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 Kerry
Shirts - Native Idahoan
This
is me fishing in the Idaho Wilderness on Birch Creek with
Diamond mountain (the second tallest in Idaho) and the Lemhi
range in the background. This little valley is where Chief Joseph took
his people and tried to escape to Canada. Just up the way is the border
of Montana.The Lemhi Mountain
range is below the Salmon River country in Idaho, which is some of the
most pristine, beautiful country in the lower 48. If I look
like I'm talking to spirits, its because I am. I am invoking
the Great Spirit to help me catch something. And, yes, the
spirits were generous and my wife and I had trout for breakfast.
We have barbecues in our
neck of the woods as often as we can. Take a peek at our most recent
one. We had a few neighbors drop in that you may find interesting.
My wife, Charlotte and I, really do live in a little log
cabin. We love the outdoors here in Idaho and love to
hike, mountain bike, fish,
and generally enjoy all there is to see in the beautiful Intermountain
West.
I'm an artist.
Cutting wood into many tiny pieces and reassembling a maple hardwood
board into an astonishingly beautiful piece
of art is a delight for me. I have been doing so for 13 years now.
I am a native of Idaho Falls, Idaho, and enjoy the mountains,
the lakes, rivers, trees, clouds, sunsets, animals and people in
the
Intermountain West. I'm 43 years
old and have enjoyed art all my life. I have painted and sketched
with oils, watercolors, pencil and pen, and now I am an artist who
uses fine hardwoods as his medium. I use a scrollsaw and precise
carving tools to make very fine and intricate pieces of
wood, then
stain, paint,
and
reassemble them into beautiful works of art. I am able to
see
shapes and shades very well, which is why I developed
my technique of scrolling and carving realistic art pieces in wood
of people, animals, plants, pets, sceneries with mountains,
lakes, etc.
My technique
is not intarsia because I use mostly maple. I leave
the pieces I cut flat for the most part and
color them their natural color as we see them in nature, hence
my ability to make them realistic
looking.  I
also create my art from photographs. I enjoy taking photos and putting elements
in compositions I create,
and then cutting
them and carving them into a
magnificent piece of art. I have stayed with the U.S. Western tradition
for the most part, though African wildlife is so magnificent. I enjoy
cowboy and Native American themes, though I also create pretty much
anything. I have the advantage of being able to custom cut and carve
whatever a
customer wishes, or holds near and dear to their heart, whether person,
animal, pet, etc. I am to the point where I can honestly say if you
can photograph it, I can create a beautiful art piece
of it for you.
By
the way, the hair is real, although no longer attached to
my head! I caught a small bit of it in a joiner, and that
got my attention. So now I'm a short haired artist! It only
took
me five years
to grow it that long, and I'm considering growing it back.
What do you think?
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