[polymita]

Dear friends: I´m new on this site and I want to meet true friends to share projects in a closer future maybe and friendship of course. I´m naturalist-malacologists with two books wrote about this topic (the first one was: ¨Cuba the Landshells Paradise¨, from Greta Editores, Spain), nature photographer and glyptic carver since few years ago on semiprecious stones and seashells. Also I wrote a book about smoking pipes and I´m writing another on the same theme but related to american smoking pipes exclusive. I made several conferences on Netsukes, Smoking pipes and Glyptic miniature art and I still like to carve miniatures on precious hard woods, antlers, horns, bone and ivory. I´m cuban born but living with my wife in Quito, Ecuador, since two years and I´m trying to find a different path to my works, regretfully this is a country without the propper artistic culture to my skills and I felt very lonely. When someone had a lot of culture and many artistic ideas must be in a country with a receptive artistic comunity and galleries with an strong cultural source, not my case in this moment, so I want to find my place in another part of the planet and to find the miniature carvers friends I always dream to find to share artistic adventures and much more. My e-mail is iradys.caballero@gmail.com and I´m waiting for your mails, to discover maybe friends on the same energy flow and with open wings. This is the short message for now, this is my call to the true miniature carvers friends around the world...I will be here waiting. Sincerely yours, the ¨new kid on the block¨. Good luck and warmest regards from Ecuador.

[Janel]

Hello polymita,

Welcome to The Carving Path forum! You have found a friendly, helpful place where many of us are isolated from others who may share our interests in carving on a smaller scale. Please feel welcome here, and please ask questions or make contributions in any of the forum areas. Over time, questions are answered if anyone has had experience with the topic.

I looked up the word polymita and smiled when I read the description. "The genus Polymita comprises the most colorful of all the tree snails ...". These creatures must be very interesting to see and observe (I happen to enjoy watching snails). Are you willing to share your name with us?

Here are a lot of questions for you: Do you photograph some of the creatures that you study? Which ones are your favorites? You said that you made several conferences on Netsuke,Smoking pipes and Glyptic miniature art, I am wondering where the conferences were and perhaps with whom the netsuke conferences were attended. Are you familiar with the International Netsuke Society? What sorts of hardwoods do you like to carve?

I will not ask more though there are always many more questions in my mind. Again, Welcome!

Janel

[polymita]

Dear Janel:

I sent today mails to six different persons I found close related to my goals in this wonderful site, one of them is you!!!, and I´m very excited to see that before you receive my personal mail you answered me through this forum...I wasn´t wrong about your kind smile. My name´s Adrián González Guillén and my second book is untitled ¨Polymita the most beautiful landsnail of the World¨, try to see anyway my first book ¨Cuba the Landshells Paradise¨ on Greta Editores web page Ok. Yes I had thousands of pictures of cuban landsnails as Polymita genus because I spent more than 15 years traveling alone through all the primary forests and hills of my homeland, and of course I can share with my future true carvers friends all the beautiful pictures they want from my Flora and Fauna database, one of the first things a carver inspired by Nature must do it´s to create such data base to provide himself the necessary sources of different topics he can find on the dealers-buyers requests...and since now my favourites subjects are certain animals and certain flowers. My conferences on Netsukes were concise conferences for people doesn´t had any idea about japanese art, the smoking pipes were much better and extended on my opinion and glyptic art conferences were related mostly to the evolution of glyptic art in Europe and its relationship with Mughals for example, maybe some stuff on chinese glyptic art history but no so extensive as I wanted. My carving experience on Netsukes and carved smoking pipes allow me to research everyday more about the history and development, even I wrote an unpublished book on smoking pipes and I´m writing another on the same theme but with a different perspective. I know since a long time ago the Netsukes International Society and someday maybe I will return to my miniature carving roots in materials as hard wood, antlers, ivory, bone or horn, but since 2007 I´m deep involved in seashells cameos art and semiprecious stones carvings. I left in Cuba many good books related to hard woods, I use as many as you can imagine because I lovenever cut any tree or kill an animal to obtain my resources!!! I always collect pieces of wood that carpenters throw out, or pieces of wood that farmers use as firewood or pieces of material in the forest, I´m a conservationist and one of the reasons Ilove miniature carving art it´s because we don´t predate huge amounts of materials and we had a very different carving philosophy related to the Nature bounds. But answering your question about woods I prefered I tell you the names in spanish ébano (cuban black ebony better thousand times than african black ebony), ácana (beautiful reddish wood), and granadillo (a lot of color variations in Cuba) are very interesting to me, but I used as many as you cant imagine, discover hard woods is an adventure in the field work and for Netsukes I think xerofitic shrub coastal hard woods are the best on my humble opinion. I´m responding shortly my friend because I must teach a Practical Workshop on Digital Macrophotography and Photographic Composition in the Botanical Garden of Quito in three days and I doesn´t study too much the theory!!! I like a little bit the theory aspects but sometimes it drives me crazy, ja, ja, ja..., anyhow Imust study a lot right now!!! Please answer me directly to my personal mail....I preffer answer via former mails, and indeed I have a lot of things to share with you my dear friend but I just answer your first questions in order, Ah! sorry but my english is really bad, but that´s the best way to talk with anglospeakers... Warmest regards to you from Quito, and all the best. Sincerely yours, your brother in arms on some way,...ADRIÁN...

[polymita]

Dear Clive:
The difference between gastropods pulmonates and opistobranchs it´s indeed the operculum among other characteristics like the position of the eyes and certain otgans. I´m a terrestrial land snails malacologists, but I know that some sea shells operculums are heavier andwide enough for a carving work....but just for shallow relief. I can recomend to you many seashells species I know it work very well for cameos carvings, but about operculums I´m not so specialized, sorry. Sincerely yours,...Adrián González Guillén.

[Jim Kelso]

Hello and welcome Adrian!

You have a very interesting background. I found your book on Cuban landshells on-line and it looks fantastic.
Here in Vermont we have maybe the fewest and dullest landshells of all, at least in my limited observation

I am very glad you found us and look forward to exchange.

Might you share some photos of shells in our Photography area?

Thanks

Jim

[polymita]

Dear Jim:
On my first answer to Janel I established that I can provide you guys of the pictures you needed from my extense photography data base, of course my thousands of nature pictures of my own authorship are more delicate to send to someone, because as you know or understand there are people that doesn´t respect the copyrights and can do a wrong use of the photos, but in your case of course it will be an honour to send my pictures and also will happen to everyone that need something from my data base. I wrote to you today an introductive letter to your personal mail and I hope you read my words. Please send to my mail: iradys.caballero@gmail.com another mail account you use frequently to have a better and long talk and for start to send some pictures you might want it maybe. I´m an admiror of your work deeply and I know we share many things in common as we can focus our talks on some interesting areas of knowledge. Sorry for this short answer....Sincerely yours, a new brother in arms.....Adrián González Guillén.

[Jim Kelso]

Thanks very much Adrian for your comments and the private message.

[Phil White]

Welcome to the forum, polymita

I am looking forward to seeing your work, particularly on pipes. I think the first small work that I did was carving a few pipes in catlinite, many years ago.

All the best,

Phil

[polymita]

Dear Phil:
I´m not working on pipes except for my forthcoming book on Ancestral american cultures smoking pipes and related paraphernalia....I never carved the famous red catlinite used for certain ancient plain indians cultures, but I carved hard briar wood and meerschaum bowls and I had experience on carved bowls. I promisses to Janel start showing in this place my artistic works after september because I only carve here on Ecuador in these months commercial mother of pearl pendants with impresionist texture and of course with my main themes that are animals and plants...the only I will do for the moment will be put some of my nature photographies cause Janel and Jim Kelso want to see me doing that, but that´s all for now. I´m happy to see that someone here can understand the cultural history of artistic smoking pipes, good for you...for any question about pipes please count with me. I teach in Cuba the first smoking pipes practical and theoretical workshop at the Old Havana Tobacco House and in my personal curriculum I had many conferences related to pipes. I´m glad to meet you finally Phil and I hope share with you more talks.

Sincerely yours....ADRIÁN

[magnus homestead]

Welcome Adrian!

Your personal story sounds wonderful - I look forward to finding your books. I look forward to further exchanges and a look at some of your works.

Blessings,
Magnus