Federico Enciso Ramos es un artista mosaico de Ajijic que crea mosaicos decorativos para el hogar y el jard&iacute;n, as&iacute; como obras de arte colgantes.
Cuando se sienta a empezar un nuevo mosaico, Federico normalmente no tiene idea de c&oacute;mo terminar&aacute;. Deja que las formas, colores y texturas de las piedras sean su gu&iacute;a, coloc&aacute;ndolas al azar antes de que una idea comience a revelarse. Luego juega con esas ideas iniciales hasta que es capaz de utilizar las piedras para contar una historia completa.
&#8220;Cort&eacute; muchas piezas y termino haciendo muchas de estas&#8221;, dice Federico, se&ntilde;alando los mosaicos colgados en una pared en su exposici&oacute;n de septiembre de 2019 en <a href="/casa-colon-concept-house/">Casa Col&oacute;n Concepto Casa</a>. &#8220;Y no sab&iacute;a lo que iba a hacer, s&oacute;lo sab&iacute;a c&oacute;mo las piedras se conectan conmigo, qu&eacute; me est&aacute;n dando, c&oacute;mo me sent&iacute;a&#8221;.
<h2>Obteniendo sus materiales</h2>

Federico obtiene sus rocas de las laderas locales, de tiendas en Guadalajara y de visitas a la playa. &#8220;Cada vez que voy a la playa, dedico tiempo a recoger guijarros&#8221;, que las olas pulen de forma natural.
Pero la mayor&iacute;a de las piezas de piedra las corta Federico y las moldea &eacute;l mismo a partir de bloques enteros de roca sin cortar.
 <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://lsguide.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/federico-enciso-ramos-ajijic-mexico-5585.jpg" alt="Federico Enciso Ramos" width="1024" height="683">
&#8220;Hay algunas piedras que s&iacute; compro&#8221;, dice Federico. &#8220;Voy a las tiendas donde tienen rocas grandes sin cortar y a veces compro rocas peque&ntilde;as. Hay algunas que encuentro en viajes o caminatas por las monta&ntilde;as. Pero la mayor&iacute;a las corto una por una de la roca cruda con una sierra mojada y una hoja circular de diamante.
&#8220;Es como cortar jam&oacute;n. Pero las piedras son mucho m&aacute;s duras&#8221;.
Una vez terminado el mosaico, Federico aplica una capa de barniz transparente para proteger la roca y hacer brillar los colores. Cada tipo de roca absorbe el barniz a un ritmo diferente dependiendo de su porosidad.
&#8220;Eso es lo interesante porque las tonalidades pueden cambiar de brillante a mate&#8221;, dice.
Federico comenz&oacute; a hacer mosaicos a principios de la d&eacute;cada de 2000, despu&eacute;s de aprender escultura y otras formas de arte. Durante este per&iacute;odo realiz&oacute; mesas de piedra y arte decorativo durante tres a&ntilde;os con un socio comercial.
&#8220;A m&iacute; no me satisfizo&#8221;, dice, d&aacute;ndose golpecitos en el pecho, &#8220;aqu&iacute;&#8221;. Cuando conoci&oacute; los mosaicos, fue una explosi&oacute;n de ideas.
 <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://lsguide.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/federico-enciso-ramos-ajijic-mexico-5591.jpg" alt="Federico Enciso Ramos" width="400" height="600">Las emociones y los sue&ntilde;os inspiran gran parte del trabajo de Federico, como se refleja en el t&iacute;tulo y los dise&ntilde;os incrustados en las piezas de piedra de su obra: &#8220;Paz interior&#8221;, &#8220;Aura y la lluvia de bendiciones&#8221;, &#8220;Trascendencia cu&aacute;ntica y la mariposa drag&oacute;n&#8221;.

<h2>Su obra es parte de la Plaza de Ajijic</h2>

Federico dise&ntilde;&oacute; e instal&oacute; el mosaico en la plaza de Ajijic, para lo cual el pueblo lo contrat&oacute; en 2012. &Eacute;l y un equipo de trabajadores en su mayor&iacute;a ofrecieron su tiempo como voluntarios durante un total de ocho meses. El pueblo suministraba los materiales m&aacute;s un pago ocasional, que Federico sol&iacute;a repercutir a los dem&aacute;s trabajadores.
Para Federico, es un honor que su obra se exhiba de manera tan destacada en el espacio p&uacute;blico m&aacute;s importante de Ajijic.
&#8220;Es para el pueblo, es para todos. Es para que lo disfrute toda la gente, no s&oacute;lo el pueblo, para que todos lo disfruten&#8221;, dice, refiri&eacute;ndose a los muchos visitantes de Ajijic, como los turistas de fin de semana de la cercana Guadalajara.
Adem&aacute;s de la creaci&oacute;n de mosaicos colgantes para exhibir en las paredes, Federico tambi&eacute;n realiza trabajos de mosaicos decorativos. Fabrica muebles, como mesas y espejos, con mosaicos con incrustaciones. Tambi&eacute;n puede contratarlo para trabajar en elementos estructurales como pilares, cornisas, repisas de chimeneas y hogares en su hogar o jard&iacute;n. Realizar&aacute; dise&ntilde;os empotrados para pisos y paredes, o crear&aacute; accesorios decorativos.

Federico Enciso Ramos

Federico Enciso Ramos is a mosaic artist from Ajijic, Mexico.

An opening reception for Federico's show at Casa Colón Concept House.

Federico's work gets its inspiration from nature, Maya and Aztec designs, and contemporary influences.

"Inner Peace": granite, volcanic stone, jasper, turquoise.

"Lluvia de estrellas (Meteor Shower)": Volcanic stone, young turquoise, and sandstone.

"Fractal Window": rainforest jasper and volcanic stone.

An opening for Federico's show at Casa Colón Concept House. The food and bar service was provided by Dharma, the on-site restaurant.

"Quantum Transcending and the Dragon Butterfly": agate, amethyst, lapis lazuli, sodalite, travertine, sandstone, abalone shell, iridescent glass, and pebble stones.

Detail of "Quantum Transcending and the Dragon Butterfly."

Aside from hangable wall art, Federico also creates mosaic furniture such as this table.

The music for Federico's opening at Casa Colón Concept House was provided by duo Yanin Saavedra and Gilberto Rios.

"La Catrina": jade, turquoise, dichroic glass, travertine, sandstone, and mosaic glass.

"Aura and the Rain of Blessings": Turquoise, sandstone, volcanic stone, agate, iridescent glass, and abalone shell.

Detail of "Aura and the Rain of Blessings."

"Time Traveling": jade, jasper, turquoise, travertine, green onyx, agate, and sandstone.

Federico Enciso Ramos stands in front of some of his mosaics exhibited at Casa Colón Concept House in Ajijic, Mexico.

Federico Enciso Ramos is a mosaic artist from Ajijic who creates decorative mosaic work for the home and garden, as well as hangable works of art.
When he sits down to start a new mosaic, Federico normally has no idea how it will end. He lets the shapes, colors and textures of the stones be his guide, placing them randomly before an idea starts to reveal itself. Then he plays around with those initial ideas until he&#8217;s able to use the stones to tell a complete story.
&#8220;I cut lots of pieces and I end up making many of these,&#8221; says Federico, pointing to the mosaics hanging on a wall at his ongoing September 2019 exhibition at <a href="/casa-colon-concept-house/">Casa Colón Concept House</a>. &#8220;And I didn&#8217;t know what I was going to do &#8212; I just knew how the stones are connecting with me, what they are giving me, how I was feeling.&#8221;
<h2>Sourcing His Materials</h2>
Federico sources his rocks from the local hillside, from shops in Guadalajara and visits to the beach. &#8220;Whenever I go to the beach, I always spend time picking pebblestones,&#8221; which get polished naturally by the surf.
But the majority of the stone pieces Federico cuts and shapes himself from whole blocks of uncut rock.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://lsguide.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/federico-enciso-ramos-ajijic-mexico-5585.jpg" alt="Federico Enciso Ramos" width="1024" height="683" />
&#8220;There are some stones that I do buy,&#8221; says Federico. &#8220;I go to the stores where they have the big uncut rocks and I sometimes buy small rocks. There are some that I find on trips or hiking in the mountains. But most I cut one by one from the raw rock with a wet saw and a diamond circular blade.
&#8220;It&#8217;s like cutting ham. But the rocks are much harder.&#8221;
After the mosaic is complete, Federico applies a layer of clear varnish to protect the rock and make the colors shine. Each type of rock absorbs the varnish at a different rate depending on how porous it is.
&#8220;That&#8217;s what&#8217;s interesting because the tonalities can change from between shiny to matte,&#8221; he says.
Federico started making mosaics in the early 2000s after learning sculpture and other forms of art. During this period he made stone tables and decorative art for three years with a business partner.
&#8220;For me, it didn&#8217;t satisfy me,&#8221; he says, tapping on his chest, &#8220;here.&#8221; When he was introduced to mosaics, it was an explosion of ideas.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://lsguide.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/federico-enciso-ramos-ajijic-mexico-5591.jpg" alt="Federico Enciso Ramos" width="400" height="600" />Emotions and dreams inspire much of Federico&#8217;s work, as reflected in the title and designs embedded in the stone pieces of his work: &#8220;Inner Peace,&#8221; &#8220;Aura and the Rain of Blessings,&#8221; &#8220;Quantum Transcending and the Dragon Butterfly.&#8221;
<h2>His Work Is a Part of the Ajijic Plaza</h2>
Federico designed and installed the mosaic work at the Ajijic plaza, which the town contracted him to do in 2012. He and a team of workers mostly volunteered their time for a total of eight months. The town supplied the materials plus an occasional payment, which Federico usually passed on to the other workers.
For Federico, it&#8217;s an honor to have his work displayed so prominently in Ajijic&#8217;s most important public space.
&#8220;It&#8217;s for the pueblo, it&#8217;s for everyone. It&#8217;s for all people, not only the town, for everyone to enjoy,&#8221; he says, referring to Ajijic&#8217;s many visitors, such as the weekenders from nearby Guadalajara.
Besides the creation of hangable mosaics for display on walls, Federico also does decorative mosaic work. He makes furniture, such as tables and mirrors, with inlaid mosaics. You can also hire him to work on structural elements such as pillars, cornices, fireplace mantels, and hearths in your home or garden. He will do inset floor and wall designs, or create decorative accessories.