Hello friends! I hope January treated you well.

January was a month filled with continuing and new projects, teaching a few carving students, and beautiful Santa Fe weather for inspiration. As I gear up for another year of carving, sculpting, learning, teaching, etc, I look forward to the projects and events 2023 brings!

I’m happy to say I’m in the home stretch with the Kubbestol! With the outside of the back and seat nearly finished, I shifted focus to work on the inner back of the chair.

This month I plan to continue working on refining details on the outside of the chair while mostly focusing on completing the inside. After that, it’ll just need finishing touches and a stain!

I was also able to make some progress on this sculptural carving for a friend of mine who owns a floral shop. This piece has been an interesting and novel project for me!

The combination of creating something that is simultaneously 2D and 3D with the familiarity of working on botanical pieces has been both fun and complex.

Next up – finishing details and painting!

I received an awesome new commission from a couple in Chicago who are friends of a past client – an Om symbol and Ganesha combined into one piece. I’ve just recently finished the drawing and planning process for this piece, and am now at the beginning of the carving process.

These 3 pieces garnered the bulk of my time in January, and I look forward to sharing the progress with you here next month.

If you’re curious about commissioning a piece for yourself or someone else, don’t hesitate to contact me to discuss further. You can contact me via email by clicking here.

January also brought 2 hikes that were beautiful, strenuous, and chilly!

I hiked the Cabra Loop Trail near Los Alamos, NM (35 miles from Santa Fe) with my men’s group. It was partially covered in snow, so we wore our spikes. We covered 6.05 miles with about 1,000’ of elevation change. It was sunny and 25 degrees at the start and climbed into the high 30’s by 12:30. Beautiful area!

Next up was Arroyo Hondo!

There are a handful of trails with varying difficulties in the Arroyo Hondo Preserve. It’s a gorgeous area, especially on a sunny Winter day.

Looking forward to catching up and sharing project progress with you next month!

And lastly for this month:

An homage to David Crosby…

Crosby, Stills, & Nash – Just a Song Before I Go

David Crosby – Almost Cut My Hair

Crosby, Stills, & Nash – Wooden Ships

David Crosby – Delta

David Crosby & The Lighthouse Band Tiny Desk Concert

Feel free to leave any comments, questions, or ideas in a comment below!

Doug Oliver

Fine Woodcarving & Sculpture

If you’re curious about commissioning a piece for yourself or someone else, don’t hesitate to contact me to discuss further. You can contact me via email by clicking here.