Who are you?  My name is Blake Lunsford and I am married to Rachel, and father to Haley who is 13 years old.  I am a Supervisor for the Virginia Department of Social Services, and have been the main sound technician for my church for about the last 8 years.  When I am not carving, I enjoy making knives, playing the banjo, and spending time with my family and friends.   

What do you mainly carve?  I primarily like to carve Santas, Caricatures, Snowmen, Dogs, Pumpkin caricatures, and wood spirits.  I like to carve things with funny facial features and flowing hair and try to add a touch of realism when painting eyes.

Where are you from? I am originally from Abingdon, Virginia, which is a small historic town in the Appalachian Mountains of Southwest Virginia.  I currently live in Bristol, Tennessee, which is known as the Birthplace of Country Music, State Street (where you can be in Virginia and Tennessee at the same time), and Nascar's Bristol Motor Speedway.

When did you start carving?  My first experience with carving was in a Wood Spirit carving class with Lee Warren at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.  That was in 2001.  I really got serious about carving when my wife was pregnant with my daughter in 2005. 

What was your inspiration?  I have always enjoyed making things with my hands and at the end having something to show for the work I have done.  I found that carving was very satisfying, and I could see the improvements and progress I was making.  I have had the opportunity to make some great friends in the woodcarving community who have been very welcoming and forthcoming with tips and tricks about woodcarving.  I have to believe that woodcarvers are some of the nicest and most helpful people that I have ever been around.

How do you like to carve?  I have carved for years in any place that I could find where I could make wood chips.  I found that it ended up being mostly at the kitchen table.  I have learned as I get older that a quality light source is important to be able to see the piece you are working on.  A couple of years ago my wife and I turned a spare bedroom into a craft room and built a designated bench so she can make hand painted signs and I can do woodcarving projects.  We installed quality lighting, and this allows me to be in the main part of the house while spending time carving.  I carve mainly basswood and butternut, but also like to carve cottonwood bark.  I recently got into making my own carving knives, and find it most satisfying to carve something with a knife that I have made out of a piece of steel and a block of wood.  I hope to start selling wood carving knives that are good quality and easily affordable for the everyday carver.

Carver of the Month: Doug Linker (A.K.A. @dougoutside)

Who are you?

My name is Doug Linker  I am married to Sophie, the father to 5 kids and a Grandpa twice over.  I am a carpenter by trade and have been working as my church caretaker for the past 20 years. I am an avid outdoors-man who loves hiking, canoeing, fishing, and hunting with a great sense of adventure.

What do you mainly carve?

I mainly like to carve and make things that make people smile. If you have seen my Instagram page, or my YouTube channel you would  know I enjoy carving  folk art creations like moving toys, or caricatures, to Santa’s, to bearded hillbillies, to a pig that sits on your fridge and everything in between, and I always add a touch of whimsy.

Where are you from?

I was born and raised in a small town in southern Ontario, Canada and still live within a few kilometers of where I was born and raised. 

When did you start carving?

I started to dabble in carving about 4 years ago now. In the beginning I would carve off and on, but have done more in the last couple of years.

Why did you start carving?  What was your inspiration?

I started carving after randomly catching a video of Gene Messer on you tube. My first small men were carved with a full sized bush-craft knife.

                                                     

Where do you like to carve?

I like to carve outside when I can but have recently set up a carving room inside for the winter months. I do like the flat plane carving techniques the best albeit I don’t always abide by those rules and mix it up most of the time. You can often find me carving with a hot cup of coffee close by.

Carver of the Month: Dan Riggott (A.K.A. @danhero)

Who you are?

I'm Dan, a dad of two young boys, a photo retoucher for the fashion and beauty industry by day and a novice carver of odd little monsters in the wee small hours...

 What do you mainly carve?

I mainly carve strange monsters and cute characters, with a particular penchant for cyclops. These are created either straight from my imagination or from doodles I've made in my sketchbooks, and I like to carve them very small. I've carved these from various woods such as black walnut and mahogany, but because it's so much fun to work with, I mostly use basswood.

Where you are from?

I grew up in a small, remote seaside village called Marcross in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. I later lived in Cheltenham and then Brighton as an adult, but settled back into a small town on the Gower Peninsula some years back. I love to be near the coast.

                                                                                   When did you start carving?

I started carving in June of 2017, prior to this I'd probably only whittled a twig or two with a penknife as a child. I'd enjoyed drawing from a young age, and later making animations and digital art, but the idea of taking up carving never entered my mind until last year.

Why did you start carving? What was your inspiration?

I was inspired by a carving that my grandfather had made 40 years ago, that I'd loved & played with as a young child. It just occurred to me how nice it was that I still had this treasured heirloom 20 years after his passing. I liked the idea of making something tangible that my kids could play with and enjoy, and perhaps pass on to their kids too. I've always enjoyed drawing strange monsters and odd characters and wondered if I could translate these to wood. 

How do you like to carve?

With so little time, I like to carve small so that I can do it anywhere. I can carry a tiny piece of wood in my pocket and whittle anytime I get the opportunity, be it on a beach or on a train. I just love the simplicity of that. I can then finish/paint the carving at a tiny section of desk space in my office. I have quite a few knives, but I've pretty much narrowed it down to using a very portable modified Swiss Army Knife and a Ben Orford 'Big pick knife' (reshaped handle). But I'm desperate for an Oar Carver V2! I've never really followed any tutorials (apart from how to sharpen) or copied any patterns, so don't really have any particularly special carving techniques, but I do find holding the knife like a pen and using my little finger on the carving as support is a great way of obtaining the fine details in my little characters and of course - keeping the knife razor sharp! I don't think I've ever enjoyed a hobby as I much I do carving. It offers a focused relaxation which can result in something tangible and pleasing to the eye at the end of the process. Being able to share this hobby and interact with like-minded people on Instagram this last year has been fantastic.