Dimas Ferreira works in paradise, breaking stones. It’s paradise because his workshop is outdoors, opposite the Gargalheiras Lake, a stretch of blue water in the middle of the dry countryside. You have to see it to believe it. “I was born here in 1954, and I’ve been breaking stone since I was 14 years old. Here in Gargalheiras the hills are rich in granite. I used to see blocks of stone and think that it could be used to make a lot of things. I’ve been working only with sculpture for 12 years. I heard about other people who worked with this and gave it a try. It worked. My first piece was one of the smallest, but already as tall as a man. Stone is all mixed; no one knows what’s inside. Sometimes it obeys me, sometimes it doesn’t. I’ve made many tools, and there’s nothing I enjoy more.” He sometimes spends days at his shack, where he has improvised a forging area for sharpening and making his tools. He goes up the hill and starts cutting the stone at the top. As it takes shape, he rolls it downhill, until it is by the road. And then he gets a truck to take it home.