Here's My Woodcarving!
by Don Schneider
Havana, FL
Click on any picture to see a larger version.
Hello. I am Don Schneider, a retired and disabled Vet living near Havana Florida in the north Forida woods, where I have a shop that I've always called the "Porchfish" studio. My studio was originally located in an art center called Railroad Square in Tallahassee Florida. I went into semi-retirement in 2005 to my current location out in the North Florida woods.
I took up woodcarving as a hobby after using an exacto knife and two wood files to carve my first replacement claw and ball foot for an antique dealer in Columbus, Ohio. He was impressed enough to give me two older Pfeil gouges as a gift. My wife of 49 years, Mary McCreanor, also of Columbus Ohio, gave me all the encouragement I needed. Once I got my first Rene Magritte book I was hooked.
After a stint in the Army in Okinawa as an Army Vet-Tech working with Sentry dogs in1968, I returned to go to college at Ohio State. I worked in Kentucky for a few years as a 4-H agent until I headed to Graduate school at FSU in Tallahassee Florida. I am by training a sociologist who studied educational systems, and became well enough versed in them to realize I belonged elsewhere. With the understanding and support of my wife and family, my avocation became my vocation. I am self taught, and still learning. I am not physically able to produce as I once did.
We have a son John who is an accomplished artist and Ash-Tanga Yoga master working in New York City. Our daughter Amy is a dancer and an RN in North Carolina. We have two marvelous Grandchildren living with us now, Ayo and Indigo, who are providing a youthful spark and new lease on life…yes it is grand!
Pictured below and at the beginning of this article are a few Bas relief works done mostly in H. Mahogany. My work has been influenced by the Surrealists. Works here range in size from 20" x 20" for Grandmother and Grandfather clocks, to 28' x 42" x 2" for "social science research."
Below are a few carved masks:
You can email Don at
donschneider44@gmail.com
.
Would you like to see your carvings in this column? We invite you to
SEND US PHOTOS
of your
favorite woodcarving projects along with captions and a brief history of your woodcarving. (Email
photos at 800x600 resolution.) Receive a $50 store gift card if we show your carving work in a
future issue!
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