” Marvin reminded me that this month the turtles are laying their eggs on our beaches. “In honor of the female turtle, I will design her laying her eggs,” he said with a kind of reverence because he loves turtles.
Pure joy radiated from Marvin’s face as he laughed and whistled while he plastered the shards together to make one of his beloved turtles. Today, the turtle is waiting patiently to be cleaned, polished, and then a layer of transparent varnish applied for protection.
This was so much fun that we decided to make a crocodile for the side wall. I finally found a use for my collection of pottery shards. I’m thinking of naming our guest house “La Tortuga” in honor of Marvin’s love for turtles. Enjoy the slideshow.
Rewired and Retired in Nicaragua 
What a clever way to display those pottery shards. Marvin is clearly engaged in this project. You have put his talents to use, once again. The iron work he has created are works of functional art. You are lucky to have him.
How creative! I’m looking forward to seeing the end result 🙂 I think Casa ‘La tortuga” is a lovely name.
What a blessing to have such a talented, kind, honest artisan in your midst ! Marvin is The MAN! Thanks for sharing the magic that is , your neighborhood ! I love seeing all the amazing craftsmanship and artistry that surrounds you on your little island! 😃
Deb! I really like how your crib is pimped out ,woop woop 🙂 … What a great feeling that somebody can do furniture from scratch like Marvin does. I tell ya! man has to go back to basics 🙂
Really lovely, Deb – – he’s quite creative, isn’t he? Love the new volcano pic, too! Cody and I had a great time watching the election at my place last night – drank two bottles of wine and ate pizza – what a fun time!!! We both voted for Obama, of course – ha!
This is great!!! I have often pondered the options for shards; you have done this well and with respect. The croc will be great as well! The Indians would be proud that remnants of their work will smile again!
I’ve been offline for a few weeks and am catching up. How great that this post just rolled into the queue!
Z
Welcome back. I wondered where you were. I have thousands of pottery shards that have washed up on our beach. Each one is a treasure. It’s taken me years to actually do something with them. I hope you’re right. It seems so fitting that they can shine again. 🙂