(Click to view... 137KB)Twelve years ago I was fortunate enough to stumble across a great little place to set up a carving shop. Although there was a great deal of clean-up and repair, needless to say I was thrilled to have it. Next thing you know I’m in business, for real.
A short time later reality set in and I can clearly remember one particular moment like it was yesterday. I was sitting on an old oak stump out back when I began to wonder “Can I really do this?” Up to that point I had only been chainsaw carving a very short time, and not really sure if I possessed the natural talent it would take to turn professional.
After a long morning of some big-time ponderous soul searching, the answer mercifully came into focus. I don’t know! Not the greatest answer, but it helped me form a plan, and a good one at that. I would jump in with both feet, (two hands and a good sharp saw), appreciate the opportunity, follow my gut and never look back.
Twelve years and two thousand carvings later I finally have my answer. With a little bit of talent, and a lot of hard work, almost anything is possible. Any success at all that I may have enjoyed stems from one basic concept: try your best and never look back with regret.
(Arnie Palmer statue commissioned by a golf resort in West Virginia. Joe King carved the figure from a 40" diameter pin oak, then sanded with disc grinder and Dremel tool. The finish has three coats of Sikkens Cetol 1 brushed on, and the golf club is a half-inch oak dowel rod.)