Why did YOU start?

[DManning]

One thing I can't grasp is why so many people have become carvers. We all know that we won't make our fortunes off of this. We all know that there are SO many better whittlers, fish carvers, bird carvers, relief carvers, chip carvers, caricature carvers,etc, out there. What made YOU decide to take this "pleasure" up?
My own introduction didn't come through Grandpa or Dad. It was started as a "program" to teach me patience. I do belive that it has worked. I can almost ignore anything going on as long as I have a block of wood and a knife (my wife will vouch for that, (LOL)).
So...to ask the question, WHY did all of you (especially the Senior Members) decide to start turning firewood into works of art?

[kitaye]

I have to keep my hands busy and knitting was out of the question. I paint as well but it is more time intensive, especially the setup and cleanup, and isn't the kind of hobby you can grab and go as easily as carving. Carving is very easy to pick up for a few minutes or a few hours depending on what is going on around me.

[Merle Rice]

I took up Carving because it interested me. I like to create with my hands. I built Model Airplanes when I was a Kid and years later I got into Radio Controled Airplanes and Helicopters. I found that I liked to build them better than to fly . As I got older I didn't like standing out in the Sun to fly and that made me lose interest in RC Models. When you Retire you must have something to keep your mind working and I find that WoodCarving fills the bill for me. As an example today I finished a Woodspirit on a 3 " Limb. To me it was a Log. I started it Yesterday, months ago it would have taken me a couple of Weeks. That is progress and also incouraging to continue with my next Project. I used My Mallot for the first time and worked out Great. That's learning something new and makes you feel usefull. Us Seniors like to use our minds and Hands to Create to feel usefull and keep feeling YOUNG. It is also Fun and relaxing. I seemed to have Rambled a bit, SORRY. LOL. Merle

[Iowa Carver]

I got a nice woodburner for Christmas from my wife. I intended to become a woodburner. I was checking out the Pyro Forum here and decided to check out the rest of the site and saw some of the Tuturials by Gene and a lot of the carvings posted here. A buddy was getting into carving so I ordered a LS Beginners kit. Shortly after Gene M started his beginners videos and I have done nothing but carve since then.
In a nutshell, I was inspired by the carvers here.

Corey

[againstthegrain]

My grandfather carved, every evening under the shade of the dogwood tree while my grandmother worked on crafts next to him. I had my own little lawn chair and my own little pocket knife (I'll bet it wasn't any bigger than 2 inches long) and I would copy what I saw my grandfather doing.

When I was 12, carving was actually taught in my art class in middle school. My art teacher was very encouraging and inspirational in nurturing my skills and talent.

Now that I am 42 and back to carving, I do it for purely selfish reasons---to help me relax in the evenings after work. I also love the comradery that comes with the hobby. I've never met a carver that didn't want to share a tip or help you out with a problem you are having with a particular project. I think any hobby that has a supportive network is a successful one.

[Dan Wegiel]

I started a few winters ago when I was bored with just sitting around in the cold winter. I had an old piece of cherry that I've been moving around in my garage for years and then one day I saw a face in it and just felt I had to get it out. Of course it was just my imagination (mine is very active), but I took the piece to my cousin, who is a mastercarver and he gave me a few instructions, that was it I got hooked. He measures and uses a protractor, I just start chipping away and whatever happens, so be it and I love it. As long as I have the strength, I'll keep at it. Dan

[takeaction]

Mine is a little different, but kinda the same... I've been disabled for 6 years now. My wife has tolerated the many levels of insanity/depression that goes along with the going from working your entire life to all the sudden sitting in a chair the entire day... NOTE: I don't notice my mood swings or depression... I only know what my wife and doctor tell me... I "DO" however notice that when I have a piece of wood in my hand, carving on it, that the world disappears and nothing is left but me and that piece of wood, which makes me relax and actually enjoy something for a change.

I've had many business plans that someone like me could do, but having 3 crushed discs in your spine (L4, L5, S1) and walking with a cane on good days, and a walker on bad days, makes investors immediately turn away. I've even had entrepreneurs look at my biodiesel plant business plan and say it's one of the best plans they've ever seen... They tried to make it fail and couldn't. It made money no matter what... But again, with my back, they won't fund it... I'm too much of a risk.

After every failure of getting a business going I was getting worse and worse with the depression... Two weeks ago, I picked up a piece of wood, and thought that MAYBE I could remember at least part of what my grandfather taught me when I was a child, and started whittling away with my exacto blade. I carved a pawn chess piece out of a dry piece of gum... It looked great! but at the very end of getting the bottom made, the tiny ring chipped... I knew when I started that gum is a junk wood, and knew it would chip, so I came online to find out what I needed to do, and this is the best place I found. I made my first "5 minute wizard" and posted it (it's posted somewhere in here), and everyone said great job... That made me go get more wood, and I haven't stopped since. I now have 8 pieces I've done (none are professional stuff obviously), but I like them, and carving just makes me happy!

As a side note... From now on when I say I'm slow at walking and it maight take me a while to get to a piece of wood, you'll know why.

To add to this!!! Karen has said, that when my disability goes through (I say when because I still have hope), that I get to buy one of those big portable buildings, and buy some woodworking tools (band saw, miter saw, table saw, and even one of those portable chainsaw mills!!!), and have a work area...

NOW.... This is either because she loves me and knows that I have found something to keep me going and happy, OR she is tired of the chips in the floor in the bedroom... Either way, I win! CheersWOOHOO! (quickly hides this post so she can't see it)...

[Eddy-Smiles]

I've been doing woodburning and woodcrafts since I was a kid attending summer camp. It's something that I've always gravitated towards.

[susieq]

I think woodcarving appeals to almost anyone with creative tendancies (sp?).
My mother is a carver, self taught. She is also a sculpter and a painter. She took up carving in her 40s. She hounded me to try it but I had so many other hobbies that I didn't have time for one more. Stained glass and leather tooling took up most of my time, not to mention raising two daughters.

But I caught some of Rick Butz shows on PBS and decided to give it a try. Coincidentally, I was in my 40s at the time also. Once you try it, you are hooked. But I found classes and took them. A good teacher taught me how to use my tools. Later on, a good power carver taught me how to power carve. I would never have guessed that this would become my niche' in life. But it has...... It is what defines me now. It is how I think of myself.
I am a woodcarver.

[mdallensr]

My wife sensed the need for me to do something other than worry about work. She gave me the starting tools and signed me up for a local carving class as a Christmas present, 11 1/2 years ago. It turned out to be the best present I've ever received.

I had never carved before, and the instructor was really concerned I wouldn't like carving. He was wrong and the rest is history. We have a good group that meets for 3 hours every Wednesday night, Oct. 1 through April 30. I carve as much as I can, which still isn't a lot since I'm not retired, but it does capture my attention completely when I carve. I like just about everything related to carving. I like other carvers, going to shows, seeing other carvers' work, the smell of my shop, sharp tools...... I look forward to carving until I'm physically unable to perform. You couldn't ask for a better hobby. Mike