Mobile County
Wood Carvings
A friend once told Terry, “If you can draw in the dirt, you can
carve a piece of wood.” In Terry’s case, this friend was correct. Terry has
been drawing throughout his life but has only been wood carving for the past
ten to fifteen years. He uses various woods – driftwood, cypress, cedar,
huckleberry, and mahogany – and carves into a picture what he sees. That is the
reason that Terry, although he has been asked, has never taught classes in
carving. “I truthfully don’t believe I could teach the art of carving because
of the fact that I carve what I see in a picture,” remarks Terry.
Terry has a personal collection of walking canes that range from
turkeys, snakes, dogs, coons, coon dogs and fish to pistol grips, Indians,
cowboys, ranch house scenery, and religious pictures. Depending on the design,
Terry’s carvings can take three to seven days or up to twenty-one days.
He is a self-taught
artist whose work is on display at the following outlets: Burris Outdoor Art
Gallery in Loxley, Alabama, and National Wild Turkey Federation Chapter in
Grove Hill. Terry says that for two years, every carving was sold for a nominal
price or whatever he expected.