Use of the wood, including carving

Ironwood is similar to ebony, as it is dark, dense and very hard; its grain is very straight. For this reason there are few air bubbles and unlike other woods, ironwood sinks in water.[3] Before the carving of ironwood figures, this wood was used for firewood, the production of charcoal and the carving of items such as harpoons, other tools, musical instruments and toys.[4] Today wood’s main use in handcrafts is the creation of carved figures. These are mostly sold in the United States and Mexico and earn about a million dollars a year, far more than it did as the basis of charcoal.[2]
There are two groups which produce the carvings. The first are the Seri, which have been doing this for various decades. There are only an estimated 500 Seri still in Mexico, divided into four major clans. They are semi nomadic generally shunning agriculture, animal domestication and extended contact with outsiders. They are concentrated on Tiburon Island and towns like Punta Chueca on the mainland.[4] The carvings are probably the best known of the Seri crafts[5] and are still produced by hand and on a small scale.[2] Seri craftsmen prefer to work with trees which are already dead, such as those struck by lightning or dried out for other reasons. A branch or trunk is chopped off with an ax. Pieces are carved into shape using a rasp or coarse file. The wood is made smooth using a piece of glass, then polished using desert sand then coated with a thin layer of wax. Originally this wax came from turtles but today it is wax used for shoes.[5] Images are generally those of animals that are in the Seri world such as turtles, dolphins, eagles, lizards, crabs, coyotes and more. Styles vary from very simple lines to the inclusion of a great amount of detail and adornments.[5]
The second group of producers is made up of town and city dwellers from Sonora and Baja California, which began after the figures became commercially popular. The latter group produces the figures in grand quantities due to their access to power tools.[2] These families can produce between forty and fifty pieces per day, most of which are sold to wholesalers in Nogales, Sonora. Most of these are then sold in the United States.[3] This has put the Seri at a disadvantage in the market, with their share shrinking. Today there are fewer than fifteen Seri carvers. The carvers total use about 5,000 tons of wood per year for the craft.[2] The development of the carving as been driven by consumer and tourist demand, including the use of asymmetry and abstract forms. Often this is because a more “primitive” looking carving is considered by many tourists to be more “authentic”. The association of the Seri with the craft is still important to its sale and many non Seri will falsely put “Handmade by Seri” stickers on their works.[4]