We Love What You Do – Jesús Cruz

Today’s gift was meeting Jesús.  I loved taking the time this morning to sit and chat with him.  His story is so cool. He is retired yet by no means tired.  His energy comes through his big hands guided by a calm patience…

I am impressed by Jesús sitting and carving. The determination of a half carved plate is telling unto itself, two of them out to be worked on, more so. His steady pose as he drew his knife relayed a confidence of the medium and the tools.

Mankind’s first prints came from hands just like his thousands of years ago. Carve it, print it. That’s how it worked. Yet these days we see so many computer generated designs the handmade ones may get looked over.

Not today. It was impossible to miss this hulk of a guy sitting in the window facing the oceans’ horizon. He has retired from thirty-something years of teaching little kids. Wow, a school teacher for that long underlined by the passion he relayed to me in a few smiling sentences.

Here he was in the coffee shop doing his thing…carving away. His pen and ink doodles drew him to learn plate carving and the printing process. As much as he loves the story behind the image, carving and getting it press ready…he is also passionate about getting a good solid lay of unblemished ink.

He so loves what he does.

You can see that reflected in his hand carved plates and prints.

Links:
Jesús Cruz – Linoleum Cut Prints