Hello and Welcome
My name is José and I was born in San Juan,
Puerto Rico. I became interested in woodcarving
during my preteen years, as I remember observing,
mesmerized, as my grandfather carved and
shaped the body of musical instruments called
"cuatros" out of blocks of precious tropical
hardwoods. I would dream about getting my hands
on those rudimentary carving tools, reproducing
those same shimmering curvy shavings as I would
soak in the aroma of freshly carved mahogany and
Spanish cedar.
It was not until I reached my late teens that I finally
got a chance to work with wood and handle real
carving tools I purchased with my own money.
Sure, it was an inexpensive set, nevertheless, it
was mine! Now no one could say, "don't use my
tools!"
My free spirited character and subject preference
in carving afforded me little option but " to carve
my own path" I learned by trial and error, I still do.
Having been raised in the company of a multitude
of parrots throughout my life, these birds became
my preferred subject. Naturally, my early works
where crude representations that show my
impatient nature. Nevertheless, those first carvings
represented an accomplishment to me. I had
undertaken a complex task without a hint of
direction from anyone and ignoring all negative
remarks about my work. I had created my own
"Bird of Wood" or "Pájaro de Palo" using only my
hands to push tools into very hard woods, using
memory pictures as reference. As life goes, I was
determined to become a Biologist, so I could work
in the recovery of an endangered local parrot.
In 1983 I earned a Bachelor in Natural Science
Biology and being Ornithology (Science that study
birds) the field of study that was most interesting to
me, I looked for any opportunity to get to do
something related to birds. For 12 years I worked
as a biologist and manager of a captive flock of
the highly endangered Puerto Rican parrot in the
remote forest of Rio Abajo, bordering the towns of
Arecibo and Utuado in Puerto Rico.
I have attended and entered my work in only a few
carving competitions and have been selected
amongst the top ribbon earners. That includes the
Ward Wildfowl Carving Competition held in Ocean
City, Maryland. However, I am not interested in
carving for the sole purpose of entering
competitions, as I am not willing to change my
ways in order to meet the current trends in
judgement criteria. I like to make wood carvings
that look like wood carvings, but still show the
grace and essence of the subject. My work has
been reviewed and successfully judged by the
Tamarack Foundation of West Virginia. I reside
with my wife Anne and son Alexander in the
beautiful town of Green Bank, located in
Pocahontas County, West Virginia.
You are most welcome to look around this simple
website for ideas, information, criticism, or
whatever suit your fancy. I'll be updating as new
projects get on the go, and perhaps a few pictures
of the processes will be included as well. Please,
feel free to make suggestions on how to better this
website, information you may like to see included,
tips and wild bird photo links you may know about
that would be helpful to the artist looking for
closeup bird photographs to study and
birdwatchers who take pleasure in knowing
morphological details that differentiate each
Species.
José
My name is José and I was born in San Juan,
Puerto Rico. I became interested in woodcarving
during my preteen years, as I remember observing,
mesmerized, as my grandfather carved and
shaped the body of musical instruments called
"cuatros" out of blocks of precious tropical
hardwoods. I would dream about getting my hands
on those rudimentary carving tools, reproducing
those same shimmering curvy shavings as I would
soak in the aroma of freshly carved mahogany and
Spanish cedar.
It was not until I reached my late teens that I finally
got a chance to work with wood and handle real
carving tools I purchased with my own money.
Sure, it was an inexpensive set, nevertheless, it
was mine! Now no one could say, "don't use my
tools!"
My free spirited character and subject preference
in carving afforded me little option but " to carve
my own path" I learned by trial and error, I still do.
Having been raised in the company of a multitude
of parrots throughout my life, these birds became
my preferred subject. Naturally, my early works
where crude representations that show my
impatient nature. Nevertheless, those first carvings
represented an accomplishment to me. I had
undertaken a complex task without a hint of
direction from anyone and ignoring all negative
remarks about my work. I had created my own
"Bird of Wood" or "Pájaro de Palo" using only my
hands to push tools into very hard woods, using
memory pictures as reference. As life goes, I was
determined to become a Biologist, so I could work
in the recovery of an endangered local parrot.
In 1983 I earned a Bachelor in Natural Science
Biology and being Ornithology (Science that study
birds) the field of study that was most interesting to
me, I looked for any opportunity to get to do
something related to birds. For 12 years I worked
as a biologist and manager of a captive flock of
the highly endangered Puerto Rican parrot in the
remote forest of Rio Abajo, bordering the towns of
Arecibo and Utuado in Puerto Rico.
I have attended and entered my work in only a few
carving competitions and have been selected
amongst the top ribbon earners. That includes the
Ward Wildfowl Carving Competition held in Ocean
City, Maryland. However, I am not interested in
carving for the sole purpose of entering
competitions, as I am not willing to change my
ways in order to meet the current trends in
judgement criteria. I like to make wood carvings
that look like wood carvings, but still show the
grace and essence of the subject. My work has
been reviewed and successfully judged by the
Tamarack Foundation of West Virginia. I reside
with my wife Anne and son Alexander in the
beautiful town of Green Bank, located in
Pocahontas County, West Virginia.
You are most welcome to look around this simple
website for ideas, information, criticism, or
whatever suit your fancy. I'll be updating as new
projects get on the go, and perhaps a few pictures
of the processes will be included as well. Please,
feel free to make suggestions on how to better this
website, information you may like to see included,
tips and wild bird photo links you may know about
that would be helpful to the artist looking for
closeup bird photographs to study and
birdwatchers who take pleasure in knowing
morphological details that differentiate each
Species.
José
| My first attempt at woodcarving something I considered really difficult was in 1975, I was then 15. It is made from a solid round of Mahogany. Using only chisels I carved this crude representation of a parrot. It measures 14" or so from head to tail. Family owned |
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| The picture above shows a carving I made sometime around 1976, I was then 16 and still in High school. I had joined the Commonwealth sponsored Artisan group, and so I got to participate in several artisan fairs. The carving is made out of Tropical Mahogany as well. |
