Wood carving also ain't easy

Painting and carving are equally challenging but you won't cut yourself when painting

My brother Bobby saved my life with his boy scout knife. We were sitting on the front steps when a huge “rattlesnake” snuck up on us. Bobby whirled into action, whipped out his knife and frightened the snake away.

This happened in Wyandotte, a small city downriver from Detroit, over 60 years ago. The communities along the Detroit River, southwest of the city, are all about 10-15 minutes from the Motor City. It’s mostly blue collar (my dad worked in a steel mill), just like me, a college-educated, blue-collar Downriver boy.

By the way, I wasn’t called Downriver Danny by anybody until I was about 50 years old. My workmates learned about my connection to Wyandotte and Downriver Detroit, and a rarely-used nickname was born.

The scary snake (most likely a garter snake since only one rattler — the reclusive Eastern Massisauga — is a Michigan native) incident is the reason I started carving wood during the COVID pandemic. First, I like small knives (Bobby’s heroism and all) and, second, I like using my hands to make things.

About four years ago I picked up a carving knife and started a new hobby. My friend David taught me the basics and off I went. You can view his work at dywoodcarving.

The carvings pictured above represent some of my first carvings. The one on the right represents my wife (she’s wearing the Saint Mary College jersey) and me (Michigan State University, Go Green!). Most of them were carved from 1” x 1” blocks of basswood with some very sharp knives.

Warning: Wear gloves when carving wood!