Whimsy in Wood
HomeGerald Andersen, a Self-Taught Folk Carver
I am a wood carver who draws his inspiration from American folk art.
I began carving in 1984 when my wife and I decided to collect folk art to compliment our 200 year old home, and soon discovered our checkbook balance did not match our ambitions. I decided to build my own folk art collection by carving it myself, because I was young and thought I could do anything. Using wood scraps and acrylic paints, I began by copying the works of early artists from museum catalogs and collections. However, I soon set out on my own course bringing a contemporary sense of irony and wit to the traditional art form.
The pressures of career, commuting, and child-rearing, however, caused me to hang up my carving tools for the next 30 years. I returned to the woodpile with a vengeance upon my retirement.
My approach is the same as it was 30 years ago: scrap pine glued together, carved and painted with acrylic paint. My subject matter ranges from literature, to sports, to history.
Gallery Showings:
Featured Artist at the Outsider Folk Art Gallery, Reading, PA, July- August, 2009
Featured Artist, May-August, 2011, at the Outsider Folk Art Gallery in an exhibit titled "Animals in Folk Art:Traditional and Non-Traditional."
Awards:
Award for Sculpture at the 2014 Artsbridge Juried Show, New Hope, Pennsylvania.
Honorable Mention, Sculpture, The Tinicicum, Pennsylvania, Arts Fair, July 2015.
Exhibitions:
"Whimsy in Wood", North Hunterdon County Library, January 2010
"Whimsy in Wood", Main Branch, Hunterdon County, NJ, library, November 2014
