By Naomi Parris 

WHILE many children are busy making a list of toys they want for Christmas, Leroy Austin is making his own toys from scratch for himself and siblings.

The Guyana Chronicle journeyed to the young man’s home at Hope Estate, East Coast Demerara, where he displayed some of his best work for the newspaper.
The 14-year-old, who is an aspiring architect, stated that he fell in love with art since he was at kindergarten.

The oldest of three told the Chronicle that he stumbled upon a video on YouTube where he saw someone making a toy car out of cardboard cut-outs and thought to himself that he could do the same.

He then went around his home and found a few materials and started making his own toys from cardboard boxes, Styrofoam and small pieces of plywood for himself and siblings.
“When I first started making these toys I was 12; I was watching something on YouTube and I saw this video where someone was making all kinds of things with cardboard and I said I could do that too,” he stated.

Austin stated that when he would get bored or tired of watching cartoons, he would sit with his pieces of cardboard and some hot glue and just build things.

“When I’m bored, I would look for cardboards and start making all kinds of things; one time I made a helicopter and I got a small motor to make it fly,” he stated.
The young man, who is deemed a born artist destined for great things, was at the top of his nursery school class when it came to art. He always coloured inside the lines and drew the most outstanding pictures.

Aside from making toys out of recyclable materials, Leroy has also developed an eye for sculpturing. The young man recently found a new form of art and started making sculptures from bath soaps.

He stated that he wanted to try something different and explore what his hands can do, and so he started carving out sculptures into soaps.
The young man stated that he sometimes surprises himself with how much he can do and can create with just his bare hands.

He stated that one day he would love to take his art to a higher level and perhaps work in the field of architecture and design buildings and so forth.
Leroy has become very popular for his art in his school and community, since he would get orders for school projects and toys. The young man has turned his art into a business and would sell toy cars and trucks to his friends and parents who would wish to purchase toys for their little ones.

According to his mother Janelle Austin, her son has always been a lover of the arts since he entered nursery at the tender age of four. She stated that his teacher at the time urged her to not let his creative nature die and so she made sure she nurtured his love for drawing and creating things by being one of his biggest support systems.

However, she stated that there are times she finds it difficult to reason with him; that although he is great at what he does, he must not let it supplant his academics, since education is crucial in his self-development.

“Sometimes I have to remind him that his book is also important and that he’ll have a time for art and a time to study,” she stated.

She further stated that she is extremely proud of her son and is very excited for his future as she believes promising opportunities will come his way when he gets older.