Читать книгу Woodcarving Illustrated Issue 73 Holiday 2015 - Группа авторов - Страница 22

Woodcarving Illustrated

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FALL 2013

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artwork,” said Jerome. “We bought

our first piece from him in 1994.”

The Blackmans, who now have

10 of Gary’s pieces in their home,

were drawn to his tree carvings

and depictions of forests. “Some

of his scenes have a great deal of

whimsy, which always spikes our

fancy,” Jerome said.

Gary ran the gallery for 16

years, and during the last 10 he

made nearly all of his sales there.

It’s turned into a perfect fit. “I

thought about carving like it was

fishing. I love to fish. I go to the

shop and make a lure, I come up,

and cast it into Etsy,” Gary said.

“It’s inspiring to me. I have as

many things as I can possibly carve

on there.”

One thing that makes Gary’s

work so unique is his use of

burls and knots. He is partial

to maple burl, which he says is

different from straight grain or

regular maple in that it doesn’t

chip as much. “The grain is really

interesting to look at and catchy

to a lot of people,” he said. When

Gary lived in the Sierras he found

the best knots in trees that had

rotted in the shade. “I did a lot of

walking and driving to find them.

Now a woodsman who grew up in

my area collects my knots. It’s a

mixed forest so you have to travel

a lot farther to find a pine tree that

has been down in the shade long

enough that the knots are ready to

extract,” he said.

The move to Oregon has

changed other things for Gary as

well. Just as he once bonded with

buyers at his bricks-and-mortar

gallery, he now connects with

people online. Mary Sigmore of

Titusville, Fla., stumbled upon

Gary’s shop (aptly called The Tree

Wizard Shop) while searching for a

woodcarving for her wall last year.

She was captivated by his wooden

hearts, something he started

making a few years ago. They come

in all manner of sizes, colors, and

finishes. “I’d never seen anything

like them,” she said. “Once I found

them, I started looking online

everywhere to see if anyone made

anything remotely similar. I just

received in the mail my 31st heart

by Gary.”

You could even say his work

cast a spell over her.

See more of Gary Burns’ work at

Etsy.com/shop/treewiz or contact

him at datreewiz@gmail.com.

Then he moved to Oregon, where

he went to work with a friend for

several years before discovering

the self-employed artist’s nirvana

of Etsy.com. Three and a half

years ago he put his first item on

the site. It sold the very next day.

Since then Gary has upgraded his

photography equipment and done

a lot of reading on search engine

optimization to improve his shop.

“This abstract carving is one of my

favorites,” said Gary. “It is carved out

of quilted maple. I love doing abstract

pieces occasionally. They are so

different than the other things.”