LEFT | Spirit and one of her cats, Peaches, sitting in front of Spirit’s carvings
OPPOSIDE TOP | Spirit’s in-the-round wood sculpture inspired by her daughter
OPPOSITE BOTTOM | Spirit’s studio offers a glimpse of the many tools of her artistic trade.
Embrace the Grain
Spirit of the Hills woodcarving embraces a connection with nature
Story and Photos by EMI BARON
T
wo months, an X-Acto knife and a hunk of scrap wood were salvaged from a construction site. These are the supplies master wood sculptor Spirit relied on to carve one of her first projects 53 years ago, at age 27. Spirit used the uncommon tool to whittle away not only at the core of the wood but at the core of her being, revealing an immutable passion for the art that she has not dropped since. “Spirit. Like Cher. Madonna. Spirit,” the incisive Spirit says about how she is referenced. Like these other mononymously addressed women, Spirit is driven and hard-working. Her lifestyle, however, is not that of fame and glamour. Her gallery and studio, Spirits of the Hills, is nestled in the countryside of Hocking Hills, and she defines artistic success with one word: happiness. The gallery leads to her living room, encapsulated by a slew of sloping, shelved bookstacks along art-adorned walls. A charcoal gray cat named Smoky whisks her tail side to side as she makes herself comfortable in Spirit’s lap. “We aren’t crazy cat ladies because we only have eight, not twelve,” Spirit says — with a wink. Now 80 years old, Spirit has produced hundreds of carvings with advanced tools, like flared, concave-bladed gouges in varying sizes. Her work ranges from picturesque
“relief” carvings to working “in the round,” or threedimensionally. Spirit was inspired to pick up the hobby knife and embark on a wood carving journey when her ex-boyfriend’s friend lost his legs in a sailing accident. “They started him on carving because it is a wonderful therapy. So, I saw him carving, and he wouldn’t let me touch his tools. He said I would get them dull,” Spirit says, jovially laughing at the memory. “I went to the library, of course, and got a book. The first line said if you cut yourself more than twice, you should quit. Ugh! Didn’t look at another book for years.” Before discovering her aptitude for woodwork, Spirit worked for an insurance company for “10 whole months. It was hell.” After selling her first piece, Spirit left her job, worked as a waitress to get some money in her pocket and then began to wood sculpt for a living. Spirit’s studio is surrounded by rock faces, a vegetable garden and wildflower patches. She pushed open the door to her wood shop after shuffling past weathered beekeeping hive frames. The musky aroma of earthy lumber and dried lemon balm permeated the air of her workspace. Hand-gouged, wooden slivers scattered and curled across the floor like confetti, rippling outward from the
