Carmen Betancourt Icons

For over fifteen years, Alejandro and Carmen Betancourt have been producing and selling beautiful icons.

Here is their technique:

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An image is traced onto aluminum. Then the back and front are burnished to create a relief.

The depressions on the back are filled with wax and resin.

After gluing it to a board, the surface is carefully textured.

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The surface is then painted.

Highlights are removed with cotton.

Holes are punched into the surface.

Faceted stones are glued into the holes.

Carmen now runs the business. For more information about Carmen or her work, or to place an order (paid in advance with Western Union or MoneyGram) you may write (in English or Spanish) or speak to her (in Spanish) at:

Iconos Carmen Betancourt
Atn. Carmen Valenzuela P.
Celaya, Guanajuato
Mèxico

Telephone: 01 461 2 64 92 39
E-mail: ma-carmenv@hotmail.com
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GUANAJUATO LINKS:
Ceramist, Capelo
Ceramist, Angelica Escarcega Rodriguez
Ceramist, José Luis Méndez Ortega
Guevara Ceramics
Tecpatl Ceramics
Cane Baskets
Jeweler, Francisco Garcia Guevara
Tinsmithing
ARTCERA Wax Figures of Salamanca, Guanajuato
Gobelin Tapestry Weaving in Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato
Ikat Foot-Loom Woven Shawls of Moroleon and Uriangato, Guanajuato
Papermaker, Margarita Orozco Ramirez, of San Miguel, Guanajuato
Wood Carver, Fernando Giron Pantoja, of Apaseo el Alto, Guanajuato
Link to Polish Icons

Web page, photographs, and text by Carol Ventura in 2001. Please look at Carol's home page to see more about crafts around the world.