I met Eddy one Sunday afternoon up in the White Clouds. His real name is Eduardo - Eduardo Porta, but I believe his friends probably call him Eddy. He's from Peru. How do I know all this? Well I've seen his carvings in the White Clouds up by Stanley, not far from Redfish Lake. He's carved his name on a number of aspens up that way.
On one aspen, not far from this one, he included his full name, Eduardo Porta, the word "HYO" (which I've researched but am not certain of the significance) and below that he carved "PERU." He's never included a date, at least not on the aspens I've photographed, so I don't know when he was herding in that area. I'm sure some of the experts like Dr. John Bieter from BSU's Basque Studies Department might have some insights on how to determine when this was carved. John is one of the leading authorities on Basque arborglyphs.
Anyway, I really like Eddy's carving style, too. Nice strong lines and very skillful on the curves. It's hard. I know. I carved my name in an aspen in my backyard recently. It's definitely not like cutting into paper with an Exacto knife. And by the way, you CAN try this at home if you have an aspen, but although we love the arborglyphs found in the mountains of the west made by immigrant herders, let's leave that tradition to them. And besides, carving into wood is what printmaking is for! Wouldn't you just love to see a relief print made by Peruvian carver Eduardo Porta?
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