Are they whittlers killing time or artists sculpting in wood? Maybe both at one time or another, but the work of the Suncoast Wood Carvers is serious and unique and on view Saturday and Sunday.

By EILEEN SCHULTE
© St. Petersburg Times
published January 17, 2003

CLEARWATER -- Whittlers.

By nature, they are simply unable to leave an ordinary stick of wood alone. With sharp gouges and never-ending patience, they are tempted, then compelled to tame the limb, paring away thin shavings until its inner soul and beauty are revealed.

Perhaps there is a crucifix hiding within the thick grain, or a statue of former baseball player Wade Boggs. Or a decoy duck.

Americans, said Robert Marek, are getting sick of "the age of duplication" offering cheap, mass-produced merchandise, and are gaining a new appreciation for one-of-a-kind art carved with love.

"People are beginning to realize original artwork is a lot nicer to look at than something you can just go to the store and buy," said Marek, president of the 84-member Suncoast Wood Carvers.

You can see the member's work at the Suncoast Wood Carving Club's show and exhibition this weekend at Joe DiMaggio Sports Complex in Clearwater.

"It's an opportunity for people to see an art form they think is dying, but it's not," Marek said.

Marek is perhaps the most well-known exhibitor. A master carver, he is currently whittling a 150-year-old cancerous live oak in Largo Central Park into a giant work of art.

"Where whittling turns into art, I just don't know," said Ed Easterwood, 72, a friend of Marek's and a member of the club who began paring away wood shavings from sticks as a boy growing up in Cullman, Ala. "I was raised on a farm. All farm boys carried knives to whittle with. We made bows and arrows and sling shots. It came natural."

Easterwood, a retired Florida Power employee from Largo, carves Wade Boggs figures and relief portraits out of bass, oak and maple wood.

There is no hurry in the whittler's world.

"I work on a piece, lay it down and pick it back up," said Easterwood.

When he goes to the Tuesday club meetings at Rio Vista Presbyterian Church in St. Petersburg, he sometimes carves next to Judy Wolf, the club treasurer, who likes to make ornate 16- by 11-inch mahogany crosses for her church, Bay Pines Lutheran, and heavy golf club heads for her husband.

"It takes a week to complete one," said Wolf, a retired elementary school bookkeeper who gives all her creations away to family and friends.

She said she joined the club because "I love the camaraderie of these people. They are so nice. And just making something so pretty (is satisfying)."

Wolf will not be an exhibitor at the show. Instead, she will take tickets (somebody has to, she said). But several artists well-known in the carving field will be on hand, including John Broughton, of Kentucky who specializes in Santa carvings and Gordon Stiller of Wisconsin who creates wildlife patterns.

"We have artists whose work is quite collectible," said Marek.

But mainly the show is an opportunity for carvers to see demonstrations, find out about carving classes and buy tools, books and other supplies.

"It's a big hobby," said Marek. "It's a heck of a lot better than watching the boob tube and it keeps a lot of guys out of bars."

-- Eileen Schulte can be reached at (727) 445-4153 or schulte@sptimes.com .

If you go

The 11th annual Suncoast Woodcarving Exhibition from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at Joe DiMaggio Sports Complex, 2465 Drew St., Clearwater, includes demonstrations, exhibits, equipment sales and guest carvers such as Pete LeClair, who whittles caricatures. Admission is $2 (children under 14 are admitted free). If you attend on Sunday, don't worry. You won't miss the Bucs game. There will be several televisions tuned to the game. For information, call (727) 726-7725.

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