Carved Wood and Carved Leather tell a story...

I recently made a trip to Oregon and on the way to my cousin's place I saw "GOODWILL SUPERSTORE"... It was imperative that I make it there before I go back to Los Angeles... OR ELSE...

I had 10 minutes to shop because I had to rush to catch my flight, and I found these AMAZELING pieces!

This purse is carved leather, made in Mexico.  It has 3 separate compartments inside and the front and back of the purse is identical with a secret zipper pocket.  I LOVE purses with compartments, and I LOVE that the front and back are identical.. I hate having to consciously wear my purse on my arm where you can see the FRONT instead of the boring back side.  $6 Dollars!

This belt is ALSO carved leather.  It's such a beautiful belt! 

The carvings tell a story of a horse running through the woods.  (at least that's what I got out of it)

All these CARVED PIECES reminded me of a very beautiful part of my culture,   the art of carving wood to tell a story. The final results are called Itaboris, or storyboards. This was introduced to Belau by the Japanese during their occupation in the island.  The people of Belau are naturally GREAT story tellers.  On top of that, carving wood has been a means of survival from the very beginning of time.  It only seemed natural that they would take this craft and make it a very distinct element of our culture.  The storyboards tell different Palauan stories, and are beautiful additions to any home or office.

This is an example of a Palauan storyboard.  Wood generally used is ironwood, or dort in the Palauan language.  If you ever visit Palau, don't leave without a storyboard!  They come in all sizes!

Art is universal.  Live it.

Love,
Mazel