Guyanese artist Nicholas Young: ‘Pottery is my calling’

The sense of fulfilment after seeing the final results of moulding clay into masterpieces is what Guyanese potter Nicholas Young enjoys. After years of trial and error, and dabbling with various art mediums, Young finally found his niche: pottery.
Young uses contemporary versions of Amerindian motifs as decorative elements, and develops his own clay pieces from Guyanese kaolin and natural red clay. He creates beautifully functional ceramic pottery, designed and handcrafted to bring exquisite, modern home accessories into everyday dwelling spaces.

The story of how he got involved in pottery goes back to his childhood and family history. His father, David Young, did interior decorating and was a professional photographer for many years. His father’s uncle, Matthew Young, was a painter. A little further into his family tree is his great-grandfather, George Anderson Forshaw, who had a deep interest in art.
Speaking with Guyana Times Sunday Magazine, the artist said that in the late 80s, he was encouraged by the members of Lama Craft, an all-women craft group, to join. This was the most significant part of discovering his artistic enthusiasm, because it was with this group he developed his pottery skills.
“It was a trial and error period for me. As I progressed with the training I received, I was able to perfect my artistic skills. I learnt a lot from the seniors in this group. It was a group made up mostly of women artists, but [they] had invited me to join because they knew of the work I had done with other art medium. After I did more pottery work I fell in love with it. It was my calling, my niche,” recalled Young.
Although his initial stages in pottery was somewhat a “disaster”, Young said artists such as Irene Gonsalves and Desiree Fernandes, never stopped believing in his ability and were his biggest supporters.
It took some time, but a few years later he was producing quality work and supplying local craft and gift shops. The potter revealed that he has had many sleepless nights creating his pieces. But he views it as therapy, and said the sleepless nights resulted in “bonding with his art” which ultimately perfected his pottery skills.
The artist has received many awards for his pieces, and is thankful to Creations Craft, located on Water Street, for helping him and other artists to market their artwork. Now, Young owns and operates his own store, Rainforest Pottery which he opened in 2007, retailing his work in the Hibiscus Plaza in front of the Guyana Post Office.
Since 1996, Young stated he was able to start travelling, taking his work to the international market. He has travelled to parts of South America and has exhibited with groups and solo in the U.S.A, Canada, England and other parts of Europe. He pointed out he received tremendous requests for his artwork but there is a limit as to how much can be produced because of the many restraints such as high interest loans and lack of finance.

“Travelling, I have seen the potential of the market. The market is unending. I once went to an expo in Trinidad – not for the purpose of exhibiting my work, but just to visit. I decided to walk with a few small pieces I had done. Six different types I had taken with me. Some interested persons said they wanted to see them so I put them on display. A lady came and seemed very interested. I thought she would’ve ordered a few of each design, but to my surprise she told me she wanted a few thousands of each design. Of course I wasn’t able to fulfil this request because of the lack of equipment and potters to get this amount done. This shows the vast potential of the market,” he related.
Young said there are efforts to help the art industry. When he served as the president of the Guyana Arts & Craft Producers Association, former president Bharrat Jagdeo made significant contributions to the association, giving them a building to be used to showcase art and craft from various regions countrywide. Young said this is currently processing.
“The former president also promised to give $10M to start with and another $10M for revolving low-interest loans. We have artists who just need a motor to start producing artwork or others who want money to purchase materials. Without proper equipment and tools there is a limited level as to work output. So this is a very important contribution as the demand for our art is very high,” he disclosed.
The artist’s focus is pushing local craft, and he is always thinking of new ways to promote it. Young revealed that he wants to embark on an initiative together with the Guyana Small Business Association to teach pottery countrywide. His aim is to get a bigger market for pottery and recruit talented persons to help him develop this area.
“In October last year I started with Kabakaburi because in most of these indigenous areas pottery was done years ago. The persons I was able to get involved in pottery are happy because it brings back fond memories of their ancestors doing the same work. I have explained to them that this is a trial and error phase, but as they keep on improving on their work they can achieve a certain level of producing quality pieces. My next move is getting pottery wheels into these areas so that the work can move faster. I want his happening in every region countrywide,” Young declared.
The potter said his initiative is focused on getting more pottery work on the market. An upcoming show is ideal to get the pieces out there. The Trade Facilitation Office in Canada sponsored a few Guyanese artists, including Young, to attend a high-end show in Canada, ‘Interior Design 2011’. Renowned designer Patty Johnson from Canada commissioned pieces she thought that would get the market. Young said the pieces she had chosen were initially thought of as “simple-looking” by the other artists. However, when the artworks were exhibited at the show, many were amazed at the level of work and could not believe that the pieces were produced in Guyana.