After the incredible success of Löffel.suse‘s article (How spoon carving saved my life) I have the pleasure of publishing a short interview with another professional woodcarver: Cousin Jack Carves!

In just a few months, his YouTube channel already has more than 30,000 views and his work is both entertaining and accurate. A perfect mix to capture the attention of thousands of beginners who, thanks to his precious advice, will see their carving skills grow video after video! So here’s the cousin we’d all like to have: Jack Loring aka Cousin Jack Carves.

• How did you get into wood carving?
• In 1987 I worked as a Counselor/Teacher in a wilderness camp program for troubled teenage boys. We cared for the boys and lived in a very rustic setting, building platform tents from pine trees and tarps. We had no electricity, so no, TV, Radio, nothing. The kids enjoyed learning new skills like playing guitar and woodcarving. The camp provided Xacto carving sets and we used found wood (mostly cedar) and I learned to carve from the teenagers we cared for. When we are in the woods, away from all of our electronic distractions we tap into our creativity and that’s how I began whittling and carving wood

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• What do you feel when you carve? 
• My feelings can change at different times during a project, I would say that most of the time I have a feeling of wonder. It’s very satisfying to work with your hands and to transform a piece of wood into something you envisioned in your head

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• Why did you decide to open a YouTube channel and do some tutorials?
• I was inspired to start a YouTube channel after watching many other carvers on YouTube that have come before me. Some have passed away and yet their YouTube channels are a lasting legacy of their desire to teach others and to share their passion for wood carving. I decided to start a channel after noticing so many beginner carvers asking questions on social media. I thought it would be an opportunity to help others. I have learned that video production can be difficult and tiring. As for advertising, I have not added any but YouTube has changed their terms of service and now they can place ads on any content creator’s channel.

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• What is your dream / project in the drawer?
• Great question Sara, I have so many projects in mind. Right now I’m working on an imaginary creature. It’s sort of a cross between a snail and a dinosaur. The body is carved from a small piece of driftwood found in Oregon and it will have an Apple Snail shell (found in Florida) on it’s back as well as a bunch of sharks’ teeth (found in Florida) embedded down the spine. The head will be carved from basswood and there will be two large fangs (sharks teeth) hanging down from the mouth and a horn (shark’s tooth) sticking up on top of his nose. I’ll make the eyes funny looking to give him a goofy type of expression.

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• Any advice for beginners?
• Yes, here are some tips I would like to share:
  • Keep your tools sharp. Learn how to sharpen and to maintain your tools. This may be the most important skill for a beginner to master.
  • Enjoy the ride! Rather than putting too much pressure on yourself to create a finished product, take time to enjoy the journey.
  • Be a lifelong learner. We can always learn new skills, and techniques if we keep an open mind.

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• Jack, thank you for this opportunity it is an honour to have you here in my blog
• Thank you so much for to be included in your blog article, I appreciate it very much!

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Cousin Jack

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Do you like interviews? Here’s another one ready for you! See you soon, bye!