Dallas County
Carved
Furniture
Earl Hopkins started carving wood when he was eight years old. A
self-taught artist in many crafts, Earl studied history in college before
continuing his education as a world traveler. After his retirement as an
interpreter for Colonial Williamsburg, Earl moved to Selma
where he is currently employed at the Old Depot Museum. Earl contributes his artistic
abilities as a gift from God, but firmly believes that everybody is as creative
as they choose to be.
Earl carves statues that serve as furniture. He intends for his
art to be utilitarian as well as decorative. His unique furniture uses the
parts of animals as functional structure (an elephant’s trunk becomes the leg
of a table). Earl carves his art mainly from Honduras mahogany. He prefers the
dark colored wood because the grain runs in many directions, allowing the wood
carver flexibility. Earl believes that the wood will tell you how to carve it,
if you will let it do the talking.