In the district of Maxixe, in Currais Novos (RN), during the summer the wind can be as harsh as the sun, and the evenings are cool. There lives José Ivan Soares da Silva, who started making toys in wood when he was 10 years old: trucks, horses and things of the countryside. “I was born in Currais Novos, in 1969, but I grew up and lived all my life in Maxixe. I used to work on the land, which is what everyone around here does, and I started selling my pieces in 1990. I started making horses, which I love. I was never taught by anyone. I take a piece of wood and cut it into a saint, or a horse. Sometimes when it’s a large piece I have to make the legs separately, but it ends up being perfect. I work by myself, but a boy helps me with the sanding. Everything I make I sign as Ivan and I take all them to Natal, to the Galeria de Arte Antiga e Contemporânea.”