Original Carvings

Original Woodcarvings

The carvings shown below are my original designs or my original adaptations of common designs. The first carving I sold was a simple continuous loop cross. Our club was at one of our "public carving events" where we demonstrate our art to encourage others to join. I was surprised and honored that someone outside of my family enjoyed my efforts. Since then as I have expanded my skills and creativity I have met with success in attracting the interest of others. I humbly offer this website in response to requests over the last few years to make my work available online. Please contact me if you have any questions about my work. As my stock of finished carvings is continually changing, I will make images of my current carvings available upon request. Please contact me through my contact form by clicking the "About Me" tab.

This is a collection of my stylized trees. They were featured on the cover of Woodcarving Illustrated magazine's Holiday 2011 issue #57 with my article on how to carve them in that issue. I was honored to share the cover with Harold Enlow's St. Nicholas carvings. The trees to the left were in the article. I like to mix the "forests" with Basswood, Butternut wood and Mahogany. My tree design satisfied my desire to be able to carve something with just a carving knife when having my array of carving tools would be impractical. A set of my trees received a third place ribbon in their category at the 2012 International Woodcarvers Congress.

Santa Ornaments carved from Basswood. These are not the traditional chubby cheeked "Coca Cola" Santas...more Old World, almost wizard like. They vary in size according to availability of my stock. That also gives me more opportunity to play with the style of the carving which, I think, gives each their own personality. Admirers of these Santas often study them carefully for the personality they want.

5.75"

6.75"

These smaller Santas are usually around 3" though sometimes my stock dictates longer beards. They have a more traditional Santa hat and a whimsical elf look.

Grouping of Standing Santa Heads. I enjoy experimenting with their hair, beards and expressions to get a unique look. Each Santa develops his own personality. They vary in size according to the size of stock I have available...and my current whim. Sizes range from 4.5" to 7".

Madonna with Child

Carved from Butternut, but can also be carved in Basswood.

The stars are carved in Butternut or Basswood. They can be displayed free standing or used as a tree ornament.

7.5"

Angel with Child.

Carved here from Butternut, but looks beautiful in Basswood as well.

The Butternut grain is displayed well in the wings. 7.5"

Lamb of God. This was carved at my son's request. While studying in Rome he found this to be a common figurine.

Holy Family. Joseph is added to the Madonna with Child. Mary 7.5". Joseph 8". The Holy Family earned a fourth place ribbon at the 2013 International Woodcarvers congress.

Three views of Angel carved out of Basswood. She stands approximately 7 inches.

This is actually three separate pieces in one. The Lamb, Book and Banner are carved separately and displayed as one.

Stylized Continuous Loop Cross with a Twist in Butternut. This is time consuming to carve, but fun to watch take shape. Even though I created this design and carve it I find it fascinating to study the ribbon of wood making it's graceful twists. ~ 7"

A variety of Bunnies. The detailed bunnies are Basswood and painted. The stylized bunny is Butternut.

Stylized Continuous Loop Cross with a Double Twist in Butternut. Sort of sounds like an Olympic dive. This is more time consuming than the single twist and just as rewarding to carve and look at.

Pine Cone carved in Basswood. ~ 4"

The icicles are not my original design. My "twist" on them is that I like to make the tines very thin and hollow as close to the point as I can. The result is a very light and very fragile ornament. Treat it like glass. I also use various species: Basswood, Butternut, Black Walnut, Wild Cherry, Mahogany, and Cedar.

Bottle stoppers. Usually woodcarvers make cowboy caricatures on a cork, and they are nice. I prefer to carve something more whimsical and attach it to something you would not hesitate to use...and I hope you would be proud to use. One of my Santa's is in Dublin and another in Boston.

This is a custom carving for a customer in Texas. He saw a 12th Century carving of Japanese Shinto god in a museum and wanted a replica. Having only two black and white images to work from I made my own interpretations with satisfying results. The customer named him Hideki Natatomi. Hideki translates to English a combination of "tree" and "excellence". Natatomi translates to "die hard". My wife referred to him as "the Buddha" despite my corrections. He is carved from butternut 12"X 8"X 6".

Above are newer versions of my Santa Heads. They are from larger stock...7" to 9" basswood. I enjoy playing with the longer hair and beards working different folds and twists. The curls are particularly satisfying to carve but take much longer.

This angel tree topper is long gone. It sat atop our carving club's tree which was raffled off at the Festival of Trees in Davenport, IA a few years ago. I hope to repeat this effort soon.

Above are Dala horses. The left is carved from butternut finished only with boiled linseed oil and Deft so that it can show off it's beautiful grain pattern. The painted horse is carved from basswood and painted in the Swedish Dala style. Being of Swedish heritage it seems natural that I was drawn to the Swedish folk art. The butternut is my twist on the art.

Dala horse painted in a Kurbits style rather than the more familiar tradition style. I enjoy painting the intricate patterns.

This is my Dala Giraffe in Kurbits style. Yeah, giraffes are far from Swedish tradition, but Dala is folk art, so I feel free...and it is fun to look at.

She sat nicely on the tree but here she is on an empty bottle of Merlot. A coil of heavy gauge copper is in her gown to keep her on the tree. She stands a little over 10".

This is a stylized angel tree ornament. She is carved from basswood and finished with white acrylic and glitter. She also looks good as a table or shelf ornament.

This is a stylized wren...or at least my version of wren. Carved in butternut and finished with linseed oil. She is only a few inches long and makes a nice surprise decoration on a table or shelf.

These are a pair of Kuksa's that I carved in a class at Vesterheim, the American-Norwegian Cultural Center in Decorah, IA. Their Folk Art School has a variety of classes in the old Scandinavian arts and skills. These wooden cups traditionally are carved from birch wood, a plentiful resource for a variety of daily tools and utensils.

This is my Christmas Dala Horse. My wife suggested I create one and my mother taught me to listen to women. I have found that advice to be very worthwhile in most areas of my life, The saddle is a Swedish Woven Heart. I found that to be a bit awkward and have since changed to a poinsettia saddle. It is more intricate, but more interesting. I don't have any left and failed to take a photo of them...There may be one at the Smith Studio and Gallery in Geneseo.