“It started from seeing my mother. I always say children can really be influenced by what they see. I started tinkering with paper and lead pencil, reading comic books, and later on the dream (of producing craftwork). But school was involved also. In those days you had to do Industrial Arts.”By Jarryl BryanMichael Trotman, better known by the moniker ‘Saw man’, has been a driving force within the local craft andMichael Trotmanarts industry. A student and prot?g? of legendary sculptor Philip Moore, Trotman reflects on having experienced colonial, independent, violent and despotic Guyana, to eventually witness what many see as Georgetown’s renaissance.‘IT STARTED FROM SEEING MY MOTHER’Born on August 16, 1948 to Stella Trotman and Fraser Clark, a Bajan and a policeman, Michael Trotman grew up in the city. Noting that he was always curious about making things, Trotman was a prodigious child who started fiddling with technical drawings. He was also encouraged by his mother, herself an artisan, whom he would sit and watch as she worked.“It started from seeing my mother. I always say children can really be influenced by what they see. I started tinkering with paper and lead pencil, reading comic books, and later on the dream. But school was involved also. In those days you had to do Industrial Arts. The boys were chosen based on their skill in the class room.”Trotman attended Kingston Methodist School and Handicraft Centre, where he began his formal education specializing in Industrial Arts, aged just 11.“We were exposed to metalwork and woodwork. After two years we were permitted to go on the machines they had there, like the band saw.”He noted that they also did work on the lathe.Armed with this knowledge, Trotman said when they left school at primary level they could have gone on to the Government Technical Institute.Hard at work on a lovebird cage.He emphasised that to gain access to such dangerous machines was no easy feat. A student had to have been doing Industrial Arts for two years, and proven their competency, to earn that trust.MEETING PHILIP MOOREIt was while attending Primary School that Trotman came into contact with sculptor Philip Moore, whose most recognisable work is the 1763 Monument at the Square of the Revolution.At the time,Wholesale China Jerseys, already one of the most celebrated artists among his contemporaries,Cheap Jerseys From China, Moore operated the Helen Tait Ballerina School on Murray Street. Trotman as a young child would go there and do many wood carvings.While Moore lived in Thomas Street, Trotman did not live far away, and it was easy for him to maintain contact. As he grew older, he would continue his wood carvings under Moore’s guidance.Trotman reflected that Phillip Moore was no mere artist, but would brainstorm andTrotman with one of his earlier pieces of work.inculcate poetry in his work as an inspiration. Notwithstanding his achievements, Trotman stated that his former mentor always remained humble and believed in letting the public share in his work for the inspiration it could provide.“He was humble and he never hid his work,Cheap Jerseys From China Online,” Trotman related.“He liked to carve when people were around and he would show them the details and explain what they were about.”According to Trotman, Moore did not start his career with the kind of local cultural depictions that brought him the most recognition, but rather, with pieces whose subjects originated from Europe.Speaking about Moore’s work on the 1763 Monument, Trotman recalled that there were some who were apprehensive about the sculpture because of its deep symbolic resonance. According to Trotman, they would have preferred something simpler. But Moore eschewed such thoughts and in time, Trotman would seek to highlight the symbolism in his work as well.GOLDEN OPPORTUNITYAt the age of 16, Trotman did the College of Preceptors’ exams. He then moved on GTI.In 1965, a golden opportunity presented itself, as the Government of the day prepared to receive a visit from Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh.“There was a request from Fogarty’s Store Limited to the GTI principal at the time,One of our Special Person’s more intricate creations, a 17th century slave ship, constructed with deep cultural features in every carving.Compton Pooran, to have two ornate (portrait) frames made at the school. Original copies had to be made from those copies that were in England. And they wanted the exact duplicate.”There was a small hitch, however. There were no carvers at GTI. Personally, Trotman had been pursuing a course entailing cabinet woodworking and joinery. However, his forays into art would swing opinion in his favour.“I was doing art and they knew (this) from pieces of work I would take to school to show friends in