Larry Matney
Cynthia Schwartz is the PebbleCreek Woodcarvers Club woodcarver of the month for January 2020. This photo shows Cynthia with several of her carvings on the middle shelf of the display window in the Creative Arts Center. Cynthia and her husband, Michael, moved to PebbleCreek in August 2017. They quickly became involved with pickleball, softball, and woodcarving.
Cynthia had never carved before so she took an introductory class to learn basic carving skills with a rotary tool and burrs, sanding, and painting. The result was a nice wooden spoon. She liked it enough that she next took a cottonwood bark carving class and fell in love with bark carving. Cottonwood bark has no grain and is somewhat soft so it carves easily. Cynthia quickly completed three bark carvings of whimsical houses. She then moved on to a kachina, an elephant, a giraffe, a northwest native American ceremonial bowl, a soapstone bear, and many other items. Along the way she started doing human faces, which has become her favorite subject. Cynthia prefers power tools, but does some carving with knives and chisels.
The Woodcarving Club allowed Cynthia to learn carving and develop her skills, so she is now working on her own unique creations. There is a huge amount of talent in the club and members are very welcoming and willing to help others learn to carve and develop their skills.
Cynthia loves the smell and feel of wood. She finds carving challenging, but very satisfying. Each project is unique and allows her to use her talents to produce beautiful works of art.