Wheat Plating Art

In the mountainous lands of the department of Nariño, plating in wheat chaff is one of the techniques developed by its artisans. This process consists of decorating wooden objects, covering them with the fine and golden fibers of the wheat chaff, collected as stubble after the harvests. After selecting the dry stems, the artisans delicately open them and flatten them using a stone. Once flattened, the stems can be stuck directly on a drawing sketched in the wood or form a sheet sticking the fibers on a sheet of special paper. This sheet is cut out according to the desired shape and adhered on the object. In some cases, the fibers are stained in colors or exposed to heat to darken. Although the technique of decorating wood with other elements such as hawksbill, bone or ivory is common since colonial times, the hands of expert craftsmen have been practicing inlay for four decades. With the wheat chaff, they create lines and curves, giving life to everyday and folkloric images such as flowers, landscapes, scenes of peasant life and special occasions such as the "Carnival of Whites and Negros".