Artisan Andrea’s Higuera designs are an incorporation of many different influences. Her interest in Folk Art painting began in the 1980′s while living and working in Europe. Her earliest work was influenced by Norwegian, Dutch and German folk art, and years spent in New Mexico had her appreciating the Southwest style, and HOT food, too! In 1997 she embarked on a mid-life adventure, purchasing a 33-foot trawler, leaving responsibility behind and heading for the West Indies. Five months later her and her husband arrived in Puerto Rico and fell in love with the island. Sometime later a friend introduced her to the higüera, the local variety of calabash gourd. Not knowing what it was, she started hacking away at it with all her might. She has subsequently improved her carving skills, and is now a certified Artesana, a title reserved for those artists who, using materials indigenous to Puerto Rico, capture the island’s rich culture. The artist decided to decorate the gourds the same way as she’d painted plates and furniture…only now incorporating elements of the Caribbean way of life.
