Jim Hecker, my friend and woodcarver from Minnesota carved a St. Nicholas for a dear lady and tells a story of the common carving journey any carver can make while creating a new subject to be carved. That journey begins with a challenge to carve a subject that is new to the carver. The challenge turns into a creative opportunity to carve an interpretation of the subject by using one’s creative imagination to plan the carving process. Creative imagination guides the carver to learn by doing and to design while carving the imagined mental picture of the subject. Jim chose to carve two of the same subject at the same time as a way to learn from the first one and take what was learned to refine the second carving. The final part of the carving journey comes with the recipient of the carving being very appreciative and the carver rewarded with the experience of learning on the carving journey. The photographs and Jim’s account of his journey indicates that he learned a carving lesson to pass on to us as we follow the wood chips of his inspiration to carve our own journey. Read the rest of this entry »