Mini House

I carved a couple of houses out of a small pieces of cottonwood bark left over from some other projects. Both are about 2 1/2 inches tall, 3 inches wide and around 2 inches thick. The first house has a lot of detail, with a dormer and side room. The second house is more whimsical with a tree and side room. Both are hollowed out in the back. I took picture from two different angles of each house.

Moose

These are two carvings using Girards holiday designs. It's snowing here so the moose is still wearing his holiday garb. A little humor for a winter day when I'm shoveling snow. I did a different eye than the drawing. These are fun to carve and they will capture attention. The kids just love them.

Native American

I carved this American Indian in cottonwood bark. It is 10 inches tall and 3 inches wide. There are a couple minor things I would change, all-though I like the way it turned out. It's not based on any particular tribe. I would like to show some of the features of the different tribes in the future.

Little Folk

For Christmas I received "Whittling Little Folk" by Harley Refsal. I enjoyed carving two of the characters.and will carve some of the others. These are flat plane carvings and are carved with only a knife. Refsal has stories with his characters. Kristian's father emigrated from Norway in the late 1800s and purchased a 160 acre farm. Upon retirement Kristian and Thea deeded this farm to a nature conservancy. It is easy to relate to these Scandinavian stories and to be able to carve in this style. History and stories are always a part in carvings. These are 4 inches tall and a 2 inch square block.

Bob's Weather Wizard

I'm starting with a story, The Lore of the Cottonwood Tree. There is a quiet small valley with a small river winding though. The 100 plus year old Cottonwood tree had it's top broken off and all the branches were gone. The bark was falling on the grass covered ground. The tree was bleached out by the sun. The Cottonwood tree spoke, "I see all the young tree's around me from my seed, but I feel something is missing." A warm breeze came from the south and whispered to the tree, "from your bark it you will be remembered with joy and comfort. Be at peace."  For me it is a joy to find and carve Cottonwood bark. As we grow older we may have some of the same thoughts.

My friend Bob has a weather station, so I wanted to carve him a weather wizard. I don't know if it looks like a wizard, but the face looks like a Norseman to me. I'm attaching a card to it so he has another source for his forecast. It's 8 inches long and 1 1/2 inch diameter. The eye pupils were cut in with a gouge and then burnt in to darken them. Bob said he had the wizard to point to when somebody complained about the weather. He liked it very much.

Santa is coming

This is my view of Cottonwood City, named after the famed cottonwood tree. The doors are a little ajar, waiting for that most important visitor this time of the year. Santa is lurking around the corner looking to see who has been naughty or nice. This has been a busy time of the year carving ornaments. These bark houses can be hung or set on the self. They are about 4 inches tall and all have a tree and a post. I carved 20 of these and they are all different with a simple design.

 

Baseball Pitcher

I was given a Dave Stetson roughout last spring to carve for a Christmas gift. Of course apple pie and baseball are Americans favorites. I like both especially the little leagues, but it is second to apple pie.