I love carving wood, sometimes my Husband thinks I am obsessed with it. I have always been interested in hand made arts. My Mother was an artist in several mediums and exposed me to the hard work

required to be successful at it. After trying my hand at a lot of different crafts, I told my Husband that I would like to try making Duck Decoys, he bought me my first set of carving knives as a Christmas gift and I decided to give it a try.

I was pretty happy with my ducks, so, off we went to a decoy convention. What a shock! This is a serious art, with birds being judged for accuracy of feathers and ability to float naturally. Upon returning home, I was greeted by my ducks, with big toothy grins, not exactly competition material. Shortly after that I carved my first Snowman as a Christmas gift, then I carved another, and another, and another...

My Snowmen have, and continue to go through lots of changes since then. I like to have them doing things they like to do when we’re not around, such as ice fishing or relaxing under a palm tree sipping a peppermint colada. Even Snowmen have their special dreams, I just help them to achieve them.

Each piece starts with an idea that may come from just watching people doing ordinary things, there may

be some of you in a few of my carvings. I start by freehand sketching my ideas on a board, each drawing is individual and as unique as a snowflake, they are then cut to rough shape on a band saw, after that, they get in line to be carved. This is the part I love. Carving Santa’s and Snowmen is what I do to relieve stress. My Husband feels the need to keep up the stress, he feels this is the pathway to increased production. In the mornings I do my gardening, then settle down with my two biggest inspirations (no not my kids, sorry boys)

I have two Jack Russell Terriers that are always under my chair or in my lap.

when you see my collection, you will see a little bit of Chip and Maggie almost everywhere.

Santa’s are carved in more traditional  roles such as placing gifts under a tree or chimney or just working at

bench. Though they usually come with whimsical themes, they are also serious about their work. Even so, they manage to have fun riding skyrockets or helping various animals decorate a tree. My Santas seem to migrate into two different styles, Old World Saint Nicholas, who is generally more intricate in detail and , and a more western style Santa Claus with a giant smile, more likely to be playing around. All of my carving is done with pine, jelutong, or basswood. Each of my carvings is hand painted, dated,  and signed by me. My Snowmen are priced from $15 to $300. Santas range from $50 to $600.

If you are in California during the Fall, stop buy and visit me at the Harvest Festival in Ventura, Long Beach, Del Mar, San Jose, or Pomona. Also, for a special treat, Come see me at the Cerritos Sheraton Hotel for my One Woman Carving Fest. This the first time my new collection will be available this year, I bring everything to this one!