Floresville Stone
Sculptures |
Have you ever seen the strange sculptures in front of a yard on Standish Street? Well, I have. These sculptures on the yard are like a gallery that was created by Beatrice Ximenez. I interviewed her son, Arturo Ximenez who has also made some sculptures. Arturo says his mother had been making these sculptures for the past four decades until she passed away on July 27, 1989 . Mrs. Ximenez learned her craft from her husband Pedro Ximenez who passed away more than 40 years ago. Mr. Ximenez was a master of creating tables, chairs, shrines, and giant baskets. Unlike her husband Pedro, Beatrice’s sculptures were the first to depict animals. One of the many animals that Beatrice made is the Lagoon Monster. It is scaly green with outstretched arms; he is a strange looking animal. Other animals she made are a short-legged giraffe with a long neck and wide lips, and a dinosaur-like animal that looks like Dino from the Flintstones. When I asked Arturo Ximenez if his mother ever sold her work, he said she would prefer instead to leave it as a legacy to her family. Arturo learned from his mother and has also made several sculptures himself. One that I personally like is a sculpture of the character E.T. Arturo says he likes to work on the sculptures when he has time and hopes that one of his children or grandchildren will want to learn this craft also. Mr. Ximenez says these sculptures are made of
cement. He mixes the powered cement with sand and water. He then pours it into
a formed molded wire of an animal or whatever form he decides to make at that time.
|