Still Waters

This piece was done for a friend of ours and had more "firsts" for me. The family enjoys kayaking, so what better pose than to have him in one. I never carved a kayak before, but I found some good pictures of him online so at least I had something to work off. His position also made it a bit more difficult, as I had to get all the angles just right. He had such a content look on his face in the picture that I gave the piece the title "Still Waters" with a reference to Psalm 23. All things considered I was very happy with how it turned out. There are more pictures in the Gallery to the top right.

Soul Music

A few months back I did a carving of the Worship Leader at the church I attend, it was called "Worship Only". Well a wife of one of the band members really like it, so she asked me to do one of her husband too. I was happy to do so, partly because he is a perfect person to caricature, he dresses a certain way, is quite expressive when he plays, and he's just a neat guy.

Coming up with a theme for the piece was easy, when he plays he puts his whole body into it, so I have him leaning back, with big cheeks, playing for all he's worth. The saxophone he is playing is one of his favorites, a Cannonball Tenor in pewter finish, really a nice looking sax, not your basic brass one like you normally see. As for the name, Psalm 108:1 says "I will sing and make music with all my soul", so I call this piece "Soul Music".

They both loved how it turned out, hope you do too. As usual, there are more pictures in the "My Carving Photo Album" tab. Thanks for looking.

Bob

How May I Serve You?

Here a piece I did recently for a customer to give to their boss as a retirement gift. He is a lawyer as a vocation but on his own time is involved as a volunteer at the Grand Rapids Art Museum, Fredrick Meijer Gardens, as well as being a great chef. The customer gave me freedom to do what I wanted with one stipulation, he is know for his great smile, and I think I nailed it. 

There are more pictures in the album, thanks for looking, comments are always welcome.

Bob

Worship Only

Earlier this summer I was asked to do a carving of the Worship Leader at the church I attend, and since he is also a good friend, I jumped at the opportunity. Having known him for awhile and knowing his heart, when he is up front leading us in worship it is not a performance, he is before the King worshiping Him only. So that's where the name came from, "Worship Only". I have him in a pose, not of singing, but lost in worship. I went back in my memory and put him in a familiar wardrobe and I think it all worked out well. As always, there are more pictures in the Photo Album, thanks for looking.

Sew Much Fun!

Sew Much Fun! was a piece I did for a co-worker as a birthday gift for his wife. She has a knack for sewing and one of the things she does is make quilts. I have her sitting in her chair with a stack of squares in her lap and trying to thread a needle. Every piece I do lately stretches me a bit and with this piece it was the sitting down and making it look natural. I enjoyed doing it, thanks Ken. As always, there are more pictures in the photo album. Thanks for looking.

Grandpa's Loving Arms

Here's a piece I did earlier this year, the customer was my wife and her sisters! My Father-in-laws birthday was coming up and the girls always have a hard time figuring out what to get for him. So they came up with the idea of having me do a carving of him. They gave me the liberty of coming up with the theme for the piece, and I didn't have to think too hard, he has a real love for his grand kids. In the piece had been sitting in his chair reading the Bible and is now standing, reaching out to pick up one of the little ones. I'd never done a chair before so that was a fun experience, but carving a family member was loads of fun. Hope you like it, he sure did.

Compelled to Preach

I know that it's been quite awhile since I've posted a new carving, last winter I was very busy filling orders for people and then I had a long summer without any requests coming in, so nothing to post. After the busy pace I was ready for a rest, but not for long, I enjoy carving too much to sit idle for long.

  So early fall I started thinking about a carving I wanted to do as a gift for my pastor, who also happens to be a good friend of mine. After doing so many commission jobs I wanted to do one that I wanted to do. When coming up with a design for a piece I look at a subjects hobbies, quirks, or professions, usually something stands out, and in this case it was obvious, he loves to preach the Word of God.

  As you look at the piece the pose may not be real different but it has some hidden meanings in it. For the first time I used a piece of rock as part of the base, so that he is standing on "The Rock", not with one leg in motion like I normally do, but with both feet flat, not moving. He is holding his Bible in one hand and the other hand is gesturing as if to say, "Do you understand this, isn't it wonderful?" I think it turned out pretty good, and he liked it too.

  This was a fun one to do, hope you like it too. As usual there are more pictures in the Photo Album, (let me know if you can't get in there).

Bob