Belize, a small country, the only English speaking nation in all of Central and South America, came to be because British sailors (as legend has it) got shipwrecked on her great barrier reef and were forced to venture inland for food and material for repairs. They ventured up the Belize River (as it is now called) where they saw trees towering up to about 100 feet with trunks some six feet in diameter and buttress roots reaching up to about 10 feet forming secure anchors for the great giants called the mahogany tree.

Also found in abundance was a smaller, very tough tree that grew in the lower watery plains, called the logwood. The logwood tree possesses a purple sap that is a dye. This was the discovery that brought the British back to settle.

The wood carving art of bowl making in Belize began with the carving of the buttresses of the great mahogany with ax, adge and machete. A skilled tradesman would spend up to a week chopping a suitable buttress away from a mahogany stump and carving it into a most beautiful bowl. Sometimes these bowls were up to six feet in diameter and ten to twelve inches deep. They would be traded off to housewives for wash bowls.

Smaller buttresses were also carved into kneading bowls two to three feet wide and three to four inches deep. These tradesmen also carved great big logs into canoes, which were used for transportation of goods and people. Today, these old bowls are collectibles and fetch a handsome price.

Wood  carving art in Belize extended to home construction, furniture and cabinetry.  The old colonial homes boasted beautifully cut corner brackets, trims, spindles, and veranda balustrade; which made each home a bit like a work of art. Very few of these homes remain today. However, there are a still a couple good examples; which have become tourist attractions.

Wood carving art in Belize goes on today. The mandatory ingredients for a stunning, unique piece of art work is passion, talent and tools.

The bowls would give a touch of additional class even to a Queen's table. Browse the following pages and see other magnificent works of wood carving art by: Carl McCulloch. ~Anthony Benjamin~ http://belize-woodcarving-art.info/