The Wood Spirit tree carving is a popular theme. The internet is flush with images of different tree carvings, usually the grizzled and bearded old man, symbolizing the spirit of the wood and the tree, brought to life and now displayed externally. A wonderful couple in Anchorage requested that I carve just such a sculpture for them on a dead spruce tree in their backyard in 2022 to honor their beloved trees that had been killed by spruce beetles. I’ll get a blog post about that carving up when I can but in the meantime there are images of it for viewing on my wood carvings page.
The first Wood Spirit tree carving, completed in 2022, is on the right. The stump on the left was to become the Water Spirit sculpture over the course of the week. She was completed on Mother’s Day.
The following spring the same couple requested that I carve an adjacent tree into a spirit as well, but this one was to be a bit different - a woman, surrounded by waterfalls. I was SO EXCITED to take on this challenge, just because it’s something different from the norm and would be a unique highlight not only for my portfolio but also their backyard! In early May I showed up with my tools and got to work.
Here is a short video of the Alaska tree carving water spirit showing the process from start to finish, adapted from my social media pages.
I decided to enhance and expand upon the theme of the waterfalls and incorporate the entirety of the hydrological cycle into the visual arrangement of this composition. The woman was to have clouds above her head, water suspended in the air, and then her long hair would morph into the waterfalls of a landscape scene in nature. The client and I traded emails and I sent a few sketches beforehand and once we had agreed upon the imagery I was able to really get things moving.
A few days into the carving process - the sculpture is really starting to take shape. I put a tarp down around the area to catch most of the sawdust which would cover and choke out the grass and is REALLY hard to remove if it does mix in with the lawn.
I believe the eyes are windows into the soul. I spend so much extra time making absolutely sure the gaze is properly aligned and that even the sparkle highlight is perfectly placed. This step in a figurative wood sculpture is critical and cannot be rushed!
On Mother’s Day 2023 she was finished. It was a beautiful spring evening and there she was, benevolently smiling across the yard, next to her bearded companion. The clients were thrilled and so was I!
