American Carver Creates Stunning Cartoon Characters Out of Wood

Sara Barraclough inherited something totally different from her great-grandpa and great-great-grandpa and it was not any material wealth or property, but their skills that passed onto her through their genes! She inherited the carving skills of these two Scandinavian master carvers – a legacy she carries on to date to enthrall her viewers.

Sara Barraclough, woodcarver par excellence, resides in southern Utah, USA, with her daughter. She is natural where wood carving is concerned. Sara Barraclough carving on the Instagram page displays an incredible variety of carved pieces that she has created and continues to create. Not only this, but she also has a big enough heart to share her talent with everyone through her books. More on this later in the article.

Sara simply uses carving knives and oodles of imagination for her stunning creations, unlike other woodcarvers, who rely on cutouts and power tools. She is a proponent of the old-fashioned art of whittling, for she believes that it gives scope to add one’s own flair and personality to the piece. She uses a rough-out knife to get the basic shape of the subject and then a detail knife to carve out the details. And for her, carving out the details means taking off plenty of material or as she puts it, “Make those chips fly!”

So passionate is Sara about her craft that she can be seen carving throughout the day, even while traveling in a car, sitting at a campsite, or even during a baseball game! It really doesn’t matter to her where she is carving, her aim is always to make the end design look nothing like the original woodblock. So, it is not surprising to see her making deep cuts on the woodblock and take off as much material out of it, as is required.

Of course, the subjects Sara selects, dictate how much whittling needs to be done, and since she creates cartoon characters with exaggerated details, a little more whittling than usual is needed for them. Her deft hands expertly put a few strategically placed cuts on the block to obtain a variety of options that enable little changes and personalization.

In addition to Sara’s wonderful carved characters, which can be bought in Sara Barraclough Etsy shop, she is also an author. Sara Barraclough’s books include ‘Learn to Carve Gnomes, Trolls, and Mythical Creatures’ and ‘Weekend Whittling Projects’.