Caricature Carvings - "Jeffrey got a Bite"

Upfront – for the sculpture work I’m going to post here I’ll make it very clear in the first line. My father, Master Craftsman Stanley D. Saperstein is the whittler and sculpture. He enjoys doing folk art carvings in his retirement, that is when I dismiss him for the afternoon from his duties as my errand boy. After all – he is retired – and in the best interest of his longevity it is my duty to give him assignments. It keeps him busy … and thus less focused on trying to tell us how to run each detail of our daily routine.

Our shop is father and son – with the introduction of Teri, my fiance, who joined the shop full time about two years ago. We could pass for an episode of American Chopper – long as nobody noticed there was furniture instead of bikes in the shop. We probably should put up a webcam, then people would have evidence that Teri really does sometimes follow through when she threatens——“I’m gonna kick you – and then call you a bitch…”

Anyway – the carving -

So the story goes that Jeffrey & his friend Steve travel the globe seeking the ultimate fishing adventures. Steve (bottom center photo left) decided to find a unique gift for his fishing buddy that reflected a unique, charismatic, highly expressive, and at times a bit over the top personality.

Steve also mentioned Jeffrey’s tendency to find boundaries as more of a suggestion than a rule; illustrated in the bottom right photo! Jeffrey’s fishing prowess is obvious from the exuberant display of just two of his catches shown below.

This unique folk art figure by Stanley D. Saperstein was commissioned by Steve as a gift for Jeffrey’s birthday. Stan decided to twist the perspective slightly when he conjured up this caricature. Every now and again a sign may just have something to say, and sometimes the fish actually do bite!

Projects that make us laugh and offer a never ending source of humor to our clients are always great commissions. Check out website's Figure Carving section for some detailed images of this original carving, a full gallery of Stanley’s folk art figure carvings.

The piece is done in basswood, hand carved, and the detail putin with a wood burner. Acrylic paints and clear coat color and seal the piece. It’s about 10” tall total if I remember right.

In article format as presented to “Chip Chats” : http://www.artisansofthevalley.com/docs/Jeffrey_Got_a_Bite.pdf

-- Eric M. Saperstein, Master Craftsman www.artisansofthevalley.com