Wood carvers show off skills in SLO County. How locals ‘fell in love’ with the craft
Dick Marshall first tried wood carving at the age of 45 while taking a Lemoore High School night class.
“I’ve always loved birds,” he said, so he was excited about learning how to recreate a quail in sculpture form.
Marshall got more intensely involved in the craft after moving to Cambria in 1987 and joining the Central Coast Wood Carvers, a group that has been dedicated to “learning and sharing the art of wood carving since 1974.”
Marshall’s stunning wood sculptures of birds will be among the artworks on display at the group’s 43rd annual show this weekend at Cambria’s Veterans Memorial Building.
Carvers from across California will show and sell their hand-crafted creations. There’s also a whittling contest,a blue ribbon winners’ carving contest and a raffle for carvings by local artists.
How SLO County artist ‘fell in love’ with woodcarving
Central Coast Wood Carvers member Dave Dignam was also 45 when he first dabbled in the craft.
He really immersed himself in wood carving, he said, after deciding on the spur of the moment to sign up for the last available spot in a 1994 meeting of the Morro Bay-based woodcarving group.
“I had a fantastic experience learning about carving tools, types of wood and how to get started and using the tools to create art,” Dignam said, such as chisels, blades and grinders. “Not being an artist made this difficult for me.
“It was the first time I had ever seen any carvings of such high quality with great artistic design,” Dignam, now 70, recalled. “I instantly fell in love with the uniqueness of the media and the quality of craftsmanship.”
Back home in San Jose, Dignam “ordered multiple carving tools and spent the next year exploring the art of wood carving,” he said. “The following year I returned to San Simeon and took three more carving classes.”
He and his wife, Doreen, retired to Cambria in 2002.
That’s when Dave Dignan officially joined the Central Coast Wood Carvers, which is part of the California Carvers Guild.
Dignam specializes in what he calls “human realistic art” — sculptures of human figures such as sea captains and firefighters carved mostly from basswood and butternut wood.
“Only about 10% of woodcarvers carve human realistic, which makes it unique and most challenging,” he said.
Marshall, co-chairman of this year’s Central Coast Wood Carvers show, carves birds out of tupelo swamp wood from North Carolina “because it doesn’t fuzz and holds detail very well,” he wrote via email. “I also like sugar pine for primitives and redwood for natural finish.”
The retired pharmacist’s largest and most expensive piece so far, he said, was a great horned owl.
“Any owl is difficult” to carve, Marshall, 84, explained.
Want to learn to carve wood?
Marshall and Dignam say the best way to learn how to carve wood is to attend this year’s Central Coast Wood Carvers show or watch the group members in action at one of their weekly meetings.
Central Coast Wood Carvers meets from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays at the annex of St. Timothy Catholic Church, 962 Piney Way in Morro Bay.
There, Dignam said, “Experienced carvers will get you started with one-on-one instruction, lend you tools and give you starter wood projects to carve.”
He estimated that about half of the group’s 60 members are women.
Central Coast Wood Carvers show
The Central Coast Wood Carvers show runs 10 a.m. through 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Cambria Veterans Memorial Building, 1000 Main St. in Cambria.
A $2 donation is requested, while children under 12 get in free.
For more information, visit centralcoastwoodcarvers.com.
