I started woodcarving about 4-5 years ago, mainly as a way to work on smaller projects rather than the large furniture pieces I had been making with traditional woodworking. I had reached the point where I really didn't need anything else for my house, and even my daughter had quit asking for pieces. So I took a class from the local woodcarving club, and eventually joined. I really don't have a particular kind of carving that I specialize in; I'm still trying a little bit of everything.

A cardinal that I carved early last year, right before the shutdown. Each year one of the senior members of the club who is an expert in bird-carving leads a class for the club.

A dragon spoon, carved in African Padauk. It is based on an image I saw online and liked, so I tried to duplicate it.

Another dragon, this time more of a Chinese style. It is carved on a PVC board, meant to simulate an ivory carving. It came from an article in Woodcarving Illustrated.

An abstract spiral design that came from Woodcarving Illustrated. It is carved from butternut.

Another bird, which I did two years before the cardinal.

My first and only attempt at cottonwood bark carving. I really enjoyed this project because it was totally freeform. Since every piece of bark is different, there are no plans to follow, which was very challenging for me. But I was very happy with how it turned out.

A chess set I did a couple years ago. It was the first big carving project I did when I was still very new at it and I didn't realize it was beyond my skill level.

Celtic lovespoon, carved from cherry.

Swedish love spoon, carved from walnut.

Below are some of my pyrography projects, which is often viewed as an extension of woodcarving in the hierarchy of woodwork. I got started with woodburning in order to add some details to the bird carving projects. The first is a Phoenix, which I burned and then colored with oil-based colored pencils. The pattern came from an artist on the DeviantArt website. The second is a steam engine pattern that came from Pyrography magazine. The third was a special gift for a good friend of mine whose pet dog passed earlier this year. I used one of her photos to make a woodburned portrait.

Dick can be reached directly via email at rawesling@aol.com.