Leandro the Artist
A Master of Stone Carving by Robert Simmons
Leandro's pieces are known for their quality, fine detail and uniqueness, and a wide variation of materials and sizes. In addition to crystal skulls, he has created beautiful carvings of nudes, animals and several striking renditions of the Virgin Mary.
Leandro has created many skulls which are half-carved and half natural, so that the form and articulation of the original crystal is worked into the design. These pieces are felt to be among those with the greatest energetic potency, and they are not easily copied, for Leandro lets each crystal “tell him” what its most efficacious form should be. He has also carved what is likely the world’s largest crystal skull, the 350 pound Akator.
Leandro is more than a carver of crystal skulls; he is an artist as well. His skills as a sculptor run the gamut of forms––from animal to aquatic to avian to human to reptilian up to and including abstract and free form sculpture. And his mediums cover the full spectrum of stone species and subspecies. His renowned fame and skills have been earned by over twenty five years of constant improvement and refinement of his works with his hands, his heart, and his mind.
In his own words:
Leandro has created many skulls which are half-carved and half natural, so that the form and articulation of the original crystal is worked into the design. These pieces are felt to be among those with the greatest energetic potency, and they are not easily copied, for Leandro lets each crystal “tell him” what its most efficacious form should be. He has also carved what is likely the world’s largest crystal skull, the 350 pound Akator.
Leandro is more than a carver of crystal skulls; he is an artist as well. His skills as a sculptor run the gamut of forms––from animal to aquatic to avian to human to reptilian up to and including abstract and free form sculpture. And his mediums cover the full spectrum of stone species and subspecies. His renowned fame and skills have been earned by over twenty five years of constant improvement and refinement of his works with his hands, his heart, and his mind.
In his own words:
“My interest in and appreciation of art began during my childhood. When I was a boy, my family was poor so, I began to make my own toys from wood and clay. Stones were already of interest to me and throughout my teenage years this interest grew daily.
I am still fascinated by stones, but even more fascinated by the energy that the stones give me and my sculptures. I do not choose what will become of a stone; the stone itself moves me to create the form that it wishes to exist in.
I love art, stones, the people who work with me, and I love knowing that people truly appreciate the sculptures that have been created by my hands.”
Leandro has recently begun a speaking career; his premier engagement was at the 2008 Angel Valley Crystal Skulls Conference in Sedona, AZ. He was very well accepted by both the audience and other speakers, and held his own quite well amongst the likes of Jaap van Etten, Kirby Seid, and other regulars on the circuit. In the course of the engagement Leandro was highly honoured by Flordemayo, one of The Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers, who presented him with prints of three paintings that her son, an internationally renowned artist, was moved to create upon viewing one of his Crystal Skulls. Two of these paintings are on display in preeminent museums in America and Europe and the third is part of an eminent art collector’s personal gallery.
If you’ve been tuned in to the crystal realm at all, you’ve heard of crystal skulls. You may have seen the recent Indiana Jones movie, in which a crystal skull was the central treasure around which the plot revolved. You may know that crystal skulls have been reputed since ancient times, especially in the Mayan culture, to be the dwellings or the embodiments of powerful spirit entities. Some of the largest and finest crystal skulls which are reputed to be of ancient origin have made their way, with their keepers, onto the metaphysical workshop circuit, and people who have encountered these skulls often report significant spiritual experiences which the skulls have apparently engendered in them. For the past ten to twenty years, thousands of people have chosen to purchase their own crystal skulls, made from every material from Rose Quartz to Azeztulite.
Leandro’s skull carvings each seem to have a personality--a life of their own. In the metaphysical community, there are collectors who specialize in buying Leandros’ pieces, some of whom have whole “tribes” of crystal skulls in their homes. I have spoken to some of these collectors, and they insist that each skull is the residence of a benevolent spiritual entity with whom they can sometimes communicate. This phenomenon harkens back to ancient times when shamans of indigenous cultures believed crystals, and especially crystal skulls, to be magical objects that housed their allies from the spirit world.
I am still fascinated by stones, but even more fascinated by the energy that the stones give me and my sculptures. I do not choose what will become of a stone; the stone itself moves me to create the form that it wishes to exist in.
I love art, stones, the people who work with me, and I love knowing that people truly appreciate the sculptures that have been created by my hands.”
Leandro has recently begun a speaking career; his premier engagement was at the 2008 Angel Valley Crystal Skulls Conference in Sedona, AZ. He was very well accepted by both the audience and other speakers, and held his own quite well amongst the likes of Jaap van Etten, Kirby Seid, and other regulars on the circuit. In the course of the engagement Leandro was highly honoured by Flordemayo, one of The Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers, who presented him with prints of three paintings that her son, an internationally renowned artist, was moved to create upon viewing one of his Crystal Skulls. Two of these paintings are on display in preeminent museums in America and Europe and the third is part of an eminent art collector’s personal gallery.
If you’ve been tuned in to the crystal realm at all, you’ve heard of crystal skulls. You may have seen the recent Indiana Jones movie, in which a crystal skull was the central treasure around which the plot revolved. You may know that crystal skulls have been reputed since ancient times, especially in the Mayan culture, to be the dwellings or the embodiments of powerful spirit entities. Some of the largest and finest crystal skulls which are reputed to be of ancient origin have made their way, with their keepers, onto the metaphysical workshop circuit, and people who have encountered these skulls often report significant spiritual experiences which the skulls have apparently engendered in them. For the past ten to twenty years, thousands of people have chosen to purchase their own crystal skulls, made from every material from Rose Quartz to Azeztulite.
Leandro’s skull carvings each seem to have a personality--a life of their own. In the metaphysical community, there are collectors who specialize in buying Leandros’ pieces, some of whom have whole “tribes” of crystal skulls in their homes. I have spoken to some of these collectors, and they insist that each skull is the residence of a benevolent spiritual entity with whom they can sometimes communicate. This phenomenon harkens back to ancient times when shamans of indigenous cultures believed crystals, and especially crystal skulls, to be magical objects that housed their allies from the spirit world.
