Magazine Articles - Masters of Wood - (Southwest Art) July 1998

        Masters of Wood
                      
by

Myrna Zanetell

Tupelo, maple, manzanita or walnut - the medium is the same, but the images are as distinctive as the men who create the wondrous wood sculptures which bear their name. While it is true that Chester Armstrong, Bob Boomer, Leo Osborne and Greg Woodard each begin their creative process by using a chain saw to shape the rough outline of the pieces, this is where the similarity ends.
                                                  
                                                "Haunt of the Spirits"- cedar - by Bob Boomer

Bob Boomer's sculptures have a delicate, almost ethereal quality which he attains by working with the wood's inherent nature. Twists, knots, cracks and other irregularities become the muses which dictate the final form of his images. "The premise of my art is not to destroy flaws, but rather to incorporate them into the overall design" he explains, "because these natural elements create the spontaneity of the piece."

Rough areas of bark become hair, robes or even a necklace, and cracks in the wood are worked into the hem of a skirt or become features which add a sense of timeless character to the faces of his male figures. The artist notes, "When I sculpt a female image from a log with a branch, rather than remove it entirely, I frequently transform the stub into a bowl or water jug, and because the natural twist of the wood lends itself to the look of a skirt or shawl blowing in the wind, most of my standing figures are women. If I add a man, he too is robed, because legs detract from the clean, flowing line I want to achieve. As I sculpt, I draw the image out of the wood, taking away just enough to suggest my idea. The final result is a blending of the two, nature and design, destroying neither while enhancing both."

Boomer works with manzanita and cedar, both of which grow near his home in the Sierras adjacent to Yosemite National Park. Harvesting his own wood gives the artist the same intimacy with nature that is characteristic of the Native American people which are his most frequent subjects. He keeps his works as close to the original wood as possible and even the beautiful gold, red and maroon banding which exemplify his sculptures are natural wood colors brought out by a light coat of clear minwax.

Although the majority of Boomer's dramatic woods are small in stature, ranging from 10 to 24 inches in height, their intricate designs and unique composition convey a sense of tranquility and spirituality which enhances the medium's natural qualities. "Wood is a living entity, and it is this feeling of warmth which draws people to it." Boomer confides, "As a sculptor, I am merely an instrument, refining the wood's natural beauty and drawing it to the surface for all to see."

                                    
                                        "The Prize" - Black Walnut - by J. Chester Armstrong

Unlike other artists who use the chain saw merely to shape a beginning image, this roaring monster is an instrument vital to Chester Armstrons's art. The tool becomes an extension of his hand, digging, chiseling, cutting deep into the wood pulling images out like a sorcerer waving a magic wand. Once the creative process has begun, the artist becomes totally immersed in his work moving around the log in a unique rhythm, the raucous song of the saw providing the melody which guides Armstrong in choreographing the steps as he literally "dances with the wood".

Because he loves to produce large images, the artist often begins with a 16" saw. "There is a certain element of excitement and danger in using the large saw which revs up my creative juices", he explains. "It is a challenge to me to use such a rough tool to refine the wood into intricate and detailed images. Because I am absolutely in love with line the chain saw is the perfect tool for me. The constant, steady movement as it cuts automatically creates flowing lines as opposed to chisels which make chips and chunks."

Armstrong works in walnut, a wood whose smell he says reminds him of a favorite subject, horses. Mass is also an important feature of his work so he frequently sculpts multiple images. Explaining how these come about, Armstrong notes, "Since wood is organic and natural things change as I go; nothing is locked in. I add lib as I cut making a myriad of spontaneous decisions. If I come to a branch, that becomes a rearing horse as opposed to one running with the herd. There is a spirit within the wood, and as I work that creative life force is flowing into me and in turn I put that energy back into my sculpture. Life is one continuous circle of forces which guide and rejuvenate you if you are open to them."

                                            
                                    "Bat Falcon & Barn Swallow" - Tupelo - by Greg Woodard

From Tupelo gum and apricot Utah artist, Greg Woodard fashions birds so real that you hold your breath in anticipation of their taking flight. Reality is birthed by familiarity for Woodard is a falconer - a man who knows his birds as intimately as few others can. "Being a falconer is pretty much a life style", Woodard explains. "You have to spend two years as an apprentice and then pass a very difficult test before you become certified. From then on you pretty much eat, sleep and breath birds. When training a new raptor, I have to take it out to fly daily for at least six months. Like wild birds of prey who stay in shape by constantly hunting, the domestic bird must also receive regular exercise. They live in a very competitive world and can easily be killed by other predators if they are not in peak condition."

This type of dedication has turned Woodard into one of the world's best known carvers of birds of prey. "Many bird carvers rely strictly upon museum skins to get the details. While I do use skins and photographs to get the details for feather layout and color, nothing takes the place of being around these creatures every day. There is a level of emotion and expression that you can't comprehend without being intimate with the live bird. The eyes tell you if they are happy, angry or even sick, and when this is communicated through the artist's work, the piece lives.

Woodard says he is especially fond of the tupelo, a tree from the bayous. "I choose wood from the bell which grows at the water line", he notes. "These are good, big pieces of dense lumber, strong both with and against the grain, which makes them ideal for carving details such as the claws and toenails."

Unlike many other sculptors, Woodard begins his pieces by carving a base and then designing the birds to fit, thus creating a complete sense of habitat. A red-tailed hawk or a kestrel may be nestled within the curve of a gnarled tree trunk or a peregrine falcon is perched on a rock ready for flight. In 1993, he was awarded the $20,000. Ward World Championship for "Cactus Flower", a carving of a female American Kestrel preening herself atop a prickly pear.

"People often think of wood carving as a craft, but to me it is fine art", Woodard emphasizes. "Carving my birds from a single piece of wood makes the images very sculptural, and I tend to be quite impressionistic when it comes to painting them. I work in oils trying to find every excuse to put in a little more color. In my mind's eye, I see these birds in their natural settings where sunlight may be bouncing off a rock adding to the highlights on the feathers. In the past when I was competing in world championship carving shows, pieces were rendered as tightly as possible. This style was closer to taxidermy, and they simply didn't look real. In the 90's, however, collectors began to like the more impressionistic approach. I still keep my birds anatomically correct, but by taking advantage of this feel of light and color, I make them come alive."

                                                      
                                        "Toucan Sunrise" - Maple Burl w/dye - Leo E. Osborne

Birds are also a favorite subject for Washington state artist Leo Osborne who fashions his works from the burl on trees such as maple and walnut. Osborne explains that this burl is a growth on a tree very much like a wart on the skin. "This is caused, not by a wound as many people think, but rather by a virus which attacks the tree, changing the cellular structure of the wood. The burl is often ten times the density of the regular wood, and it has no grain. I especially like to use what is referred to as "bird's eye" which occurs most frequently in maple. This is what furniture is made from. The "bird's eye" texture comes from nodules in the burl, which form growth rings that get bigger with each passing year. The structure looks as if you took a thousand tiny branches and bundled them up together."

To attain the beautiful colors in his work, Woodard uses an aniline dye, a water soluble dry pigment much like a shoe polish, to bring out the features of his carvings. He explains, "I first saturate the sculpture with water and then brush on the diluted dye using a style similar to watercolor painting, beginning with the lightest values and then working to the darker ones. It takes a great deal of practice to achieve the desired effect, because like watercolors, once the paint has been applied there is no way to go back and make changes so the design has to be very precise. The color travels with whatever grain there is in the wood so making distinct lines is quite tricky. By painting on to the wet surface of the wood, I am able to blend colors which gives soft edges as opposed to the hard edges created by a dry pigment. Because the burl has varying hardnesses, it absorbs the color differently so the dye actually accents the "burlness". I especially like to highlight the character of the "bird's eye", and this can only be achieved by using many soft washes and giving the piece a final coat of wax to enhance the design."

Osborne's brightly colored birds are often perched atop a geometric style base. Sometimes the image and base are two separate units, while on other occasions the bird and obelisk are carved from a single piece of wood. Even more unique are works such as "Song of the Pacific Northwest", where the image is cradled within the burl itself giving the feeling of crystals in a geode. Osborne's life size images are painstaking works of perfection so time consuming that he is able to produce only three to four new images a year. His perseverance has paid off, however, as he is the only sculptor to have received five Awards of Excellence from the Society of Animal Artists along with two awards for interpretive sculpture.

Playing upon his Maine sense of humor, Osborne fondly refers to his creative livelihood as "fine art and live bait". As with his art, this expression is left up to the viewer to contemplate and interpret.

What makes an artist choose to sculpt wood as opposed to bronze?

In Bob Boomer's case the smell and feel of good wood were part of his earliest memories. As a youth, he spent long hours either in his father's gun smithing shop or watching his grandfather build cabinets. "The love these men had for their work was contagious", he explains. "I always felt comfortable there, and that same feeling of comfort returns every time I work with wood."

                                             
                                               "Water Girl" - Manzanita - by Bob Boomer

At Fresno State (Cal State, Fresno) Boomer earned a degree in industrial art with an emphasis on wood technology and metals. While at his first teaching job in Hawaii, the artist began to work with the native hardwoods, Hoa and Milo, thus rekindling the love for carving that would eventually lead to a career as a full time wood sculptor.

As the son of a cabinetmaker, Greg Woodard also spent much of his youth around fine wood. After graduating from high school, Woodard chose a career as a switchman for the Santa Fe railroad, carving birds in his spare time. He continued in this vain for nearly ten years until the day the pink slip arrived causing him to make some serious choices. "I had always wanted to be a bird carver", he confides, "but I reserved that dream for the future and suddenly it was here."

It took two years of intense practice, but slowly Woodard's dedication paid off. He began to win awards at carving competitions and soon collectors were purchasing his work. Joyfully he notes, "It was then that I began to realize I could actually make a living doing what I loved."

From the very beginning Leo Osborne had a love affair with wildlife, but it was not until he won a scholarship from the Art Instruction School of Minneapolis that he began combining this interest with his artistic abilities. Eventually the artist began to show his paintings in the Cape Cod area, but it required a move to Maine, where he carved wooden signs to supplement his income, for him to discover that he had an interest in carving birds as well. A final relocation to the San Juan Islands of upper Washington placed him in a bird lovers paradise. "This area is very rural and pastoral, and I find subject matter wherever I turn", he exclaims.

Chester Armstrong came to his profession as a sculptor by a more circuitous route. After graduating from Berkeley with a degree in philosophy, Armstrong chose to make a tour of Mexico, Belize and Guatemala. The artist credits the Mayan ruins for awaking his artistic nature. "Somehow they spoke to me, instilling the concept that an artist holds the key to the past, the present and the future, and I wanted to be part of that exciting revelation."

Returning to the United States, Armstrong settled in rural Vermont. He became fascinated with the hand made quality of many of the old structures, and vowed to learn the craft of building by restoring several of these homes and barns. It was here he also acquired his first chain saw. "It was an old hand me down that had no instructions so I just taught myself how to use it". He jests, "I learned to do things with a chain saw that normally aren't done, but there was nobody around to tell me that I couldn't do them".

Each artist also reflected upon the qualities which define his work and described future goals.

Greg Woodard notes that carving his birds from a single piece of wood makes his work distinctive. "Many bird carvers fashion individual parts such as wings and bodies and then glue them together to attain the final product. I begin with a large mass and then reduce that to a single image. I don't like to make additions because I feel the composition is stronger coming from a single piece of wood. It is more difficult to carve this way, but the end result is well worth the effort. As for future goals, I am mainly looking forward to the time when bird carving will be accepted as fine art."

Flowing lines and delicate detail have become Bob Boomer's trade mark, and collectors frequently remark about peaceful feeling which emanates from his work. "I have begun to incorporate spirit faces within my pieces", Boomer notes, "and somehow this adds another dimension to the image."

"As for how I would like to expand my art in the future, I must explain that we have just recently completed a cabin higher in the mountains, and I find it a true joy to sit on the porch and watch the animals as they go about life, unaware they are being observed. I love figurative work, but I would also like to do more wildlife subjects, especially those of endangered species. In the past, the majority of my work has been small images, but I also look forward to the challenge of creating life-size or even monumental works".

Osborne began his carving career creating very realistic birds, and as he evolved into using burl wood as a medium, his pieces became more stylized. Through years of experience, he has refined his painting method reaching the point where he says he can just let go and trust his ability to produce the look he has envisioned. In the future, he would like to produce more figurative work, concentrating on the female figure. "For me, the female form is subtle, smooth and graceful, portraying an elegance which lends itself to beautiful interpretation in wood."

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