About Me

I love woodcarving. I was initially introduced to woodcarving when I was 13 years old. A neighbor of mine carved realistic birds. She helped me carve a roughout of a bird, but we never did get a chance to finish it.
When I was in graduate school I picked up woodcarving for myself. I had wanted to start earlier, but my parents discouraged me since they were afraid that I would cut my fingers off. After a few months of carving I entered into a novice competition and didn't get any ribbons. When the competition was held the next year, I entered again and won 5 ribbons (only one first place, but hey who's counting?). Soon after I bought a cute little pug puppy and who ended up being the reason I gave up carving for 7 years. Winnie the Pug loved to eat woodchips (and anything else that fit in her mouth) and ruined a carving with teeth marks. To keep her safe, and my carvings, I stopped carving.
For many years my fingers itched to carve. An unfortunate set of events led me back to carvng. My son turned out to be severely allergic to dogs. Not the run of the mill watery eyes and sneezing, he breaks out in hives and has respiratory problems.So we had to rehome our beloved pet. To help me through my grief and to give me an outlet to relieve stress (my son has multiple life threatening allergies), I picked up the knife again.
I carve almost everyday for 30 minutes (I carve during naptime), I am always looking for ways to improve my woodcarving skills. Also, I am always willing to try something new.