New cottonwood bark carvings.

I've made a few more pieces from cottonwood bark.  This first one is the second eagle from what started out to be a Native American face.  That piece broke in half so I used the smaller pieces for eagle heads.

When one carved predators, shouldn't the also carve prey?  The hare is a common figure in European woodcarving and is often presented as a stylized figure.  Another coat of varnish and this hare will shine as nicely as the eagle above...

While not yet completed, I have begun carving a tortoise to complement the hare :)

Each are for sale.

My First Octopus!

Cephalopods aren't at all common here in the desert but I carved one just the same.  This octopus is carved from seasoned Sycamore and stands a full 36 inches tall. Shadows were burned in and his angry color comes from a coat of "Australian Timber Oil, Mahogany Flame."

There's a certain amount of stress involved with carving such an unusual creature.  Each time I counted the legs, I wondered if I had lost track or counted one twice.  No one wants a septopus!

Cephalopod or dancer?

I've been studying and sketching octopus for a while in preparation of carving my first one.  Today I roughed out the head and eyes then took a photo when it was looking pretty good.  Now that I see that photo enlarged, I see the torso of a human dancer rather than an ascending cephalopod.

Who'd have thunk it?

New For Sale page at WoodHacker.com

Story Telling Chair / Throne

I've been busy finishing off several half completed carvings.  Most of these are now sitting in my sales yard but a few are awaiting their last coat of varnish.  Still others need a bit more detailing before bringing them out front...

Among those needing to be photographed are the double tree house men, relief eagle in a log, 2 separate king salmon, a triple penguin, and even a snowman wearing a top hat.  There are several cottonwood bark carvings as well...

Many of the items currently for sale are listed on my new For Sale page at:  http://www.woodhacker.com/carvings_for_sale.html

Rudy The Gnome

Chainsaw Carved Gnome

I finally got around to finishing my Rude Gnome {design stolen from Josh Dagg}.  He's about 30" tall, carved in yellow pine and seems to have a little Michael Jackson attitude going on.  "Rudy" is the first of what could be many rude gnomes.

I often drive around with carvings in the back of my truck and am given a thumbs-up by other drivers and their passengers.  However, when I took Rudy for a ride there were no thumbs-up.  Just lots of smiles and giggles :-)

Rudy is for sale in Kennewick and can be yours for $100.

Photo by Tina Baumgartner

Rudy's first road trip was to go slay a big elm tree!  I worked while he guarded the truck.  The elm didn't interest me for carving wood but I did bring home a few large rounds to use for tomahawk or knife throwing targets.

Completed Rustic Bench

Rustic, Cottonwood Bench

This is the first of 3 rustic, cottonwood benches I'm making this week.  It's displayed on scaffold boards so does not come with a base...  The wood is from the same salvaged tree as the bark I collected for carving.

The log rounds for these benches run from 26" - 32" in diameter and the seat slabs are 20" wide x 70" long x 2.5 " thick.  VERY HEAVY STUFF.  Kerf pockets for the slabs are cut in 6" deep to allow for pinning into place.

 All surfaces have been rough sanded and treated with boiled linseed oil.  Benches are priced at $400 as they are or $500 if a marine spar varnish finish is preferred.