How to showcase the gorgeous patterns in this birch burl was a question which delayed this project for many months! I eventually had to commit to a design so the burl wouldn't languish forever in my collection of extra-special materials. The saw-whet owl, carved out of yellow cedar with homemade glass eyes, fits into a carved-out section of the burl, with a routed slot in the back for hanging on the wall. This carving is available for sale: $300 (PST included in price)

This 2025 project marks a small update in my observations of owl species, when I finally noticed eastern screech owl eyes are not nearly as  bright a yellow as their western species. (Guess that means all my previous screech owls with big yellow eyes are western screech owls.) Here are my new eastern screech owls with accurate pale grey-green eyes. The eyes are round glass cabochons backed with a layer of acrylic paint, then set into the basswood carving. This carving is sold… I hope the new owner is enjoying this carving as much as I enjoyed making it!

This project lived on my workdesk for a couple years, overseeing many other art brainstorms during its gradual development of driftwood grafting, air-dry clay vines and flowers, and the clay hummingbird with iridescent paint. The beak was originally a metal knitting needle I used for clay tooling. A fun project to explore colour-shift and metallic paints, I think Mr. Hummingbird is ready to leave the nest! Available for sale: $185 (PST included in price)

Western red cedar has a colour range varying from light blond to patchy red-and-yellow to deep dark brown. My favourite for woodcarving is the latter: old, close-grained red cedar that looks like it's been treated with walnut oil-base stain. If I succeed in collecting enough of these slabs, it might be fun to produce some more wildlife in this line: moose, elk, caribou, etc. Hopefully this mule deer is just the first of a series! Available for sale: $260 (PST included in price)