Craving for carving
PORTERSVILLE — Glenda Byers-O'Donnell started carving gunstocks on a bit of a dare.
As she examined a gun carved by another artist one day in 1993, she said, "I think I can do better."
The gun owner, who wasn't happy with the carving either, told her to try it and surrendered his gun.
A few classes and a few pieces of carving equipment later, Glenda, of Portersville, fixed the deer carving on that first gun and has carved hundreds of others since. In the process, she's won at least four First Place ribbons in the Sawmill Center for the Arts contest in Cook Forest.
Her inspiration for carvings comes in two different forms.
"Sometimes I take requests and sometimes I make a design for someone," she said.
Either way, she usually makes drawings before carving and gets approval from the gun's owner. The guns usually cost between $600 and $700, and Glenda said she doesn't like to cut into them without being sure.
From that point, she traces the drawing onto a clear adhesive stencil, which she can stick to the gunstock. When she's carving the gun, it's called relief carving because she's carving the background away to highlight the animal or pattern.
In addition to a deer, turkey, or whatever the focus is, she'll also carve patterns called basket weaving or other background accents on the gun.
Most carvings take about six weeks to finish, but Glenda isn't working constantly on the piece. Her studio is set up at a family-owned store, where she also works.Interruptions from store customers are frequent, but Glenda sees it as a blessing at times."I'm real happy ignoring the phone and door buzzer and working with a good piece of wood," she said."But if I sit there too long I definitely need a break. Otherwise, I get frustrated and want to smash it."Working on and off on projects gives her a different perspective, she added."I like to go back and look at it later," she said. "Sometimes I see something I want to redo. Sometimes I need to turn it upside-down. There's so much you can do if you use your imagination and don't limit yourself."Asked recently if she ever carved a caribou, Glenda used her common response, "No, but I'll try." After a few practice drawings and a wildlife photo for inspiration, she carved on a gunstock and the customer was thrilled.In addition to guns, Glenda also carves mantles for fireplaces, tombstones, frames, clocks, glass and keepsake boxes. Of all the surfaces she's tried, she prefers wood."It's a deeper carving and I can get more detail," she said. "I like to just take a hunk of wood and make something from it."Different types of wood will carve differently, she added. Higher quality wood like walnut is easy to carve, with good crisp lines in the detailing. Softer wood like birch may not have the clean details that walnut would.While some companies offer laser carving for gunstocks, Joe Leone of Gun World in Harrisville said the detail is not as good as hand-carved guns."With laser engraving, everything looks the same,"he said. "With (Glenda's), everything is very unique."Leone, who sometimes refers customers to Glenda, noted the laser carvings are less expensive than Glenda's, which usually run between $350 and $500.Glenda's guns have been used to raise money for the Unionville Fire Department, local Lion's Clubs and other nonprofit groups.Glenda, who has always enjoyed and "dabbled in" drawing, has painted murals in the bedrooms of her niece and nephew and the pair, now ages 10 and 14, still keep the jungle and beach themes in their rooms today.Glenda also paints wildlife and landscape art when she gets the urge and does other crafts as well."I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up," she said.
