Following nature, I found my new favorite medium in wood. The wood
provides me with a third dimension of creativity and a functional
purpose for the design. Working with wood prevents duplication.
Using common hand tools, it’s impossible for any two carvings or cut-
outs to ever be the same. As much as I talk about the beauty and
inspiration of nature in my art, most of these wooden designs are
created after a couple of beers and too much time out in the shed.
And as such, these pieces vary from the natural to the bold to the
WTF’s?! The carvings can be purely artistic, a tribute to the fish we
pursue. Or, lately I’ve combined the artistic endeavor with the added
benefit of functionality, things like bookends, business card holders,
tablet and phone stands, fly tying caddy’s and who doesn’t need
another beer bottle opener? The fish cut-outs and larger pieces can
marry two loves, such as a state and a bass, like the “Montana Flag
Bull-trout” or the “Texas Bass,” these will just hang on a wall and look
pretty. My recent foray is in the positive use of a negative space.
Using a hollow relief method, I’ve found I can do amazing things with a
jig-saw and a flat chunk of oak tree.