–Meet Sean Hopkinson

PICTURE writing a letter on a grain of rice. Now, imagine writing 116! As much as this might be challenging, even impossible for a regular person, Sean Hopkinson takes pride in the fact that he is perhaps the only person in the Caribbean who managed to pull off more than 100 letters on one grain.

For 22 years now, he has been perfecting the skill, so that he has managed to start up a flourishing business with his work available at the Giftland Mall, West Central Mall, and other locations, such as expositions, held across the country.

In fact, it was at the recently held Berbice trade fair that the artist spoke with the Sunday Chronicle, detailing some of what is involved in finishing a piece of rice jewellery. As he explained, there was no shortage of curious onlookers asking questions and of course, mostly requesting that their names be written on a grain of rice.

Once the writing was completed, Hopkinson would then place the rice grain in a vial with a liquid that magnifies it, allowing his exquisite work to be clearly seen. There is hardly ever an unsatisfied customer; there is just something that’s simply marvelous about seeing your name on the grain.

“This idea is something that is very ancient. Back in the days, they’d send secret messages with rice,” Hopkinson reflected, even as he worked on a necklace in the hustle and bustle of people passing up and down at the expo; these circumstance did nothing to blur his concentration and vision.

“Afterwards, when they realised that we don’t have much need for it (sending messages using rice), they actually used it as a novelty piece, whereby not many people can write on a grain of rice,” Hopkinson continued, adding, “My highest amount of letters was 116. Of course, there are persons better than me who wrote 200 letters, not locally. For the Caribbean, I am the only person who wrote 116 letters.”

But the question arose: How do you manage to do this with such fat fingers? “Of course, my fingers weren’t always this fat. There was a time when people called me ‘Fine Man’ but after married life and so, you throw on all this fat,” he joked, adding, “Constant practice helped me.”

According to Hopkinson, good nerves and eyesight are two keys to perfecting the skill. “Once you have good nerves, you can balance the pen into any size that you want to write in. When I had to write 116 letters, the skills were more in the fingers. Of course, you had to get your eyes to see what you’re writing.”

Hopkinson said it feels great to know that persons are wearing his items, and he advised that once someone has a talent, he should not hesitate to use it. “Tap in on your natural talent and use as much of it as possible.”