Woodworkers showcase nature's best
Talent turns at expo in St.Thomas and St. John
Maura Curley
Wood never looked so good.
Tropical woods, including majestic mahogany, tamarind, raintree, cordia, guazuma and white prickle, carved intricately into sculptures and shaped into vases, vessels and bowls wowed visitors.
The Woodworkers Expo raised the bar for woodworking in the Virgin Islands with its recent exhibits in St. Thomas and St. John, which featured works from woodworkers in St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John.
Exhibitors included artists St. John’s Avelino Samuel and Afreekan Southwell from St. Thomas. two of the Virgin Islands most well known and respected wood artists. Samuel, who teaches industrial arts at Julius E. Sprauve School in St. John, is represented by galleries in the region, which include Bajo El Sol in St. John and Gallery St. Thomas, creates beautiful bowls, vases and vessels with detailed finials, which gleam in a spectrum of polished woods that combine nature’s artistry with his own.
Southwell, who exhibits his works on his Afreekan Arts website and through Native Arts and Craft gallery in St. Thomas, focuses on larger pieces, primarily expertly carved figures, each telling a narrative tale in wood.
Bernard Jones, president of St. Croix’s Association of Wood Artists Inc. created an exhibit of his works – all made from recycled mahogany from St. Croix. Jones, who is an retired industrial arts teachers and drummer, was exhibiting for the first time in St. John. Originally from the states, Jones has lived in St. Croix for 33 years. He is excited about burgeoning turning talent on the island, which includes an apprentice artist Maritza Rodriguez, a student at St. Croix’s Central High. Jones, an advocate for wood working and St. Croix, stresses the special properties of the island’s mahogany, while emphasizing that no trees are cut for the skae of art.
De Ray Sabur, also from St. Croix, hopes to soon begin promoting and selling his incredible ship models, which he creates to scale by duplicating dimensions from catalogs.
H.R. Shoma, a stained glass artisan from St. Thomas who sells works through his Shoma Art Studios, began working in wood many year ago, but changed his focus to stained glass. Now he is studying woodturning with Avelino Samuel and combining wood, stained glass and metal in his objects of art.
If there was an award for “most whimsical wood sculpture” at the expos it would have gone to Alston “ Big Al” Smith, who works for the U.S. Post Office in St. John, and counts a wooden special delivery letter, Coca cola and nail polish bottles, a flashlight and an aerosol can among his creations. Smith says he liked to try to recreate common household objects in wood, and keeps a list by his bedside to jot down some zany creations, along with his more conventional ones like custom wood clocks.
The Woodworkers’ Expo was sponsored by University of the Virgin Islands Cooperative Extension Service in partnership with the Virgin Islands. Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts, the Virgin Islands. Department of Tourism, and the West Indian Company, Ltd.
Photos: Wood pieces from Avelino Samuel and a wood sculpture presented by Afreekan Southwell.
virginvoices.com photo by D.B. Bostdorf.
Clickhereto see more photos from the Woodworkers Expo.
Maura Curley is publisher of virginvoices.com
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