Creative Woodworks & crafts 2002-01, страница 60

Bob's full life

There is a wood strip canoe ready for sanding and glassing on our back porch; the lumber for a play gym is in the back yard; turned bases, for carvings-in-progrcss, litter the garage; but most noticeable is the roughed out, but not quite finished, life-size while egret which stands on a turntable overlooking the 14-foot long work/carving bench.

Bob (load's love of wood is eclipsed only by his love of children. He can, at any hour, and sometimes into the wee hours of the night, be heard to exclaim in awe, "This is a great piece of wood!" Bob's greatest joy, however, comes during those periods of the day when he is on "daddy duty," caring for our three-year-old son. Andy, and several foster babies (we've had 77 foster children to date).

Early inspiration

Bob's fascination with carving began in a Chicago shipyard where he learned to whittle with an "old salt" on lunch break. During the next five years, as his interest grew, he took lessons from Harold llartel and then Bob Guge. He began winning awards for his carvings in 1985. Bob's sensitive depictions of shore birds and songbirds have achieved local, national, and international honors. More than 50 awards attest to his talents and versatility as a creative carver.

On a larger scale, Bob carved the riveting 52-foot killer whale atop the billboard advertising Sea World of Florida, where his lifelike manatees and whales may also be found. Special effects for the Universal Studios' Superboy productions also utilized Bob's handiwork. Other commissions include logos for the Swan and Dolphin Hotels at Walt Disney World as well as limited runs or replicas of his work, hand painted and signed. Bob's originals, carved from basswood and carefully painted to duplicate actual coloration, are in heavy demand by collectors of avian art.

Carving isn't the only aspect of working with wood which fascinates Bob. He has built hope chests, cabinets and has, on occasion, turned basements into living spaces. His contacts grew as his skills improved, extending to Nb'L player Walter Peyton, actor Merlin Olsen, and Orlando Magic player Donald Royal.

A new start

Bob met me after the dissolution of his first marriage while 1 was a teacher and single parent of three boys. Although neither

one of us wanted anything remotely serious, we became fast friends, discovering many shared interests including bird watching, religion and, ultimately, children. We married in 1991, combined in Illinois, and set about the task of raising the four teenagers still at home. Bob had lost interest in carving but, with encouragement, began to to his beloved hobby. In 992, we camc back to Florida, an aquarium manufacturing company, and became foster parents for the first time to a tiny baby who had been bom three months premature.

In 1997, we watched our youngest child, then 18, graduate from high school and go off to college. That same year we in another foster child, a tiny prccmie boy straight from the hospital. Andrew weighed 4 lbs. 9 ozs. the day he came to us. lie fit into the palm of Bob's hand and, figuratively, has never left. We adopted him in March of 2000, after his parents rights had been terminated.

1 encouraged Bob to return to active competition, which he did for the Ward foundation World Championships in April of 2000. Four of his birds placed in their categories, giving him the motivation to continue this year.

If you ask him what he does for a living, Bob will glibly declare, "I'm a bum." But his life is one of transformations transforming wood into beautiful and functional objects or transforming babies' environments to loving, stable ones. We were recently asked if we would ever tire of what we do. When your heart is involved as Bob's is. how can you? t\

Sawhet Owl - Bob carved this cute little owl for World Miniatures (it took 2nd place!).

favorite to carve or collect.

60 • Creative Woodworks is Uratts January 2002