by P. Hukov
Among the artisans of San Juan del Oriente is Marcell Navarro Ruiz, the creator of multicolor dream images rendered on ceramic plates. Navarro’s abstract images tell tales of adventures, sirens of the sea, mysteries of the night, the romance of Nicaragua, and meteorites in the cosmos in a carnival of colors.
Marcell Navarro Ruiz has been portraying these dreams in acrylic paint on clay for 12 years. He works in the back of his simple home, his wood stove smoking nearby, a 15-inch clay plate cradled under his arm, and a tray with dozens of hues at his elbow.
Navarro, 31, taught himself by studying the works of great artists, especially his favorite artist, Picasso. The visions he renders on ceramic begin as thoughts and feelings. He sketches abstract forms with a pencil on paper, then transfers the outline in pencil to a concave red pottery plate after a background coat of black or white paint has been applied. He paints quickly with swift strokes —he was definitely a kid who stayed inside the lines in his coloring book.
