In November, Mark and I headed up the road to Vintage Virginia Apples and Albemarle Ciderworks for their day-long festival. The event was nestled in one of the older apple orchards on the east side of the mountain near the tasting room. It was  a beautiful, crisp, bright and cool late fall day. We enjoyed looking at the work of all the other artisans and craftsmen. There was a great variety of clothing, jewelry, home and garden decor, herbs, oils, vinegar, jams, teas, soap and scents. The food...

It's almost time for the 2014 Virginia Wine and Garlic Festival at Rebec Vineyards in Amherst. We'll be there, and here are some pictures from last year. The rain never did completely go away but the popular event still had a great crowd. We made new friends and got to see some of our clients and friends from the previous year. Mark carved  about two dozen pumpkins in various shapes and sizes. They were rustic in style and burnt with a torch to give it the dark accents and shading. They look great...

We had always heard about the antique and home and garden decor store at Rockfish Gap. We boosted our exposure last fall by renting space in the store. They had a beautiful, large wood table in the loft space, and we filled it with Mark's wood sculptures. The table displayed bears, eagles, owls, hawks, roosters, a pair of cattle horns, a shark, and a pair of ammonite shells. Mark also set a big black bear out in front of the store. That big fellow draw a lot of attention!  

There are so many meanings behind the image of a wing: mythological, religious, iconic, mystical, symbolic, personal. They are such a graceful and powerful form.

This flying Bald Eagle is 50" tall by 13.5" wide. Mark carved it from a cedar cut off our property. He painted the eagle and left the base natural to showcase the beautiful cedar wood. The whole piece is sealed with a clear satin spar urethane. This bold Bald Eagle is available for sale.

Mark has carved bald eagles but a red-tailed hawk looks amazing in cedar wood. The cedar was from our property. There is no stain or sealer, allowing the natural wood to show and change over time. All the details are created with chisels and the wood grain is burnt with a torch to bring out the shadows and highlights.

Mark has been carving lots of small to medium size owls of all types and styles on decorative, rustic bases.

We're starting to do more smaller sculptures which make a statement as table centerpieces in any room of the house or on entryway consoles, on a hearth, on a patio, anywhere you can imagine. This decorative pair was carved from Poplar wood and are styled after the Texas Longhorn. We've been moving them around the house and love how great they look whether they are the main focus or flank another centerpiece or decorative object.  

Mark carved this adorable round gray raccoon as a gift for the client's wife who, for a time, cared for an orphan baby raccoon. Her name is Lucy.

Mark carved a few small horse head sculptures before tackling his first large horse sculpture. Carved from reclaimed walnut wood, this Warmblood-type horse has a graceful arc accent around the neck. Here are a few photos then check out the short slideshow of the sculpture in progress. This piece is available for $3000.