Troy Bordeaux is a carving friend whose passion for carving guides him to create a unique style with clean, crisp and sharp detail of creative art.  The photographic gallery will showcase some of his carving in an ever-growing variety of creative expressions.  The opening photo above is a collection of some of his carvings covering the last five years with his most recent in front of older carvings.

The four photos below begin with Troy and the late Tom Wolfe to indicate that Tom was an early mentor and a lasting inspiration in Troy’s carving journey.  The second photo is of his earliest carvings when he was a teenager of age 13 which he tells in his own words, “The painted piece is my very first carving. It was done in Tom’s class at my Jr. high school in 1994. The other two pieces here were carved from old 2x4s that I found in those early years.  In those days there was no money for wood, tools or anything like that. But the pieces like these are precious to me!!”

Photos three and four show Troy in his carving area along with a project cabinet near at hand.

The gallery of the variety of Troy’s carving skills and imagination will be intertwined as Troy tells a brief bio of his carving journey  In His Own Words.”I was first introduced to woodcarving by Tom Wolfe in 1994 as a 13 year old kid. Tom came to my Jr. High School to teach a carving class during our annual Fine Arts Festival. I was amazed at the ability to create something from a simple block of wood, and after that first class, I was hooked. For years after that first class my carving was mostly on used or discarded construction lumber with a few rare orders of basswood. My carving was definitely driven by a “want to” rather than a natural talent or even the satisfaction of seeing improvement.”

Carving through those early years gave me a good foundation to build on. It also helped me to realize that two of the most important things needed in woodcarving are patience and a lot of practice! As I have gotten more serious about carving, this hobby has become my way of relaxing and it has provided hours of creativity and fun. 

As a carver, I have gained inspiration from a lot of different sources. However, I can contribute most of my improving and learning to studying the art of Tom Wolfe, Mark Akers, and Don Mertz. The inspiration and encouragement from these carving friends has been priceless to me. 

A few random lessons I have learned on my carving journey. 

Things To Do:

• Carve something every day. (Even if it is just a 15-minute eye, nose, hand, etc.)
• Learn to rough out your pieces from a block.
• Be satisfied with where you are right now in your carving…while always looking for a way to improve.
• Allow your imagination to shape the piece as you go. Who says that the cowboy that you started on can’t end up a Hillbilly in overalls?
• Learn to sharpen and strop your tools properly.
• Practice, Practice and Practice 

 Things Not To Do:

1) Don’t get frustrated with mistakes. You are learning for the next piece.

2) Don’t start on an eye, ear, hand, etc. and carve it to completion. If it comes in pairs, the cut you make on one, go ahead and make on the other. Carve the steps together on each. This helps with proportion.

3) Don’t compare your work to others…it is your personal journey.

4) Don’t start detail too early…make sure your piece is ready for detail.

 5) Do not give up on a piece of wood. You can always make it into something.

Thank you, Troy, for telling us in your own words and photos a little about your carving journey and we look forward to seeing more of your creative carvings as your journey continues. Troy can be followed on Facebook for any who would like to continue to see what is next on his journey.

Troy is pastor of Liberty Freewill Baptist Church, Ahoskie, NC and lives with his wife Hilary and teen-age daughter Hannah.