As Long As There is Man and Wood, There Will Be Woodcarving

 "Hey, back up," is what I said. Something along the road caught my eye, and I needed to get a better look.

Eagles and bears chain-sawed in a tree trunk.  I get a kick out of the big bear at the bottom holding on for dear life.

Hubby is a wood carver, whose talents are channeled in diverse directions...the old European art of chip carving, wood spirit walking sticks, love spoons, and, yes, even chain saw pieces.

Hubby studied chip carving at the Alpine School of Wood Carving in Park Ridge, Illinois, under professional chip carver Wayne Barton.  Barton took his formal training in Brienz, Switzerland, the woodcarving center of that country.

C'mon, let's take a peek into hubby's studio.....

Chip-Carved Geometric
Decorative Plates

Carved With Chain Saw

Wood Spirit Walking Sticks
Miscellaneous Projects
View of our back yard along the creek

Norwegian Chip-carved Mangle Boards

Mangle Boards (called Mangletraer in Norwegian) were long, flat boards with a horse-shaped handle (horse being the symbol of strength). The boards were used to roll the wrinkles from linen cloth that had been moistened and wound on a kind of rolling pin...forerunners to the modern-day iron.    

Legend has it that Mangle Boards were a traditional courtship gift.  A young man would carve a mangle board for the lady he hoped to marry.  The young man would then hang the mangle board on the door of the young lady's house.  If she accepted his proposal, she would bring the board into her house.  If she refused, she would leave the board hanging on the door.  The man could not use the same mangle board for the next lady he proposed to, so he had to carve a new board and design. Because of having to carve new boards, the best wood carvers in Norway were bachelors!

Thank you for stopping by.