Two of my recent Comfort Birds, made from Black Hearted Sassafras and Tasmanian Blackwood. A small project I was introduced to by Brian Weatherburn whilst visiting Ipswich, Qld Woodcrafts Group. These small birds are highly finished and are made to hold in the palm of your hand. They are very tactile and soothing. I think the original pictures from this were published in the American Woodcarving Illustrated.

I have been carving wood for about 18 years now since I went to the Timber andWorking with Wood show and saw the amazing sculptures, pictures and objects that can be fashioned from this beautiful resource. I joined the Sydney Woodcarving Group and enjoy my association with them. These days I travel quite a lot so restrict my carving to mostly small pieces so I can carry all my paraphenalia with me including small gouges, knives, sharpening stone and strop, sketchbook and always graph paper – good for re-sizing pictures, and my trusty cordless Dremel when I need to do a lot of sanding.

Woodcarving is practised by only a few people in Australia and although you will find plenty of wood turners you will not find too many folk who carve wood. Carving a piece of wood takes time and patience, especially in the final stages when you have to get your carving ‘finished’ , either by sanding or deft tool strokes, but the satisfaction when a piece is finished is wonderful.