About Rio Clarito

and its Taino STONESMITHS Workshop

Rio Clarito is a crystal clear river.

And, everybody’s asking, “Where is it?” Well, although from our point of view, where it is, is “where it’s at” - does a location really even matter? A better question might be: where is your mind when it goes following your heart back to those nifty cloud formations, or to that stream or pond where you last skipped stones? …And where’s your heart when it is at its fullest?

Rio Clarito is an endeavor whose meaning and purpose are still evolving as it claims conceptual territory. But laboring in the name of creative freedom will always be its main goal.

Rio Clarito is a tribute to a Taino ancestry as well as a happier Taino future. And it is the point of origin of our Stonesmiths workshop.

Long may it live and prosper, and flourish creatively. And long may we shape our handi-works in a way that is, as the Rush song puts it: “closer to the heart.”

Rio Clarito’s spiritual headquarters are in Cubuy (coo-boo-ee) Canóvanas, Puerto Rico, hard by the shady edge of the “El Yunque” rain forest. That is where our thoughts will often wander when we realize there’s just no better place to look for inspiration. That’s where our palette is mentally scooped up from the surrounding cacophony of shapes, colors, forms …and stones.

Joe’s studio and rocky workshop is in Ocala, Florida, where he creates his stone collages, coral & stone “treasure troves” and other rocky stuff. Check out our “gallery of what can be” and you will see why Joe has “rocks in his head!”

Our assemblage artworks are like snowflakes- no two could ever be exactly the same. Because of the nature of our materials of choice: rocks, pebbles, stones (and perhaps someday, even boulders) every piece we create is unique, so you get original, Found Object Art from a one-of-a-kind Art Workshop.

  Most of the stone collages you’ll see in the Stonesmiths “Gallery of what can be” are shown here as Style examples, they are meant to be models for commissioned personalized works- collages and assemblages made with rocks we receive from various regions through our “rock exchange” program. If you are interested, please contact me and…send me some rocks!

  Joe has done Found Object Assemblage Art with Rocks, Pebbles, and Wood for over thirty years. During that time he has explored not only new compositional aspects of Stone’s relationship to Wood, but probably more importantly, he has had to invent his own ways to cause their cohesion.

  Recently, Joe finds himself favoring larger-than-life Assemblages. And with this, he has had to do even more inventing and experimenting with new harnessing methods to ensure that his new, giant-size collages are safe.

J.Perez Madrugada, Ocala, Florida