“Handcraft works on people’s minds, on human beings. When I’m at the workshop, I forget about everything. When I see the finished piece, it’s very beautiful, it’s something that only God can give us inspiration. Taking a piece of wood that is already in the trash and turning it into a beautiful piece is priceless”.
Rodney combines his imagination with the region’s biodiversity to create biojewels. There are necklaces, bracelets, earrings and purses made with scrap wood (which was discarded) and seeds that he collects himself. After processing, which is done by a specialized person, Rodney does the polishing and dyeing. For this stage, he uses both natural pigments, such as onion peel, and dye for dyeing clothes.
The seeds he uses most are from Jarina, a typical palm tree from the Amazon rainforest; of paxiúba and açaí. Because they are reused, the woods are varied, but the most common are maracatiara, jackfruit, morapiranga and paxiúba.
