A family legacy in woodcraft

By Venessa Deosaran

Amander Williams-Clarke, a Guyanese living in Barbados, has been creating unique and original wood art, a skill passed on from generation to generation in her family, and she is passionate about keeping this family legacy alive.

In an interview with Guyana Times Sunday Magazine, Williams-Clarke stated that it began with her grandfather, Nathaniel Williams, who worked with straw specialising in hats, baskets, brooms, mats and hammocks.

“The tradition of fine art continued with my parents, Kenrick and Patricia Williams, who grew the business in the medium of woodwork, and receiving international recognition for their lamps, plant-stands, bowls, carvings and furniture.”

The craftswoman was born in South Ruimveldt and migrated to Barbados with her parents at five. The government of Barbados offered her parents to teach the craft to Barbadians to perfect their skills in that area.

As she grew older, Williams-Clarke keenly observed her father’s love for craft. She would accompany him after school to the market to sell craft, and as the years went by her interest in her father’s work grew stronger.

“I learnt by looking at my father. Once I wanted to make a wooden jewel box for a friend, and asked my father to show me how to do it. After he showed me, he told me to go into the workshop and try to apply what he taught me. I took the pieces of wood, cut and glued them together. When he came in he was amazed at what I had created, and this motivated me to get into my family’s business. I wasn’t doing well academically, and focused on craft. But then I realized that I needed my academic qualifications, and after putting my faith in God, I worked hard and graduated from school with my subjects,” she recalled.

In creating her masterpieces, Williams-Clarke only uses fallen branches and discarded wood. It is all about reusing, restoring and recycling for her. She does not cut down trees, but would travel with her husband along the roads looking for fallen trees.

The family business, Williams Legacy, is operated by the craftswoman and her Guyanese husband, Cedric. The company is known for its wooden trinket boxes made from local woods, primarily mahogany. These are multifunctional, and are used not only for jewellery, but spices, herbs, nuts, sweets, wedding favours, book-ends, business cards, small toys, even baby teeth cases. They can be given as special awards and can also be custom-made. Williams-Clarke added that all handcrafted pieces are one of a kind.

This year she exhibited her creative craft for the first time at the recently held GuyExpo. She said she brought one hundred pieces and is going back to Barbados with just a few remaining. She is overwhelmed by the support she received and the interest shown in her craft, something she does not have in Barbados.

“The locals there don’t really buy the craft. I get the majority of sales by selling my pieces at the hotels. We set up displays for free and persons would buy them. Coming here and seeing the appreciation of my art is moving.”

She explained there are intricate techniques in creating the wooden pieces. First, the raw materials are sourced and collected. They are then cut into circular slabs with the chainsaw. The pieces of slabs are left to dry for six months to a year, and insects are removed. A wood treatment is brushed on and left to soak for one minute, and fill any holes left in the wood. Patterns are then cut out, and a long process of sanding and varnishing is done. There are about 22 stages in the process of making one trinket jewellery box.

Williams-Clarke’s goal is to keep her family’s legacy alive by producing unique and original wood art, and she is devoted to her craft, working earnestly on passing on her talent to the youths of Barbados as a way of showing her appreciation for the government’s support over the years.

But Guyana seems to be in her heart. She hopes to come back to Guyana with her family to reside here permanently and pass on her gift to others here also. (Taken from Guyana Times Sunday Magazine)