Milbank’s Simpson happy with item creation | Lead Story

Local artisan Owen Simpson, who lives in the rural Portland community of Milbank, takes pride in staying connected to his roots.

Elders make West African djembe drums, also known as djembe, using natural wood and goat skin. This is a goblet-shaped drum covered with leather and has a rope tuning system that allows you to play it with your bare hands.

He also knows how to make a kettle or kette drum, consisting of a hollow brass, copper, or fiberglass hemisphere and a calfskin or plastic head.

In a recent interview with The Gleaner, Ms Simpson said she sells her crafts to people in West Africa, England and Antigua. He said one of his customers is a dancer and uses these drums to create rhythms for his lessons.

Simpson also uses coconut shells to make ornaments and sell them to tourists. His products include cups, jewelry, and hair clips.

“When the coconut shell is green, what you get from it is white, and when the coconut dries, what you get from it is brown,” he said.

He further said that he often comes up with spontaneous ideas for his crafts, and after drawing a pattern on a coconut shell, it becomes the inspiration to start carving.

Learn skills early

Referring to his 15 years of experience, Simpson said, “I’ve done some classic things,” and each piece is signed by “Ghetto Jewel,” its art-world nickname. has been done.

As a child, Simpson learned the craft by taking woodworking classes at Swallowfield Elementary School in Kingston.

“The first thing I learned in school was to make a boat out of coconuts,” he said.

“We went to another class and took a little penknife and cut a lime and opened a lime. [or] “We would cut the chochos, split them, put whatever pattern we wanted on them, put them in a can of red paint, stretch out the cloth, dip it in and print it,” he said of his early creations. Tie-dye.

It was then that Simpson discovered his love for arts and crafts.

He is a jack of all trades, also farming, repairing shoes, and raising chickens.

Over the years, Simpson has been asked numerous questions about why he didn’t leave his hometown for “greener pastures.”

However, he believes it is important to give back to the people in the community with their God-given talents and use them for the betterment of the community as a whole.

asha.wilks@gleanerjm.com

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