Angel of the Sea

ARTISAN: Jean David Remy
Discover the art of cut metal with Doug Lapp, buyer for Ten Thousand Villages

The village of Croix des Bouquets is dry and hot, even in January. Small block houses, once painted vivid Caribbean colors, have grown dim over time. But the creativity here shines bright as a new day.

I walked the dusty unpaved streets accompanied by the endless rhythm of clanging metal. It is here that the Haitian cut metal tradition was born, when Georges Liataud began crafting iron crosses for grave markers in the 1930s. Now, every home within several blocks has a workshop —a showroom on the front porch, a side yard for working.

Artisans sketch their designs free hand, inspired by a vision, then cut away a tableau with only a hammer and chisel. The motifs of Haitian cut metal art reflect culture, religion and often, the landscape—the lushness and personality of the tropics, its land and seas teeming with life.

In Croix des Bouquets, I am immersed in true creativity. This is the place I go to witness imagination and originality, where ethereal dreams are captured, made real and lasting in steel.