Every time that I go to Jamaica, I always purchase myself a nice, handmade wooden sculpture-something that I will have forever. The amount of time that is spent on each masterpiece varies greatly depending on the sculptures size and the fine details incorporated by the artist.
Some works may take days to weeks to complete, but others may take years on end to finish according to the artist's attitude toward his/her masterpiece. They may finish, but then later go back and add intricate details here and there to give the piece some more feeling of life.
The Story of Robert Woolery
The story of Robert Woolery, a Jamaican wood carver, dates all the way back to August 8th of 2007 when I was just 11 years old. My dad and I were walking the beach looking around at different shops when we stumbled upon a funky, old shack that sat a ways back from the beach.
Our trip was nearing end and I had been diligently searching for the perfect wooden sculpture to take home with me, but I had yet to find the one I was searching for. As we looked around, my dad and I quickly realized that Robert's art was of some of the highest quality stuff that we had seen on the entire 7-mile beach strip.
Suddenly my eyes focused in on a piece that was perched in the top right corner of the shop. This piece was unlike any others that I had ever laid my eyes and I immediately asked Robert if I could take a look.
It was a heron standing on a piece of wood with a small fish in its mouth. This was undoubtedly one of the most unique wooden sculptures that I had ever seen, and it had to be mine. The detail of the feathers was just immaculate and the tone of the wood gave the piece so much character.
I asked him how much for the heron. Robert went on to tell me how much time and effort was spent on this piece and letting it go had always been a struggle for him. 75 dollars was his price, but I fired back with my price of 35 dollars, or roughly 3,500 Jamaican Jays, at the time. I have always been a wheel n dealer, and in Jamaica this is the only way to come away with a great bang for your buck.
He thought about the price long and hard, but when I told him that it was me purchasing the heron, and not my father, he nodded his head and gave me a nice, firm handshake. We had a deal, and I couldn't have been more ecstatic.
He went on to engrave the bottom of the heron with his name, the date and Negril, Jamaica and then packaged 'er up so I could get it home safe and undamaged.
So the Story Goes on...
The next trip that my father and I took to Jamaica was quite some time later in August of 2014. We stayed at our normal place, Rondel Village, which was very close to Robert's shop that we stumbled upon in 2007. One morning we decided to head over to see if Robert's stand was still there. The stand was there, however, there was no sign of Robert and the shop was closed up.
We asked around to see if anyone knew the whereabouts of our favorite wood sculptor. We came across a Rastamon that told us Robert and his son, Richard, had been farming marijuana in the country. We told him where we were and staying and mentioned that if he heard anything else about Robert to let us know.
A few days later the same Rastamon approached us and told us that Robert had recently opened up a new shop downtown. Without any hesitation my dad and I made the trek down the 7-mile beach towards the town centre. We searched and searched, but to little avail, when suddenly we walked into a vacant shop with impeccable sculptures lining the shelves, as well as the walkway into the shop.
We looked around for awhile waiting to see if the owner of the shop would appear. After about 10 minutes or so, a young girl emerged from the back door. She asked if she could help us find anything in particular that we may be looking for. My father asked if she was the artist who had crafted such masterful work, but she responded that the creator was her father.
She scurried off to go find her father, who was down the road a ways talking with some old friends, so we waited there for their return. When they came back we noticed the artist was surprisingly clean cut. Most Jamaicans have 'Natty Dreadlocks' as they say, but this man had a very short, clean cut. When he got closer, my dad and I both looked at each other and realized that the man was, in fact, the great Robert Woolery. Back in 2007 he had long, natty dreadlocks, so he looked much different from the previous time we had saw him.
He didn't recognize us at first, mainly because I had grown up so much since the last time we were in Jamaica, but when we told him who we were he quickly remembered us. Finding his shop the way we did was unfathomable to me, but I guess everything happens for a reason and falls into place as God's way of saying~ you will ultimately reach your final destination.
So, we found his shop, now it was time to buy a piece from my favorite artist in Jamaica. I looked around for awhile and I knew the decision was going to be tough because everything was so nice. Finally, I saw something that really caught my attention.
It was a turtle carved in such a way that the shell portion could actually be removed, which was something that I had never seen before. I knew this was the piece that I wanted to take home with me. I asked Robert what his price was and he stated 175 dollars. You knew it was coming by now-
my wheel n deal side come out and I fired back with 120 bucks, and boom, the deal was closed.
Here I am standing alongside Robert Woolery himself with the turtle I had just purchased from him for an amazing deal!
So that's the story of Robert Woolery, my favorite wood sculptor in all of Negril~ I hope you guys enjoyed!
I have many more stories to tell from my times to Jamaica, as I have just come across some old photos that will make for some great stories to tell, so be sure to stay on the look out for those.
For now,
Happy Steeming :-)