Jožefa Humar – Debevčeva Zefa was a shepherdess on Gojška planina in the area of Velika planina above Kamnik and an excellent carver. She read, drew and wrote a lot. She was a woman of many talents. Modest, almost imperceptible, she hid enormous artistic potential. She wrote down her thoughts, albeit without punctuation and capital letters, using a pocket knife to decorate the onion skins with beautiful ornaments. She has been carving since she was 21, for which in 1978 she was awarded the title of Master of Domestic Crafts and Master of Artificial Crafts. Even Jože Plečnik gave her as an example to his students: Take a good look at what this shepherdess knows; when you know as much as she does, you will know a lot.”
(V. Kopač, Iveri z Grintovcev, 2006)
Photo: Jožefa Humar, Photo by Tone Cevc, 1970
