Newtown Woodworker Featured-Artistry In Wood By The Grizzly Woodsmith At Easton Library
Newtown Woodworker Featuredâ
Artistry In Wood By The Grizzly Woodsmith At Easton Library
EASTON â Easton Public Library recently opened âArtistry In Wood,â an exhibition of wood carvings by the Newtown resident Wayne Smith. The collection will remain on view until January 18.
Mr Smith a/k/a The Grizzly Woodsmith, carves Santa figures, fisherman and animals, such as beavers and coyotes and North American wildlife. Each piece involves many hours of careful work and is carved to depict the subject as realistically as possible.
Each piece starts with a block of wood ââ bas wood, pine, butternut, or mahogany ââ and is then run through a band saw to get a basic shape. Mr Smith does the detail work with an assortment of chisels and knives found in the workshop of his home, in the Hattertown section of Newtown. Carvings can take anywhere from 15 to 18 hours of work from start to finish.
Carol Smith, his wife, takes care of painting the pieces, which adds accent and more life to each carving.
âI think she really brings out the life of each carving,â Mr Smith told The Bee in September 2003.
Both Smiths have taken some classes, he in carving and she in painting, but Mr Smith says most of their progress has come through âa lot of trial and error.â
Mr Smith began carving about six years ago, after he was hiking on the Appalachian Trail and saw a number of hikers with custom carved walking sticks and staffs. He thought he could create something similar, so he began studying carvings and taking classes.
The walking sticks have evolved into the current offerings ââ the animals, Santas, sailors, etc.
The work put into the carvings and the talent that is needed to begin with have been admired by show attendees and competition judges. Mr Smith won Best in Show at Mystic Woodcarvers Show in 2003 for âVigilance,â a carving with four coyote puppies, each with a different personality. âPursuit,â depicting a snowshoe hare being chased by a lynx, was also entered in the Mystic show; âVigilanceâ and âPursuitâ were honored with first and second place ribbons, respectively.
At Easton Library, traditional Santa and Father Christmas figures and North American animals are being presented in two display cases. A pair of large Native American busts have been set up in the libraryâs conference room, complementing paintings and etchings by Robert Ledoux.
The exhibition will change slightly after the first of the year: The Santa figures will be replaced with non-holiday pieces for the remainder of the show.
Easton Public Library, at 691 Morehouse Road (at the corner of Center Road), can be reached by calling 261-0134.