He’s carving out a honed hobby

Retired carpenter Ray Landry is focusing on the art rather than function of woodworking in his retirement.

When the Glendale resident retired after 25 years of working in carpentry, he started taking woodworking classes.

He took an interest in carving animals, and as he gradually improved his skill, he began carving busts of presidents and family members.

That was nearly 20 years ago.

Since then Landry has carved nearly 500 pieces.

Landry, who said carving comes naturally to him, is always looking for the right wood for his next project.

Armed with a set of hand tools, Landry sits down at least once a week to carve or paint his latest piece of carved wood.

His most recent piece is a grizzly bear. Landry is also busy working on sea turtles.

When Landry carves, he looks at a picture of the animal and slowly chips away at the wood.

But he isn’t alone in his hobby.

He has joined a dozen other wood carvers who meet weekly at Sparr Heights Community Center and share their love for the craft.

Glendale News-Press news assistant Ani Amirkhanian sat down with Landry and asked him a few questions.

What’s the best part about creating art from a piece of wood?

I don’t have to do the dishes. That’s the best thing. You got a lot of spare time.

If there is no work around the house, I do my carving on my work bench and listen to the radio. If it’s windy or it rains, I don’t do it. But I work outside.

How long does it take you to finish a carving?

Depends on the type of wood. For the bear, I used a hard wood. I usually use walnut. For the claws, it took me two days. I don’t work on my carvings for eight hours a day. I work on it for two or three hours a day. This one took me two weeks to do.

What is challenging about carving?

To get the right piece of wood. Some pieces of wood are easier to work with than others.

For a bear, I like to use a walnut. But I can take my time carving. When you get a piece of wood and you can smell the bear, then it’s a good piece of wood.

What do you usually do with your pieces?

A lot of them I give away, and at my church when they have a raffle, I give them away. One time, they got more than $500 for one of my bears.

My wife, when she goes to a birthday and doesn’t know what to take, she takes one of my carvings.

Whose busts have you carved?

I have two brothers and two sisters. They all have carvings.

My daughter has a carving . . . . I carved my father’s bust, and at the time I put it in front of him, he was 92. It scared him. I ended up making seven of them.