My Wood Carvings
David Flick - December 16, 2010
 
Wood carving is a hobby that I've enjoyed for nearly fifty years. I began carving in 1966. Here are a few of the carvings that I have kept.
  1. This photo shows all the carvings I've kept down through the years.
  2. A closer view of the same.
  3. Another view with me holding two canes
  4. "Small Ball & Chain."  (Basswood) I work as an inserter for the Enid News & Eagle. Part of my job involves "packing off" the papers as they come off the press. During each work shift, we occasionally have several press runs. There are frequently periods of  down time  when there is no activity. During these times we  sit around and talk or read the paper to kill time. I decided to use the down time to "kill time" carving.  I have carved numerous small pieces and have given them away to fellow employees. I decided to keep this  piece for myself.  It took about a month of down time to complete this piece.
  5. Another view of small "ball & chain."
  6. "Ball-in-a-ball"  (Basswood) This piece took about two months to complete. I received a lot of  interesting comments from fellow employees as they watched it being carved.
  7. Another view of "Ball-in-a-ball"
  8. "Dollar & a Quarter"  (Basswood) I started this piece not knowing what it would ultimately become. I knew only that it would have a ball-in-a-cage.  After I cut the ball loose in the cage, I began decorating the piece with various other  elements such as a ball on each end. Fellow employees kept inquiring what it would eventually be. One employee asked what it's worth would be. I remarked that it was going to be worthless. Toward the end, I decided to glue 5 Oklahoma quarters to a ball on one end to make it "worth something."  Upon completion I decided that it was going to be worth a dollar and a quarter. Drew a lot of laughs over that...
  9. "Enid"  (Basswood)  I began working on this small piece without a hint of an idea what it would be. I was simply making wood chips. But as I decorated it with scrolls, curves, & turns, I noticed that there was a thin  layer of darker wood running through the piece. I decided to carve "Enid" into darker strip.  Took about two months to complete the piece.
  10. "NOTHING" (back side) Started this piece from a piece of a palate on which inserts arrive at the newspaper. I have no idea what kind of wood it is. It is very soft wood which was prone to splitting. I have a hunch that it's some sort of Pine. As I began carving it, I had no idea what it would be. As I was shaving the first chips off,  a fellow employee asked, "What's it gonna be, Dave?" I replied a "THING."  So I carved "thing" on one side. As I was completing the word "THING," the same fellow employee remarked, "That's gonna be quite a thing, Dave." I replied, "No, it's actually going to be a 'nothing'." So I turned it over and carved the word, "NO" on the other side. when It was complete, it actually was a "NOTHING"
  11. "NOTHING" (front side)
  12. "NOTHING" (both sides)
  13. "KEYSTONE LAKE SPIRIT". (very old and weather-beaten Walnut) I carved this piece in the mid-80's. My son, Philip and I had gone to an Oklahoma State football game in Stillwater. We were living in Dewey and the commute from Dewey to Stillwater took about two and a half hours.  On the way back home after the game, He and I decided to make a rest stop by Lake Keystone which is located just west of Tulsa. while we were walking along the lake shore, I spied the piece of drift wood and thought I might carve something from it. After a couple of years of seeing the piece of wood sitting in the corner of the garage, I decided it was time to see what I could carve. The wood wasn't a very good quality and really wasn't conducive to creating a nice piece, but I went ahead and this is what came out. I decided to call it the "Keystone Lake Spirit."
  14. "KEYSTONE LAKE SPIRIT"  Closer view which shows many flaws.
  15. "RIGHT-HANDED CANE" (Tamarack) I have had two total hip replacements. The left hip replacement was first. During the recovery process, I need a right-handed cane to assist my walking  with a healing left hip. Canes are always used in the hand opposite a recovering hip. I  found the piece of wood at a garage sale. The person from whom I bought the piece was a cane maker. He sold it to me for a quarter. It turned out nice even if I do say so myself.
  16.  "RIGHT-HANDED CANE" Another view.
  17. "LEFT-HANDED CANE"  (Cottonwood) Made this cane for the recovery period of my right total hip replacement. I've forgotten where and when I acquired the wood for this cane.
  18. "LEFT-HANDED CANE" Another view
  19. "LARGE BALL & CHAIN" (Basswood)  Back in the early 80s, before the Oklahoma State football teams were playing in television, I listened to the radio broadcasts of the games. I decided to do some wood carving while I was listening to the games. I had a very large piece of Basswood with some flaws in it. In order to cover the flaws, I decided to make a large ball & chain. The piece is very large (about 3 and a half feet in length - see photo #2 for size comparison). I worked on the carving only on Saturdays during football games. It took several Saturdays, about half the season, to complete.
  20. "LARGE BALL & CHAIN"  Another view
  21. "SOUTHERN BAPTIST MISSISSIPPI RIVER SPIRIT" (Kind of wood unknown to me)  In 1990, I attended the Southern Baptist convention in New Orleans. I picked up this piece of wood while walking along the banks of the Mississippi River near New Orleans. I had carved the "Keystone Lake Spirit" several years earlier and felt the wood would yield a nice spirit of some sort. And it did. Took a couple of weeks to complete.
  22. "SOUTHERN BAPTIST MISSISSIPPI RIVER SPIRIT"  Closer view
  23. "eagle head cane" (Kind of wood unknown to me)  The piece of wood from which the cane was made came from Quartzite, AZ.  My father gave it to me and declared that it would make a very nice cane. I contemplated how I would design the cane for a considerable period of time. I finally settled on carving an eagle's head on the handle. I'm not too pleased with the end results, but it did finish nicely.
  24. "eagle head cane"  Another view
  25. "eagle head cane"  Another view
  26. "MOSES"  During the entire time I served the First Baptist Church in Dewey OK, (1984 - 1999), I taught a Sunday School class known as the "Pastor's Class." The class was originally created by my predecessor for new members and those who were uncomfortable in other adult classes. I attempted on several occasions to turn the class over to another teacher. But the class and the church would have none of that idea. So for nearly fifteen years, I taught the class.  Each year the Pastor's Class had a huge Christmas party, which was the highlight event of the year for class members. The gift exchange was a "White Elephant" affair.  In 1988 I taught from the book of Exodus during the last quarter. Moses was the prominent personality in that particular study. I decided to carve a piece with an imaginary likeness of Moses engraved on a piece of wood. I took the carving to the White Elephant gift exchange. It passed through at least a dozen hands before finally coming to rest with Earl Griffin, whose wife, Norma, had suffered a debilitating stroke many years prior to my arrival in Dewey. Earl & Norma were perhaps the most faithful members of any church I've pastored through the years. He displayed the carving in a prominent place in his home. He died in 1997. I preached his funeral. After the funeral, his children and grandchildren gave the carving back to me. I had them sign the carving (see photo #28). I will always hold on to this carving.
  27. "MOSES" Closer view
  28. "MOSES" Signature of Earl & Norma's children and granddaughter. Also, my signature and the date the piece was carved.

 

1
 2
 3
 4
 5
6
 7
 8
 9
  
10
 11

 12
 13
 14
15
 17
 19
 21
 23
16
 18
 20
 22
 24
26
 27
 28
   25