Savoring an Elusive Romantic Getaway in Costa Rica through Art

Even paradise wears you down after a time, especially if you find yourself bogged down by the normal daily routines of life: transporting the kid to and from school, shopping for groceries, yard work, cooking, cleaning, etc. We have found since moving to Costa Rica that we seem to take even fewer vacations or weekend trips than we did in the States in order to break up our domestic monotony.

So, even though our original motivation to stimulate demand for Tamara's well-known mosaics was admittedly pecuniary, this trip turned out to provide us an excellent opportunity for an amorous getaway hours from the finca working together to bring Tamara's art to someone new.

A scintillating and enthusiastic art lover, Judy Fried, responded to my posting on a Costa Rica expatriates Facebook group showing off some of Tamara's past works. She had the perfect spot, a front door gable, where she wanted to display an original mosaic featuring a Quetzal, local plants, butterflies and hummingbirds with a symbolic representation of their gorgeous view over Costa Rica's Pacific mountains down the Gulf of Nicoya.

One of the original mosaic concept sketches

Tamara Applies Her Artistic Talents to Yet Another Medium - Wood Carving

We have four eucalypto posts on the outside of our home here in Costa Rica. Last year, we enlisted the help of a local wood carver who does astounding work to carve one of them. It took him two long days to finish the carving and a couple of days for us to sand and finish it. This year, we wanted to continue with the 3 posts on the back patio, but he was unavailable due to long-term health issues.

Suited up for battle

So, as she has done before, Tamara took up the challenge to learn a new art medium and carved them herself.

Having never carved any wood before in her life. 

Unfortunately, all she had at hand were some of those dollar store, cheap Chinese carving tools, which would never be up to the task even if you could adequately sharpen them. They stayed sharp about as long as it takes the driver behind you to honk when the light turns green.

I offered her my Dremel tool, however, and we bought some good quality bits downtown. She was off to the races! It was dusty, tedious work though and progress was excruciatingly slow.

What Else the Wife Is Up To in Costa Rica - Painted Rock Fish and Bracelets

A Blue Rock Fish

"Your wife is way more awesome than you are! :) " was a recent FB comment to me from a friend of ours in Costa Rica.

That was in reply to my posting of Tamara's latest mosaic, the sign in San Ramon Norte. With friends like that ... !

Well, what can I say, it's true actually and here's more proof.




Currently, she has something like a hundred of these painted rocks she made, all sizes, all colors. The kitchen table is usually covered with the latest batch in progress.

We hauled about 40 kilos of rocks from our last trip to the beach Monday.

Seriously, they look way cooler in real-life than my pictures fail to do in transmitting art into life.

She often paints both sides in such a way that when you flip it over a slightly different fish or sea creature emerges from the same rock.

Tamara's Contribution to the Beautification of Costa Rica

Three committee members: China, Isabel and Vianay

Several months ago, Tamara was asked for help by the Beautification Committee in San Ramon Norte, which is a village directly below our farm in the San Ramon river valley. The committee is organized by our neighbor, Steve, who was a Peace Corps volunteer in this corner of Costa Rica about 30 years ago. Steve returned several years ago to retire here.

The committee has already finished several projects, such as planting hundreds of meters of amapola (hibiscus) hedges, creating more parking spaces, landscaping, and refurbishing neglected gathering areas. They have more projects in the works.

Work in progress on old mini-park

They approached Tamara for help with decorative mosaics on walls, tables, and cement stools. She made the drawings and got them started and Steve, who worked on the big mosaic with Tamara at Sean's school, took over from there.


A couple months later, they asked Tamara do make a mosaic welcome sign for the town in order to replace the deteriorating wooden direction sign. Since it was a big project, about 5 by 5 feet, Tamara made a deal with them to trade her work for work on our finca. We picked up the steel frame of the old sign and brought it to her workshop here.

Post Carving Costa Rican Tropicale Style

Campana carving

For years, we had intended to have the four eucalyptus posts on our outdoor patios carved in tropical style. More than one person told us about a local carver who is just a stone's throw away from us, but we always managed to put off tracking him down. Finally, we got his name one more time, nickname actually, and went to look him up. His nickname is Campana or more playfully, Campanita, which can be translated as "Tinker Bell". He wasn't at home, but later in the day he called us and came up on his little Yamaha motorcycle to check out the post.

Detail of the post

He has been carving on his own for a long time and has a large collection of walking sticks, Tico coffee makers and other goodies that he sells now and then. He does custom carving such as ours by the hour, 1500 Colones = $3.

I cleaned all the bark off the post and Tamara made the initial drawing including an odd looking moth that was camped on our back patio door as if posing.

The whole post with new base

Campana started work one Tuesday at 7 AM and quit that day at 5 PM. He filled in the drawing with a lot of other bugs, flowers and hummingbirds as he went along.

By 5 PM the next day, he was finished. It was then up to us to do the sanding, a surface burn, crack filling, sealing, staining and a final top coat of polyurethane.

I had to cut off the bottom 9 inches or so of the post as it had begun to rot. I also treated the bottom two inches by letting it soak in a mixture of diesel and penta. Afterward, I created a concrete base that is keyed into the patio floor. Tamara then decorated it with broken tile pieces.

We're absolutely delighted with the finished look. Even though I've been going over and over it as we finished it off, I feel like I see a new detail each time I look at it. Lizards, frog, hummers, vines, flowers, bugs fit right in with our tropical surroundings.

We're going to try and complete the other three posts one post per month.

At Last, The Costa Rica School Mosaic is Complete

If you've been following Tamara's progress on the CAIRA school mosaic, you know that's she's been at it for quite some time. Planning started last October, and work began the first part of December. There were a couple of weeks hiatus when the staff were on vacation during the Christmas holidays, and then Tamara and helpers were back at it in January. 

Last Friday, the project was finally finished. Monday was the official unveiling.

The entire mosaic, about 6 meters wide by 3 meters high

 The final week may have been the most difficult, as by that time Tamara just wanted it to be done at last. She's now able to enjoy a little down time, though she's tinkering with another, smaller mosaic commission this week. 

Tamara's Costa Rica School Mosaic Project Mid-way

With about a week before school here in Costa Rica resumes, Tamara and her small crew are trying to finish the big wall mosaic at Sean's school. Most of the details are done now, so it's a matter of filling in the spaces and then grouting it all. Easy to say, time-consuming to do.

A neighbor girl, Marilyn, and fellow ex-pats, Steve Bok, and Patti Lawrence have been helping out every day

They'd probably all be done by now if we hadn't take several days off last week to make our first visit to Panama, but we wanted to squeeze in one trip while Sean is still on school break. 

This project, as all projects are wont to do, is taking longer than expected, but it's certainly coming out beautifully. I have been pushing Tamara to get some local media involved for publicity for her and the P.Z. International Women's Club, who helped sponsor this project. Anyone local who has contacts with journalists, please let them know.

Tamara's Mural Mosaic in Local Costa Rican Colegio

Two women's club members and a colegio teacher helping Tamara

Last week Tamara started a new project, which she's been planning for a couple of months. She's conducting a hands-on ceramic mosaic class, which is producing a wall-size mural for Sean's school (CAIRA). She pitched the idea to the principal first and then gained support from the local Perez Zeledon International Women's Club of which she is a member. The club raised money for ceramic tiles of specific colors, tools, cement, and to sponsor the fee for participating children. A few of the club members are also enrolled in the class.

Costa Rica's Decorated Ox Carts and Yokes Are Amazing

Close up of ox yoke Tamara painted for Alianza

The last couple of months, Tamara has been working with the marketing specialist at the local organic coffee co-operative Alianza to spruce up their cafetería and work on signage. She painted one small, decorative yoke like the ones used for the ox teams here and they loved it so much they gave her a full-isze one to paint.

Traditional Ox Cart Wheel Design

Painted yokes and carts are tradition in Costa Rica. The oxen who have worked pulling logs, firewood, or stuck 4x4s from the mud are prettied up when one of the many local festivals comes around. Their owners adorn the oxen with their dress yokes for pulling small brightly colored wooden wagons.

Example of Ox Cart Wheel Hub

A fusion of geometric and floral designs are common as seen in the picture above. Tamara deviated from that with her more detailed, gentle floral design, which is obviously influenced by her Ukrainian background.

The two yokes she did were a smash hit and are on display in the co-op's coffee shop. They'd never see such a unique design as hers but they were very pleasantly surprised. For payment she trades them for roasted organic coffee beans.

The Entire Ox Yoke as Tamara Finished It

Another Visit to San Gerardo de Dota

Long-time readers of this blog may recall a trip to San Gerardo de Dota that I wrote about over a year ago. Sean's best chums live there with their parents, Ryan and Tammy, in a perfectly picturesque cabin on the headwaters of the Savegre River. We've visited many times and have become good friends with Tammy and Ryan. They are most gracious hosts and I'm always keenly interested in the many projects they have going on, such as their greenhouse, hydroponic veggies, raising trout, and the numerous ornamental garden spots on their property. It's a beautiful location overlooking the river and the are fortunate to have Resplendent Quetzals visiting their trees. 

Pilas Mostacho - Furniture from Concrete

As I mentioned in the last post Tamara is making some "display models" of her mosaic work for a local pila factory (concrete sinks). Mostacho (whose real name is Carlos) has been at his PanAmerican Highway roadside location for much longer than we've been here. He's a delightful fellow who "likes to speak English" and does well at it. 

Outdoor furniture made from concrete is very popular here, as I'm sure it must be in other parts of Central America and other parts of the world. It's relatively easy to make and very durable. I don't care for it that much myself. I'm not so keen on the ornate edges they put on them. Neither is there much variation in the designs. With an artful mosaic on top, however, it's pretty snazzy! 

Tamara's At It Again - Mosaicos

The Fish Bench

Tamara hasn't had a commission for a wall mosaic lately, but that doesn't mean she's not been busy with her projects. She's worked out a new deal with a local "pila shop" to make some display models as it were of her work on his products (I'll cover his shop in a following post). 

What's a pila? It's a sink, specifically concrete sinks, which are very popular here. The concrete is typically covered with matching square ceramic tile and are quite attractive and useful. This shop also makes concrete decorative pillars, tables, chairs, benches, and more. The shop owner let Tamara borrow a large table top and 3 bench seats for her to work on. 

First Trip to Lake Arenal Costa Rica - Part Final

The slow, but long hike at Hanging Bridges whetted our appetite for some lunch. The German Bakery looked even more inviting in our minds' eyes than it had when we'd passed it up in Nuevo Arenal. So, we headed back that way, passing the wood carving gallery again but making a mental note to double-back for a visit after our anticipated post-prandial satisfaction. 

At trail's end we had time for a couple more photos, one of a beautiful Amapola blossom and another of a butterfly with a perfect picture of an owl under its wings. Actually, two owls, with the one on the left doing a pirate imitation (click to enlarge).

Sean and I had grabbed some cookies on our way out of the bakery and were happy to sit in the car once we got to the gallery to enjoy our dessert while Tamara poked around in the gallery, which from outward appearances seemed not terribly interesting.  After about 10 minutes, however, she came back to the car insisting that we come inside. 

The pictures that follow are just a tiny sampling of what's on display. These pieces are quite a bit different than what we've usually seen in roadside galleries and I was impressed. Part of the reason they are different is that they are made from rare tropical woods (such as Cocobolo heartwood), which have been submerged for years, maybe decades beneath Arenal Lake.

About every five years or so the lake level will drop low enough that some of this wood can be "harvested" by the artist for his sculptures. 

But, of course, these pieces strongest characteristics come from the work of the artist, Ronal Sibaja, himself. He is self-taught and has been making these pieces for many years. They have such an originality and flair that even if you don't like them, you can find them compelling just the same.

No, we didn't buy any this trip, but Ronald's work is definitely on our minds and we will make a point of visiting his small gallery on our next trip to Arenal. If you are intrigued by his work you can contact him at dkako09@hotmail.com or +506 8928-0262