Woodcarving is probably humanities’ oldest skill. Even before learning that it would burn, early man used shaped wood for weapons and tools. Wood has been useful to mankind for thousands of years, and predates human civilization. The forests grow the supply.
Today, the great difference, the change that impacts our lives in America, is the information available to broaden our awareness of the world and our place in it. Ecological preservation rates high on the list of priorities for many of us. How to genuinely impact our concerns in a positive way is a much more difficult decision to reach, and often our best intentions go awry.
When I started carving signs for outdoor use it was 1981, and I was 28 years old. I chose North Eastern white pine wood for signs because it was a fast growing timber and traditionally used for this kind of work – most ship figureheads of the late 17th and 18th centuries were carved from white pine logs. I also liked that it was indigenous to the area I live and work in. Unfortunately, white pine is prone to dry rot outdoors. This was a disastrous discovery.
In 1989 I switched to clear-heart redwood for sign blanks. Redwood does not rot, but must be shipped from California, is expensive, and unless of the best grade, does not carve well. The quality declined as time went on and by the end of the century concerns over logging old growth forests left me with redwood timber shipments practically useless for my purposes. It arrived as mostly sapwood, was prone to dimensional distortions and was so soft as to be almost impossible to carve.
At this time a newly manufactured material was being marketed for dimensional signs. Closed cell polyurethane foam is extruded under pressure, to control its density and associated rigidity, into large blocks. From these blocks, dimensional panels are sawn for use as carving blanks. It’s uniform density, lack of grain, and general homogeneity made it perfect for CNC/CNR machining. This product is created by the Petro-Chemical industry, oil is the raw material. Conceptually and practically I considered using it, but ended rejecting its use on aesthetic grounds. It is more suited to the machine than the hand, and I intend to remain a hand carver.
Today I am using a timber called Spanish cedar — growing in Central and South America, and supplied by import merchants who also wholesale mahogany and other exotic hardwoods. William Rush, the noted Philadelphia woodcarver, made his figures for the Fairmont Park waterworks from Spanish cedar in the 1820′s. Though it is a hardwood, not a cedar at all, it is most used for the manufacture of humidors due to its smell. It carves very well.
One day, I may find myself carving petroleum products. But for that to happent would mean that reforestation was a failure, that emergencies had been declared, and a dying art finally buried.
• Ted Gerhart opened business with his father in 1981. He has been carving custom signs since 1983, producing more than 1700 located all over America. Photo samples of this work have appeared in books and magazine articles, most recently in “Woodcarving Illustrated” magazine. His Furniture and sculptures are mostly in private collection.
• Received Bachelor’s Degree in Art from Millersville University in 2002.
• Received Master’s Degree in American Material Culture from Penn State University in 2004.
