Crickhollow carving

The duplicate...

2010-12-15T15:40:00.009-05:00

The second in the series of walking sticks from Grandma Smith's magnolia tree is now finished. A customer, Melanie from POPS Landscaping, was looking through an old post of mine and came across a walking stick I had made in 2008 around the time my father passed away.

This is the first walking stick:

Unfortunately, that walking stick sold some time ago. Melanie really wanted it as a gift for her husband, so I decided to do another one. On the older post I had included the size so I took a piece of the magnolia, measured it out and began the project....

Working on this piece took me back to the first one. I started it a week or so before my father passed away. In the weeks that followed his funeral I would look at it and think, "Not just now." That pattern went on for a while. When I finally finished it I didn't feel like selling it. Time went on and a few people made inquiries about it and I finally broke down and sold it to a customer.

I hope Melanie and her husband enjoy the walking stick, and from time to time think about where it came from.

The second completed work:

Grandma Smith's magnolia tree

2010-11-19T14:54:00.015-05:00

Many years ago in the mill village of Sargent Georgia if you needed any sort of doctoring, medicine, or poultices for injuries, you went to see "Aunt Becky" down by the railroad tracks.

Aunt Becky was my great grandmother Becky Smith. She was my grandmother Zeddie Perry's mother. To direct family she was Grandma, to others in the family she was Grandma Smith, to everybody else, she was Aunt Becky.

Grandma Smith ruled the family as a stern matriarch, she was known to be unforgiving in her rules for behavior, yet she was a fair woman. She planted all sorts of herbs, flowers, and trees to take care of people. A strong believer in the healing power of the body and mind, she was well versed in herbalism and knew exactly what plants to use for anything. She was also well known for being extremely superstitious... I can remember being in the car with my grandmother wondering where she got all of the little sayings she would toss out. I remember her sister spitting on her finger and making a cross on the wind shield when a black cat crossed the road in front of us...

Grandma Smith was also well known for her visions. She once woke up in a fit when she had a vision of a one armed soldier coming to her door to tell her that her son, Woodson, had been killed in the line of duty during World War Two. A few days after that the family was over at her place for Sunday dinner when a taxi cab pulled up... Out came a one armed driver, in uniform.... Grandma Smith began wailing and screaming that her son was dead. Once she was calmed down they delivered her a telegram from the government informing her that her son had been wounded on Omaha beach during the D-Day invasion and was recuperating in a hospital in England.

My Grandfather built her a house out here once he had completed his own. When the house was finished she, her son Woodson, and his wife Irene moved in. The rule stood that any time my grandparents went out they had to stop by to check on them to see if they needed anything and they had to stop in again on their return trip. She dictated everyone's comings and goings and approved or disapproved of anything that was done in the family. She held fast to her rules and you were expected to follow them.

My memories of Grandma Smith are extremely limited, she passed away when I was very young. I do remember going to see her, by that time she was bedridden and continually clutched a small doll for emotional support. I would stand by her bed and listen to her talk. I have no memory of what she said, I was probably two or three at the time and was scared to death of her. I grew up being afraid of that house, which is still there. The thing was full of dark hallways and spaces where untold evil took place... My niece and her family live there now and have renovated the house. Whenever I go in there I still get the strange feelings I did as a child, even though its been gone over and painted...

One of the trees that Grandma Smith planted was a magnolia that now sits in my brothers front yard. I was on my front porch and heard his chainsaw going... To me that means limbs just ripe for carving.. So I hopped on the kawasaki mule and drove over, saw in hand... Turns out he was moving a tree that had fallen during a storm and was too dry for carving. While there we were looking at different trees he was planning on cutting down. I began to crawl around the magnolia and discovered that several trees had sprung up under the main body of the tree. I asked him if he cared if I took one of the smaller magnolias to see how they carved. I returned on the mule a few days later and picked the one I wanted. James helped me by carrying limbs as I cut them. The piece I got will turn out three or four good hiking sticks...

The first of these hiking sticks was completed yesterday for a customer order in Illinois. She wanted a hiking stick for a kid with a raccoon on it.

I used James as a measuring tool and went from there... This is the finished piece and I want her to know where the wood came from... Her order consists of three pieces. One came from a poplar tree that was struck by lightning in my brothers yard and he took down several months ago. That tree had stood for many years and was the same size as the magnolia. The other is a piece of poplar that my father had in his shop for many years and told me to take and "see what you can do with it..." and the last one is from the fifty plus feet tall magnolia that my Great Grandmother planted down here many many years ago... I hope these pieces find a good home and get many years of use and enjoyment.

Cedar candle

2010-11-01T13:03:00.004-04:00

While making a walking stick I had this piece left over. The stick was a bit too long, so after cutting it off I decided to carve a candle from it.

Young Frankenstein was playing at the time... It was the scene where they make it to the library while following the music. I was holding the stick pondering what to carve when Gene Wilder said they were gone and it went for the tight shot on the candle sitting on the table...

I looked at the screen & thought.. candle.. of course... so I carved this out...

The size of the candle is six inches over all length and one inch in diameter. If you are interested in purchasing it, you can contact me at 678-423-6541 or email me at crickhollowcarving@gmail.com.. the price for this piece is $20

There castle...

Handmade Table

2010-10-17T22:28:00.005-04:00

This table, made from Douglas Fir, is solid wood... no particle board. The size is forty three inches by thirty one and half inches. It comes with four bench seats, two measuring twenty nine inches and two measuring twenty inches.

The table itself is Douglas Fir, while the benches are oak. The finish is for indoors only, and would make a perfect table for a small area in a home...

The price for the full set is $350.00 If you are interested in purchasing the table, you may reach me at 678-423-6541 or email me at crickhollowcarving@gmail.com

Cypress carving

2010-10-04T21:37:00.007-04:00

Friday afternoon I went to visit my mother. We went for a walk and talked about everything around here, comparing "then and now."

On the way back to her house she wanted me to drive her down to my father's shop to take a look at it. As you can see from the photo, that's him in his shop, he had the thing packed from top to bottom. He had everything in there except for a bathroom... after his retirement he would spend all day there tinkering on everything from broken televisions and microwaves to his latest creations, which covered dream catchers, santas, turtle shell rattles, etc etc etc. With a microwave, radio, television and refrigerator packed with moon pies and ice water, he spent most of his time in that building...

The man never passed a yard sale or flea market that he didn't turn into and absolutely have to touch every damn thing on display.. I mean literally put his hand on everything in the place.. And God help you if you ever went to a book store with him...

After he passed away in 2008 my mother had a yard sale at his shop. She didn't even consider moving all the stuff anywhere, just opened the doors and let people go through his things. Most of his goods sold, but there were a few things left over...

When we got down to the shop we walked in and looked at the mostly empty building, a very sad thing to behold... This once vibrant building, full of laughter, color and creativity now stands empty and smells of dust and neglect... There were a few of his posters still hanging around, a smattering of tools and several boxes of items he bought for his crafts. She wanted me to go through what was there and see if there was anything I wanted or could use in my carving work. I was drawn to an old discarded box on a shelf.. When I looked in I found two pieces of cypress.. One stained a horrible dull brown and the other painted a bright red. I took them both out and looked at them for a few minutes. She walked up and, through teary eyes, told me the story of the trip they were on when he came across these two pieces at a flea market in a nearby town. She picked up the dull brown one and said that they both looked like that when he bought them... He had painted the other one red with the idea of carving a Santa into it. The dull one he had talked about carving several faces on... She said, "Take these and see what you can do with them.."

I took them both...

I took the brown one out Sunday and began stripping it down, back to its original state, a long process... once finished I drew out several faces and carved them into the cypress. I then began experimenting with stains to find the correct one to use, after several attempts, and lots of sanding to remove the failed ones, I settled on this color. The stain is light enough to allow the grain to come through. The wood was so dry it sucked up the stain and finish coat so fast I had to work carefully to get it right... Being so dry sanding was done by hand...

I think that dad would have been pleased with the outcome, and I hope I hit it somewhere near the mark of his original idea...

The piece stands 19" tall and seven inches wide at the bottom.... And yes, it has already been sold. Something of this nature will stay in the family.

Hand carved cedar walking stick

2010-10-02T18:30:00.006-04:00

The second piece of cedar I took from the tree at the back of the property turned out nice. The first one I published here sold quickly. I finished carving it this week and took it to a show today, it was well received. Many people handled it and several offers were made... I don't price the walking sticks at shows, haggling over price is my favorite part of doing appearances. Several people took cards and "will contact me next week."

This one is 37", features three faces like the last one and sells for $60

If you are interested in this piece, you can contact me at 678-423-6541, or email me at crickhollowcarving@gmail.com

Pumpkin king walking stick

2010-09-23T22:45:00.004-04:00

Around here this movie is pretty much a holy thing... We know all the songs by heart and can recite the dialogue from start to finish. I had the idea for making a walking stick like this for some time. I finally got around to it this week and finished it just a little while ago...

38 inches high and made from turned & carved oak....

Cedar walking stick

2010-09-17T10:58:00.003-04:00

Georgia cedar makes very nice walking sticks. They are strong, light weight, and the patterns on the wood can be very interesting when stained. I was contacted several months ago with an opportunity to acquire a bit of cedar. There was a conversation about scheduling and where we could meet. A few days passed, I was out and about running errands, upon returning home I noticed a pile of tangled wood in the bed of the Kawasaki mule. I called the contact and he told me he was in the area and dropped it off. It was as if Christmas had come early.. I picked through the pieces and came up with several that I could use.

I ran out of that cedar a while back and had to look for more. I enjoy carving cedar and have been searching through the woods around here for more. Shopping for wood here is a painstaking process... Unless I'm looking for an entire tree to make a hiking or wizard staff I must search all over for just the right piece. I shopped all of my favorite trees and found this piece on an old cedar near the back of the place... When you approach a tree you have to look through it for just the right shape. This one was fairly high up and took some time to get to, but it was worth it. The color and feel of the wood is exquisite... You don't want to harm the growth of the tree or destroy its beauty, so care has to be taken when removing the piece you want to carve.

This walking stick is forty inches in height and features three faces carved in the bends. The last face includes a pipe in the characters mouth. The faces aren't stained, revealing the natural color of the wood... If you are interested in purchasing this walking stick the price is $60, you can contact me at 678-423-6541 or email me at crickhollowcarving@gmail.com

Skull walking stick

2010-09-10T09:34:00.004-04:00

Shortly before my father passed away in 2008 he took me aside and said to me, "Down there in the shop is a bunch of wood I want you to get, it's behind the door in a drum. I want you to use it and make what you can out of it. " I knew what he was talking about as I had seen it sitting there many times before. I went down and loaded it all up, took it home and used it when the opportunity arose.

There was one piece left when I started the last piece I posted here, the flip flop walking stick. I cut the piece in half and made the flip flop stick, leaving the other half sitting there.. staring at me.

Throughout the next several orders I worked on, I would glance at the piece of poplar sitting there. It was almost as if it was mocking me. I had an idea for a piece that I wanted to try, a snake with a skull on top of it, yet pending orders took my time. When I completed my last order I simply reached over, picked up the poplar and started carving, putting everything else on hold. If you create things you know what I mean when I say that it was burning a hole in my mind to be done...

I started by carving the skull, then had to thin the rest of the piece down. The wood was straight, so I had to carve all the curves into it. I had no direction on how to proceed with the snake so it simply took form as I went. All of this trimming away created one of the largest messes of my carving career... Yet as I went along I began to see the piece take shape. I don't use patterns and rarely draw out what it is that I'm carving so most things just happen as I go.

I am pleased with the outcome, yet sad that it represents the last of the wood that my father gave me. The "supply corner" that I keep the wood I'm going to use in looks rather forlorn... The last remnants of my dad are gone now. I hope he likes this piece and whoever ends up with it understands the significance of it.

The finished piece stands forty three and a half inches tall, carved from poplar, stained in two colors, coated in varnish and sells for $95

If you are interested in purchasing this piece email me at crickhollowcarving@gmail.com or call me at 678-423-6541

Flip Flop walking stick

2010-08-27T16:35:00.007-04:00

The latest piece I have been working on was one I have never been asked to do. A customer recently spent some time at a friends beach house. He calls his beach house "flip flop" because of the laid back atmosphere he likes to keep there. So I was approached with the request of carving a pair of flip flops onto a walking stick, to present to the beach house owner in thanks for the stay.

First, I sought out a good piece of wood and found this piece of poplar. Its thirty seven inches long and about three inches in diameter. I first debarked the poplar then I decided to carve twists all the way down the stick as the flip flop carving wouldn't take up too much room on the walking stick and I wanted the stick to have more on it than just that.

Carving the flip flops was strange as I had never done that before, so I looked at a pair lying on the floor and started carving.

Once the carving was completed I used a wood burner to outline the edges of the shoes, so that they would stand out when completed. I had to sand the piece by hand as there were far to many cracks and crevices for the hand sander to reach.

I used a standard dark stain for the stick and a light stain for the flip flop carving, then coated the entire piece in varnish.

I hope the owner of the beach house enjoys his gift as much as the customer enjoyed their stay at his place...

Wood Carvings and Walking Sticks for sale

2010-05-12T19:20:00.011-04:00

All carvings are currently for sale, if it is marked as sold, you may request one just like it.. I can do that, same price. If you see anything you would like to purchase you may contact me at 678-423-6541 or email me at crickhollowcarving@gmail.com

I do custom orders as well, so send me an email or give me a call and I will make sure you get what you need...

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Red Oak wood spirit - $50 - 12" x 8"

SOLD

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Poplar walking stick - $50 - 43" tall

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Poplar wizard carving - $60 - 8" tall 3" wide

sold

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Poplar hiking stick with skulls - 59" - leather wrist strap - $50

sold

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Customized cricket bat - $50

sold

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"egg" carvings - $10

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Knives and "butcher cleavers" - $25 each

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Cedar walking stick - $60

SOLD

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Pine wizard staff - 65" - $80

sold

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Poplar hiking stick - 60" - $50

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Oak walking stick - $60

SOLD

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"Harry Potter" wand - $25

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Wand - $25

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wand - $25

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wand $25

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Book Sitter - $10

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paper weight - $10

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club - $25

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basswood wizard - 12" - $30

sold

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key chains - $15

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Cedar walking stick - $50

sold

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paper weight - $10

sold

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cedar walking stick - 34" - $50

sold

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cedar snake walking stick - $50

sold

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wand - $25

sold

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dogwood root carving - $40

sold

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poplar walking stick - $80

SOLD

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cedar walking stick - snake - $50

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gnome walking stick - $50

sold

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cedar walking stick - $40

SOLD

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poplar hiking stick - $50

sold

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"Nanny Mcphee" walking stick - $15

sold

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pear hiking stick - $50

sold

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sub warfare poplar walking stick - $50

sold

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poplar hiking stick - vines - $50

sold

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poplar hiking stick - 49" - $50

SOLD

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hickory walking stick - $50

sold

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wand - $25

sold

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cedar walking stick - $40

sold

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poplar walking stick - wolf - $50

sold

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cedar walking stick - palm tree - $50

sold

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poplar walking stick - $40

SOLD

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oak walking stick - $60

sold

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"thinking logs" - $10 - $20 each

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hickory walking sticks - $60 each

sold

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custom hand made tool box - $85

sold

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santa ornaments - $15 each

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headband horns - clay - $2 each - carved - $15 each

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ouija board - $85

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poplar walking stick - $40

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dogwood walking stick - $50

SOLD