Spirit Carvings by James Burnell

Located in Paradise, Ca......  Yes there is such a place!

  Wallhanging Knome blowin in the wind in Pineknot 16 by 3 inches.  He's got character and could be blowing a very small trumpet or maybe by the look in his eyes he might have smoked his first cigar?  There are 2 Very small cracks in the face less than the size of a strand of hair and is so solid it could be used as a heck of a billie club as a last resort!!

As an artist, to bring out the spirit in a carving on a day to day basis takes more than just showing up to the carving table.  You have to have a strong spirit yourself.  When I look at the carvings I create I see them vary day to day.  I try to create a variety of different faces to have a good selection available.  I also try to continually change facial features so if you were to see two of my carvings side by side you would not neccesarally know I was the carver except by seeing the initials on the bottom.  If I carve to fast I see the quality drop but the creativity increase.  Some of the best carving come when absolutly no thought is involved,  I call it carving blind, when all you can see is a layer of sawdust covering the face and you just keep going.   If I lose  my heart or spirit on any given day, I might as well quit, as it shows in my work.  I try to find a balance to spend enough time on each piece to maintain quality and put spirit in every carving, but sometimes determining quality in a work of art is meaningless, its all subjective.  I used to make up names, and tell a short story about every carving,   but these days I leave it to the spirit in each face.  I hope you will enjoy looking at some of the faces and maybe even recognize some of them. 

EACH CARVING COMES WITH A SET OF DIRECTIONS ON CARING FOR THE SPIRIT!

   This pine knot weighs about 3 pounds 1 ounces including shipping packaging.  Each carving has some form of hanging device, either a hole drilled in the back or a small wire or chain.  Some are flat on the back, some are not.    If you would like to see more pics of the carving let me know several days before the close of the auction.    Most of my carving are done in pine knots which contain a very heavy pitch resin which comes from ancient pine trees of several species. Some are better than others.  The Resin has a unique weight and feel that is different than carvings done in driftwood or bark, as you will notice as soon as you hold it. After the carved face is completed it is then wire brushed and somtimes sanded, depending on what effect I want to express.  It is then coated with my secret wax coating and buffed to bring out a soft shine. 

 If the carving is in driftwood or something else I will let you know in the description.  There are other carvings for sale in my store listings, or use a keyword search of " spirit carving jb "

If you would like to bid on multiple items that can be shipped together, I do offer a shipping discount of 2.25 for each additional carving won.

New: If you happen to be near the following locations my carvings can be seen at....

The Rustic Garden, West Palm Beach, Florida.

Webbs Antique Mall, Richmond, Indiana.

Lake Superior Log Works, Grand Marais, MN.

Check out my other items! Most of my new items are listed in my store on a dayly basis as it is getting too expensive to list them in auction format.

Please if you plan on bidding, don't wait till the last moment, bid early and show your support!!!!!!!!

Recent Feedback:

Absolutely Beautiful! Great workmanship! Thank-you! :o)