This is an authentic African mask that artist Ernestina Oppong Asante made and later signed for me. Ernestina is a carver in Ghana, West Africa. She is one of a very few women who carve in Ghana. Woodcarving is a male-dominated craft, and it is somewhat considered taboo for a woman. However, Ernestina has not only infiltrated the trade, but she has impressed a lot of people with her beautiful West African art.

I met Ernestina while in Ghana in 2002. She has a shop in a village in Ghana where she creates masks, drums, and other lovely carvings. Ernestina, however, is also unique because she is one of the artists chosen by Novica.com, to sell her West African art on its website. Therefore, Ernestina not only sells to the tourists who visits her village, but she also has the opportunity to sell to a global market. Her cut of profits is used to feed her family and help the economy in her impoverished country, because Ernestina teaches other women this traditional craft.

Thanks to Novica.com, Ernestina is able to grow her business, help others, and develop entrepreneurship. I like the fact that Ernestina’s art is sold for its market value. The items are less expensive through Novica.com, because Novica eliminates several middlemen. Although the price for her masks could sell for far below market-price in the village, I think that it’s important that we pay the value of her work to help the economy there. The artists control the price of the art and they get more money if they sell their work through Novica than if they were to sell their work through other distributors. They also don’t have to worry about selling thousands of pieces to make a good profit. Artists can spend more time developing their work and focusing on quality rather than quantity. Visit Novica.com for lovely international art. While you are their, check out Ernestina’s carvings. This way, you don’t have to travel all the way to Africa for great artwork.