Title : Carved Chair Cypress wood

Dimensions: Assorted- call

Material: Wood /Cypress

Availability: Sold / Private Collection

Price: Call

This is a set of carved cypress chairs and complementary table. I was blown away how the colors and grain made the chairs so incredibly beautiful. The chairs were made from left over materials that came off of another onsite project the Tree of life A 26ft tall and 7ft diameter sculpture sculpted in Ross, Ca.

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Title : Beautifully Carved Maple Chair Sculpture

Dimensions: 36″w 42″ tall

Material: Wood / Spalted Maple

Availability: Sold / Private Collection

Price: Call

 This Beautifully Carved Maple Chair Sculpture is one of my favorite chairs that I’ve made to date … It’s surprisingly comfortable and strikingly beautiful. The grain is so interesting and it provides a stable seat for guests to lounge. Unique, rustic seating can add something really special to your home or cabin. I could easily see a padded pelt complementing a similar piece for extra comfort.  If you are interested in a custom carving, don’t be shy, let’s chat ! 

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I can remember the phone calls to suppliers and their reaction when I told them was I was doing. “You’re doing what” one vendor said…. “wow, that going to be one big project”. I was able to source wood for the small model locally even though most of the Basswood comes from the east coast. I used 4/4 material which is about 1” thick boards. Each of them  would be processed to square up all edges before gluing them up into what would be a 4” x 36” x 60” slab. While constructing the smaller American flag I was constantly imagining the much larger flag, asking myself what considerations will need to be made and trying my best to foresee the potential problems ahead. Glue up’s this large are typically done for massive beams and support structures not American Flag Art. The open time of most glue is around 15 min, which means that once the glue is applied you have no more than 15 min to get it clamped. This may sound adequate, but I assure you it is not!  I would have to assemble a team of people to expedite the glue up, and purchase specialized equipment for applying the glue quickly. I would have to purchase Dozens of bar clamps and bars made to accommodate  the length necessary to clamp them together. I would have to fabricate intermediate supports for the bar clamps to keep them flat as the weight of the American flag art would surely cause them to sag.

One of the challenges in sculpting an American flag art in motion is that the stripes have inconsistent and erratic movement making it difficult to predict the pattern. I looked for a photograph of a flag in motion, that had just the right amount of movement, but maintained a relatively rectangular form. Once that was done, I projected it onto the wood surface and mapped out the highs and lows as if it were a topographic map. Once that was complete it was taken out to the carving bay, where the once flat slab of basswood marked up with crazy topographic lines, was transformed into its first basic form. This is the foundation of the movement we will see when the stripes and color come into play.  

Now that the movement of the American Flag Art was established is was time to bring it to life with stars n stripes. I had fabricated a a jig to hold the sculpture upright and was able to use one of my long awaited studio additions, “Floor Receivers” basically they are the same as what you would insert a trailer hitch into a vehicle, although they are set deep into the concrete foundation. This allows me to place any 2×2 square tubing into the floor securely, without any support and make any sorta jig I can imagine. This set up not only allowed me to hold the American Flag Art, but to regulate the height for carving and finishing as well.

The next step was to project the stars and stripes for transfer. One crazy line after another and each of the 50 stars marked out for carving. Lucky for me Basswood is a very light colored wood making my transferred lines show up  quite nicely. OK.. step back and let’s see.  Ah yes, this will do. This transformation is exciting because the American flag art you imagined is finally coming to life, confirming in my head what I had pictured from the beginning.

To the left:  The majority of the carving is now complete, now lines are sharpened and the surface is sanded with 220 sandpaper to make the surface smooth and uniform, allowing the woodgrain to show through the finish to come.

Now the stars, They are fairly small in this model measuring only 1.25 inched wide, and so I plasma cut out 50 stars, only I made tabs on them so that I could hold them while hammering them out on the anvil. once the hammered look was achieved they were cut off and ground smooth on the edges. This was a little tedious, but gratifying to see the results. The stars were going to be attached with small brads, so small pilot hole was also drilled into the center of each star.  A clear coat of Krylon was applied to the stars to protect their appearance.

The American Flag Art was really coming together, the lines were flowing elegantly and it felt good to sweep my hands across its smooth flowing surface. After hours and hours of sanding, the flag it nearly complete and all that remains is the color.  This is both a nerve racking and vitally important step, due to the fact that you have countless hours bringing this sculpture to form and the final result lies solely in my ability to bring this American flag Art to life. You want the wood to be the star of the show, painting it beyond recognition would be disrespectful. To give it an “Ol Glory” feel is also important. First off the colors are bright and offensive, and they are applied thin as to show the underlying wood grain. I carefully painted the vast borders between stripe leaving the “white” stripes as natural wood tone and placing red appropriately in its place.  This next step is to clear coat the whole thing before applying the glaze. The glaze itself is a bit of an art-form as it needs to be in just the right places to make this American Flag Art pop. This has to be the largest transformation the sculpture takes, partly because its the “grand finally” but also because the final results become evident, everything you worked hard to bring to fruition now becomes evident.

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The sculpture is finally clear coated for protection and the client is absolutely thrilled with the result, however, there is a bit of a sad ending to this story. In the end the larger 10’ x 19’ flag would not be commissioned, as we could not agree upon a price to bring the project to life. I’m grateful for the opportunity to make the model and look forward to finding someone or some corporation that wants to see it through. So… Maybe you know of a place, or a person that would be interested in seeing such a project through. If so, please reach out, I would be absolutely thrilled to supersize this model into something really special.

This would be the first major project to roll out of the studio since the fire, so you could imagine how excited I was to get back to sculpting.  This had been the longest period of time I had ever gone without making art and I was more than ready.

I just so happened to have the right material as well. Almost two years prior, my neighbor Tracy had given me a very large Ponderosa Pine (47″ in diameter) that had to be removed due to its proximity to a power line. Since that section weighed in at around 4600 lbs, my own crane was going to be insufficient, so I called up a friend who own’s a full size crane … Thank you (North Idaho truck and Crane) 

Paul is a true professional crane operator, and with a little effort, he help me get the sculpture situated and before long it was staged in the new carving bay ready to get to begin carving. Below are a few pictures of the process. When you’re standing beside a log this large, you truly feel like its a giant wall.

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As often as I carve bears, I  still get a little nervous on a life-size kodiak grizzly The fact that we were after a particular look, and the investment of time being much more significant, only adds to to the pressure to get it right.  When ever I get a chance to carve a life-size Kodiak Grizzly bear on this scale, I’m mindful of how the details will play out. Although the grizzly claws are very authentic,  they are not “real”. They are museum quality replicas and really add a strong sense of just how dangerous the business end of these beasts are.  It can be a bit tricky to install the claws but it’s by far the most impressive feature, which makes a Kodiak Grizzly Bear such a revered creature.  

Quick Facts

How Long Did It Take You To Sculpt A Life-Size Grizzly Bear?

The whole process  took about 6 weeks which includes setup, blocking, detailing, oil, and finish work. There are a number of stages that require dry times and lengthy applications.

Are The Grizzly Bear Claws Real?

No, However they are museum quality replica’s cast in resin from real Kodiak Grizzly claws.

What is the Finished Height and Weight and Diameter?

Height = 8′ 3″  / Diameter 46″ /  Weight 1,939 lbs

Original Log Weight 4600 lbs

What Is The Most Challenging Aspect Of Carving

Wood carving is unique in that you only get one chance to get it right.  So, on large wood sculptures there is always an  extra measure of pressure to make sure you achieve what your after. 

Kodiak Cakes was kind enough to sponsor a pancake feed, in which we were sent a boat load of Kodiak Cakes product to throw a big party. It was a great opportunity for people to see the big life-size kodiak grizzly sculpture in person, as well as the recently completed Jeff May Art studio…   Shortly after the feed, My wife Kindra and I delivered the kodiak Grizzly in person to their headquarters in Park City, Utah.  It was a mixture of business and pleasure as it had been a long awaited getaway since the studio fire way back in January. Big Thank you to Kodiak Cakes and their team for commissioning the sculpture and providing such a warm welcome upon our visit.

Title : Beautiful Black Bear Cub Standing Alert

Dimensions: 45″ H x 22″ D

Material: Wood / Pine

Availability: Yes

Price: Call

These Beautiful Black Bear cubs standing alert, are pretty popular, and it’s no wonder. These curious creatures explore their inquisitive nature largely by standing on their hind legs to see, and to extend their nose to the wind catching scent of nearby surroundings.

see additional Images below

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Title : Chainsaw Carved Tree Sculptures For The Wall

Dimensions: Sm – 21″, Med – 28″, Lg – 35″ (Width varies by 6-10″)

Material: Wood / Cedar

Availability: Yes

Price: $178 for the set or $47, $59, $72 respectively.

These chainsaw carved Tree sculptures for the wall are an art show favorite. We usually bring a handful of them to each of our shows. They are carved 100% with a chainsaw and are then sanded on the back and prepped with a small hole for hanging. They can be sold in any combination of sizes to make your own custom tree arrangement. custom sizes are also available upon request.

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Title : Carved Stone Maori Fish Hook

Dimensions: 24″ (H) x 16″ (W) x 4″ (D)

Material: Stone / Alabaster

Availability: Yes

Price: 3,200.00

This carved stone Maori fish hook is made from a 50 lb piece of Alabaster quarried from southern Utah, the symbol itself comes from the Maori tribe in New Zealand. It’s their symbol of fishing prosperity. There are many variations of this symbol by various artists, Jeff did a great job on this one, it has some incredibly beautiful variations in color and is mounted on a stainless steel base.

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Title : Carved Leaf Relief Panel

Dimensions: 30″ (H) x 12″ (W) x 2″ (D)

Material: Wood / Cedar

Availability: Sold / Private Collection

Price: Call

This leaf relief carved wall art features three leaves carved vertically (Alder,Maple,Ginko leaves) on a cedar panel. Cedar is lightweight making it easy to hang, and has bold warm wood tones, sure to accent your rustic decor.

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Title : Carved Lighthouse Sculpture

Dimensions: 9′ x 26″ (dia)

Material: Wood / Pine and Steel

Availability: Sold / Private Collection

Price: Call

This carved lighthouse sculpture was a commission as a memorial for a clients late wife. They shared many memories together centered around lighthouses. The top is made of Steel and he plans to put lights in it to make it really pop.  Interested in something out of the ordinary? Reach out to inquire about custom carvings possibilities.

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