The DAISY Foundation is importing thousands of Healer's Touch sculptures from Zimbabwe each year. As each one is hand-carved by a Shona artist, we thought it would be wonderful to see how these beautiful pieces are carved, knowing that the artists are working in very primitive conditions.  Press the play button to watch a piece of art get born out of rock.

If you find the artists' accents difficult to understand, please click here for a transcript.

THE “CARE AND FEEDING” OF YOUR HEALER’S TOUCH SCULPTURE

Your sculpture is made of Serpentine Stone. It has a thin coating of wax to bring out the color of the stone, and it is fairly delicate.  Should it suffer a scratch or nick, it is not difficult to repair.  Here’s how:

• Heat it in your oven at 250 degrees for about 10 minutes. (The artists fire it in open flame, so this won’t hurt it. Just be sure to use an oven mitt to remove it from the oven.) If the scratch is deep or the sculpture is nicked, you may first smooth it out with fine sand paper and steel wool.

• Apply and rub in clear shoe polish to restore your sculpture’s color and shine.

If you have any questions about this, please email us at DAISYsupplies@DAISYfoundation.org. Mark will be happy to help you.