James Lynch
My father had a small basement shop that I loved working in. He taught me patience and the value of quality workmanship. My grandfather and great grandfather were wood carvers. I found their tools and started carving (cutting my fingers) around age 5. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t making something. Attending Montclair State University in NJ, I received a BA in Art Education. Teaching grades K-8 for 1 year and high school for a couple of years taught me, that it wasn’t for me. I worked building exhibits for trade shows for 6 years, then opened Executive Woodworking in Chester, NY. During the next 25 years, I designed and built high-end cabinetry for corporate and residential customers in the New York metropolitan area. In 2013, my wife Clareen and I retired and moved to Travelers Rest, SC.
Artist Statement
I think wood chose me, not the other way around. From drawings influenced by my dreams, day and night, I made fabricated and painted wooden sculptures. Since moving to South Carolina, my renewed interest is woodcarving. Most of my current pieces are roots and stumps that I hunt for in the forest. Sometimes I’ll know exactly what a piece will be from the minute I see it. Other times I begin carving and the wood has a way of letting me know what it wants to be. The grain and movement of the wood makes carving it a journey that I love.
Phone: 845-469-5151 e-mail: jimsawcut@gmail.com