"Rememberies"

I was messing around with a small piece of wood and it turned into a pretty neat little face. It was about the size of a bottlestopper, but I wanted to present it more as a piece of art. I asked for advice in another post and decided on a base, but it took a while to think of a title. He reminds me of someone, maybe myself, and I got to thinking about years past. Remembering hair this long, and a full beard (not this long). Remembering motorcycles ridden and places seen. People and music, sadness and celebration. The years flow like a river and some memories fade and wash away and others are changed some by the flow of years. I think the best times are always in the present moment and have never had any urge to turn back the clock, to live in the past. But the past can be a nice place to visit, in our "rememberies". Thanks for looking! (hope you like the carving and the base)

Carving with Dave Stetson

The Central Arkansas Woodcarvers had a two day class with Dave Stetson this past weekend. Dave is a founding member of the Caricature Carvers of America and has has been carving and teaching for over 30 years. He focused on carving from a blank, using symetry and adding motion to a carving. It was a lot of fun, and I must have learned something. These carvings look different from most of my carvings! I like how they turned out and have a lots of ideas. Dave was a great instructor!

Delmar the Hillbilly

One of these days I'll get around to carving a design of my own, but this Mike Shipley design was a a Christmas present! Mine isn't exactly his flat-plane style, but I like the subject and I like his style. This was a lot of fun to carve and I have him sitting next to my Harold Enlow hillbilly. Thanks for looking.

a staff for Santa

A guy in Ohio who plays Santa contacted me about making him a staff similar to one I did a few years back. This one is taller and I added the teddy bear. And I think the elf is cuter than the last one! The carved portion is 22" and the shaft portion is 48" making it 5' 10" tall. The Santa and packages and stuff are all stacked on a metal rod that is attached to the shaft. I used a threaded insert on the shaft and then ran a metal pin thru it and the wood. I expoxied that end. Then I used wood glue between the other pieces and tightened it all up with a nut on top of the top package, which made it very sturdy, despite the length of the rod. The Santa was then glued on top with epoxy. Here's a few pictures; thanks for looking!

Some Christmas Bling

Here is a necklace I just finished. I had the idea a year ago to add some festive cord and bells to some of the Santa ornaments I carve, to make necklaces and sell quite a few. But I decided to make one that was a little more elaborate with the carved elves, and presents and such. This just doesn't catch your eye, it kind reaches out and grabs you! The beads are handcarved and handpainted from basswood. Thanks for looking!