“One day I discovered the Japanese term Wabi Sabi and I felt very identified; because it speaks of beauty in the imperfect and that’s how I see the wood I work with. They may be damaged by the ravages of time, have uneven edges, cracks, dents, but when painted they come back to life with a new function.”
Marla Mora “Taller Artesanal” is an enterprise based on illustration on different materials, with bottles and wood as the main ones, although future projects could include papier-mâché and cardboard combined into sculpture.
Marlene Mora, its creator, recognizes each piece as unique, made entirely by hand and with care for every detail. The illustrations convey a naive style; characters that could well be taken out of a storybook, supported by a colorful and cheerful palette.
“It came about a long time ago, since I felt the need to express myself through drawing, which was what I always liked to do, even though I had never taken classes. Handicrafts, design, painting, were among my favorite activities, and one day I stopped to think about how I could combine all this to earn extra money… those were the beginnings,” Marlene explains.
Some of her products can currently be found at Matty Habana, the crafts and gifts bazaar located on the corner of Obispo and San Ignacio streets, in Old Havana, in addition to offering orders through social networks.
Recycling, as expected, is very present in the project. It was precisely with the reuse of bottles that it all began.
“When I thought about what medium I could use for my paintings, bottles came to mind, first of all because they were within reach, but especially because by reusing them I was giving them a new opportunity and they were not going to end up in the garbage. The same thing happened with the little wooden boards, I love it when I recover wood and I imagine how it used to belong to an old piece of furniture, a door or a window.”
One of Marla’s principles is the passion for what she does. She understands that enjoying the process, no matter how long it takes, is the greatest pleasure.
