Friday, July 27, 2012

Gallery / Workshop of Eduardo Vega


On Friday, July 27th, we went to the Vega Galeria / Taller (gallery / workshop), which is located high above Cuenca in the community of Turi.


The Vega house located next to the gallery


Mural at the entrance to the gallery


Born in 1938, Eduardo Vega is a very famous Ecuadorean ceramicist and designer. He studied for two years in Madrid, and then furthered his education in London from 1960 to 1961.  Later, he went on to study ceramics for two years in France.  


On returning to Cuenca, a region with a strong pottery tradition, he created one of his most outstanding murals, the Land of El Dorado (1969; Cuenca, Hotel El Dorado). At the time he was the only artist in the country extensively involved in producing ceramic murals. 
Entrance to the gallery from the garden
In 1973, Vega set up the ceramics business Artesa in Cuenca, for which he designed hundreds of decorative and utilitarian pieces, that bore the trademark Vega and were exported worldwide. Notable later works include Of the Three Moons (1985-7; Quito, Banco Ecuatoriano de la Vivienda), The Totems (1991, Cuenca, Remigio Crespo and Unidad Nacional), a monumental ensemble of concrete and clay, Men of Stone and Taking the Spirit out of the Earth (1995, Quito, Pal. Cardondelet).  

View of Cuenca from inside the gallery

Workshop


You will also be able to sit down and watch a very interesting video about Vega. It only takes about 10 minutes and is well worth watching and you will also be able to see Artisans at work.





Back in the 70’s, Eduardo started a company called Artesa, and these products are found throughout Ecuador.  You can quickly identify if it is a true Vega product by checking to see if it has the renowned E Vega signature encrypted into the work.
Some of the pieces on display in the gallery:
Candle holders

Condor plate

Hummingbird ceramics

Hummingbird plate

Pelican

Rose teapot




Toucan









Open from Monday to Friday from 9a.m. - 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9.30a.m. - 1.30 p.m.

You can hop in a taxi and ask to be taken to Eduardo Vega gallery in Turi and from the city the fare should be around $3.50.

Contact information

We're going to the coast this weekend for 3 days to go whale watching and also to go to the Isla de la Plata.  Look for photos and blog soon about that trip.

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Cuenca for Expats Monthly Meeting


Cuenca for Expats Welcome Meeting

A committee of Cuenca expats will provide basic information, tips and referrals to make the transition for newcomers easier, Monday, August 6th, 10:00 a.m., at the Cuenca Chamber of Commerce. Following the presentation, there will be a question and answer session. The meeting will be in the Chamber´s Conference Room, Federico Malo 1-90 y Av. 12 de Abril. The event is free. To sign up, contact Veronica at vmaldonado@cccuenca.com.


Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Trip to Paute

Diego on the family farm in Paute
We have a friend (Diego) who lives with his family in Cuenca, but they also have land in Paute with a small house and garden.

 Paute is a small city of about 20,000 people about 45 minutes northeast from Cuenca.  It is slightly lower in elevation which means that it is usually warmer and sunnier than Cuenca.  However we've had such beautiful weather lately in Cuenca that it felt the same in Paute.

Mike, myself, Diego, and Gary & Sue all enjoyed the day in Paute.  Here are pictures of the property that Diego's family owns there:

Not sure what kind of flower this is, but it sure is pretty!

Chirimoya Tree

Diego holding the fruit from the Chirimoya tree

House and small garden. Across the street they're growing corn.

 





































After driving around Paute for awhile, we decided to eat lunch at a restaurant we had read about called Corvel.  It didn't disappoint.  Mike had a chicken dish, I had shrimp, and the others had trout.  It was very good.  Here are pictures of the restaurant:

Corvel is located in downtown Paute at Simon Bolivar 8-37 y Lumtur


It is very nice inside, but . . .
















, , , we ate outside in the garden















They also have seating upstairs overlooking the garden
Decor on the wall















View from the garden looking at the back of the restaurant















These were pictures on the wall of the flood of 1993 "La Josefina"