Carving out a hobby

1. How did you get started carving wood?

I was living in California for a little bit with my wife, and there was a very big tree inside my yard I needed to cut down. I didn't know anything about wood, but originally it was stone I was carving. So I decided to cut the tree down and the prettiness of the tree inside just brought me into the carving. I said, "I do this work in Antigua, so let's try it here." For five years now I've lived in Lima. I decided to buy this property here with some trees out back. 

2. Was carving stone just a hobby or a job in the West Indies?

Just a hobby. The reason I got into it was more like there was a disaster in the country, like a hurricane. It brings a lot of stone from the ocean to the village. So, I take the stone in my yard, and somehow the beauty of the stones and the different colors, it just put me into it. Plus, I like to be by myself. If it wasn't for the hurricane, I wouldn't have really started with stone.

3. How did you know how to do it?

It just came to me. I never looked in a book. It just comes to me. And you'll find that I never know what I'm doing until I get into the wood. There are so many things you can do with a tree trunk. When I get into the wood, I can see the shape.

4. Which is harder to carve, the wood or the stone?

The stone was much harder. I was working with an old-time chisel. I like the old time stuff. I could get sophisticated tools and do my work, but I go to the old-time way of doing stuff. People aren't doing this anymore. It can hurt too. Sometimes you have a chisel and you can mess with your hands. It is painful, but it is good. I do it just because I like creating from what God created for me. This is what we're supposed to do.

5. How long does it take you do a piece like this elephant?

Two, maybe three hours.

6. How much time do you spent out here working each day?

Sometimes three hours. My wife says I spend more time here than I spend inside [the house], so I kind of break down the time, two, three hours.

7. What is your favorite piece?

My favorite I have already sold. It was a man. ... I call it "Little Man." I'm working on another one now. I'll put some bangles around the hands to make him look like an African.