By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
He counts numbers by day and wood chips by night. For nearly 25 years, Great Bend accountant Barry Bowers has been chipping away at wood blocks as part of a wood carving hobby. Last week, Bowers learned he had won two first-place prizes, and a second place, in the Canada-based Richmond Carvers Society contest that featured 116 carvers from 12 countries. The 2022 contest was a virtual one, and carvers were allowed to submit two photos of a piece in a given category.
"Their competition was a little unique because it was single human," Bowers explained. "A lot of times it's caricature human and realistic human. In this particular show, everything was kind of pushed together, so that made it a little more challenging."
Bowers fell into the hobby by accident when a friend goaded him into signing up for an instructional class at the Great Bend Recreation Commission more than two decades ago.
"Jack June is a good friend of mine, and he was the instructor," said Bowers. "He kept badgering me, telling me I needed to try it because it's so relaxing. I didn't really believe him, but it turned out to be true."
Bowers' award-winning pieces from the Richmond Carvers Society contest.
Bowers kept chipping away at the hobby, improving his work with a class or two each year. He began entering competitions about six years ago and found a new side to the hobby.
"It's gotten to be more fun," he said. "It can be more competitive, and I feel like the results are a little better. There's still a long way to go. There are people way better than me, for sure, but I feel like I'm in the middle of the pack at least."
There is endless variety in woodcarving, from the type of wood used to the subject of the art. Bowers prefers caricature art, and enjoys the wide variety of looks Santa offers.
"Some people describe it as exaggerated or cartoonish, but it's just not realistic," he said. "I do a fair amount of Santas. Santa is kind of fun to do because he can be about anything, really. I enjoy caricature. For me, I enjoy the humor, and you can usually tell a story with a carving, whether it's a group or how the expressions are."
Some artists number their carvings though Bowers never has. Still, he estimates he produces between 15-20 carvings annually. His chosen medium is northern basswood, usually purchased from Wisconsin. Even with aggressive carving, each piece takes approximately 15-20 hours from start to finish. Naturally, there has been some blood spilled along the way.
"I hadn't been carving very long, and I put a gouge in the side of my finger," Bowers recalled. "There's a really good hand surgeon in Hays, I found out at the time. I've had stitches more than once. I wear a glove on the hand I'm holding the carving with, which helps quite a bit. Doctors are always very impressed with how clean the cuts are. The tools are very sharp."
Bowers is part of the Golden Belt Wood Carvers that meet every Thursday from 7-9 p.m. at the Great Bend Senior Center. Anyone is welcome to stop by to try their hand at the craft, or just to watch some of the more experienced carvers. The group even has a starter set for first-timers who might be interested in seeing the variety of work possible.
"There are all different kinds of carving," said Bowers. "That's why I enjoy carving, partially. There are realistic carvers, bird carvers, some people carve animals. There are just a million things they can do, so a person can find the wood and style they enjoy. Everybody helps everybody. There's a good social aspect to it."
The group tries to host a beginner's class at least once a year, and it plans to host a class with the Great Bend Public Library in January. Some of Bower's work - mostly Santas - can be purchased at Heart of Kansas Mercantile on Main Street in Great Bend.