Wood chips and chickadees
<p>George R. Wilson of Coeur d’Alene uses a wood carvers technique called cross cutting in his home studio on Wednesday afternoon. Wilson is a member of the North Idaho Woodcarvers group that meets every Saturday to share techniques and recent work.</p>
<p>George R. Wilson shows off the fourth step in his progression of carving a songbird in his home studio in Coeur d’Alene. Wilson has been wood carving since the early 1970’s.</p>
COEUR d'ALENE - With a steady hand and careful eye, George Wilson presses the blade into the wood.
He inspects the incision to ensure the cut is exactly in line with the pattern, then releases the chip from the block.
Before too long, what was once a regular piece of timber is now a wooden treasure carved with an ornate, Old World pattern.
"It's a very, very old form of wood decoration," said Wilson, 80, of Coeur d'Alene. "It was developed in European and Scandinavian countries thousands of years ago where they built a lot of their own furniture, and after they built something they enjoyed, they would carve a pattern of some kind."
On the tables and shelves in Wilson's home are examples of his chip carving mastery, including plates, bowls and decorative pieces. Geometric and symmetrical, many of the intricate patterns resemble snowflakes.
"Everything you see out there was carved with this one knife," he said Thursday afternoon, holding up a small knife with a golden-brown handle.
Chip carving is just one technique in the realm of Wilson's carving abilities. He also uses a power carver and woodworking tools to create realistic, hand-painted songbirds. Life-sized wooden chickadees, blue jays and California quail are among the many specimens of his wooden masterpieces that line the shelves of his glass display case. Several awards and show ribbons sit beneath the lifelike representations, evidence of Wilson's more than 40 years of excellence in carving and attention to detail when painting the wooden creatures.
"When you start carving, you see things that you've never seen. Detail, feather details and so forth," he said. "If you are an artist and start drawing things, you'll see a lot more detail and you'll recognize things on a bird or an animal that most people don't notice."
"I have to admit the first time that I met him and he was talking about his woodcarving and his songbirds, I didn't have the slightest idea what he was talking about. It certainly was all new to me," said his wife, Joan. "I'm very grateful that in our retirement he has an opportunity to do something he really likes to do. People seem to be impressed by it."
Wilson has been a member of the North Idaho Wood Carvers for 10 years, and he has the workshop to prove it. His woodcarving space is an 8-by-13-foot porch next to the dining room, filled wall-to-wall with tools, templates, reference books, freshly started projects, a lathe, more awards, varnishes, finished products and just about anything a carver could ever need. Except the band saw; that's in the garage.
"His carving is incredible," said fellow North Idaho Wood Carver Klaus Rau of Coeur d'Alene. Rau organizes the weekly wood carver meetings and has been an active wood carver for 15 years or so. He creates whimsical houses and enjoys interacting with others who share an interest in carving. He said the hobby requires plenty of patience and the ability to be safe with a knife.
"It takes time and patience, that's the big thing," Rau said. "You want that art piece coming out of a block of wood and it's exciting to see what comes out of it."
Wilson also referred to patience being a virtue of woodworking, and advises newcomers not to start with something too difficult so they don't get discouraged. He has taken classes and read countless books and articles, and being a North Idaho Wood Carver allows him and Rau to trade techniques with other carvers.
"Wood carvers are very willing to share their knowledge," Wilson said. "There's just no limit to the number of things you can do."
Experienced wood carvers such as Wilson and Rau are happy to chat with seasoned, new and curious carvers during the weekly meetings, which are from 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays in the Community United Methodist Church, located at 1470 W. Hanley Ave. in Coeur d'Alene. Rau said usually about 12 to 20 carvers come each week to share their work, talk shop and enjoy the hobby in the company of other enthusiasts.
"The nice thing about it is we all kind of help each other," Rau said. "Then they'll just carve. They'll make out of that block whatever is supposed to be coming out of that block."
For information about the North Idaho Wood Carvers, contact Rau at 664-3942 or Ken Dorris at 772-8166.