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PROCESS

When I begin to create a carving, I first select a piece of wood that speaks to me. I spend time with the raw material trying to decipher the story that it wants to tell. Then I begin carving the rough shape of the mask or sculpture, following a basic drawing. Once the shape has been formed, I follow the wood to the next step of creating its features. I use the grain of the wood as a guide to the story it wants to tell. Since my arrival in Canada in 2005 I have experimented with Sugar Maple, Ash, Indian Rosewood but I still prefer Acacia, a hard wood that grows all over Africa.

Once the piece is carved and sanded, I tool antique brass pieces with symbols that represent the character of the mask or sculpture. The brass comes from wedding bowls that I collect while in Ghana. These brass bowls were traditionally passed down through family dowries.  With the advent of plastic in African societies this customs has sadly lost importance. By using these bowls I want to honor this lost tradition as well as the generations that have used them. I then nail the brass pieces to the cheeks or forehead of the mask. When I am running low on brass I use copper or aluminum

The last step is to finish the piece by applying different dyes. I have four different methods, which changes the look of the piece depending on the technique used.

  1. I coat the mask in different clay and plant dyes. This technique allows me to bring colour to the surface of the mask. I create the dyes from different lichens, flowers, berries as well as kola nuts.
  2. I apply a layer of potassium dye followed by a wax polish finish to seal the wood.
  3. I apply clay on the wood and wrap the piece in cloth so the piece can soak up the wood. Weekly I remove the cloth and reapply more clay. I repeat this process until the piece has the aged look that I want, usually about 2 months.
  4. I apply clay and leave it to soak into the piece. A few days later I finish it off with wax polish to seal it.
  5. I dig a hole in the ground and place the pieces inside. As I cover the pieces with dirt I place a small metal pipe into the ground close to the piece. I then burn a fire over the ground for 3 days to age and smoke the wood. After I dig up the piece I brush, sand and polish it.
This whole process takes a minimum of two weeks to two months to complete depending on the size of the piece and story it wants to tell. Each carving is created using only hand tools. In all of my work, I am determined to maintain traditional African craft techniques but I aspire to grow as an artist by combining them with western aesthetic and materials.