Year 4 were lucky to have Mr Handfield, The TCI Conch Man, visit them last week as part of their Age of Discovery topic. Mr Handfield is a local artist who works purely with conch shells to create all kinds of art and everyday items. He explained to the class how he had been inspired to develop his skill of cutting, decorating and joining conch shells as a whole new art form. He how has a repertoire of over 25 designs that he produces for sale and his items have been sold and dispatched to countries all around the world!
Mr Handfield has kindly offered to help Flamingo Class with their Design and Technology project this term, as the children embark on the process of designing and making their own piece of jewelry using locally inspired materials and traditions.
His artwork and stories inspired many great questions. “How much does a conch shell cost?” “What kind of tools do you use to cut the conch?” “Can you bend the pieces of cut conch?” “How do you stick the pieces of conch together?” “Who taught you to cut conch like this?” “How long does it take you to make a bowl and spoon made from a conch shell?”
The children have been learning that the conch has attracted people to the Turks and Caicos for thousands of years, with native Taino and Lucayan tribes visiting seasonally for the island’s local resources. Archaeological sites on Grand Turk, North, Middle, East and West Caicos have shown that there were all kinds of uses for the conch, including tools and jewelry in the form of small beads.
Looking at Mr Handfields collection of conch artwork, it is easy to see why the colour and strength of this natural material has been so attractive to visitors of the Turks and Caicos for thousands of years!
Flamingo Class will now set out, with the support of Mr Handfield, to design their own modern piece of conch jewelry. Watch this space…
