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Woodcarving Illustrated

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FALL 2013

18

G

ary Burns’

nickname is “Wiz,”

and after looking

at his work, it’s not

hard to figure out why.

He’s a

wizard with wood, all right, carving

intricate creations out of the

burls and knots that most carvers

discard.

But Gary’s wizardry goes

beyond that. His creations have a

mythical quality about them that

will have you believing in tree

sprites and wood spirits, even when

your rational mind knows better.

It’s as though something in the

wood speaks to Gary, and he carves

and carves until it comes through.

“The wood itself is pretty

inspiring,” said Gary, whose favorite

wizard is Gandalf from

The Lord of

the Rings

. “I like fantasy and I like

wizards, so I thought, why not be

the tree wizard—be The Wiz. I sign

everything ‘Wiz,’ and there are a lot

of people who only know me

as Wiz.”

Gary Burns uses self-taught

techniques to carve out a

fantastic niche

By Toni Fitzgerald

The Wonderful

Wizard

of Oregon

Gary used his favorite

material, a pine knot, to

carve this wizard. The knot

is full of pitch, which Gary

says helps it carve cleanly

with a Dremel.