Mark Erickson with his red-tailed hawk
Jay Rosenlof
We have a State Champion wood carver in SaddleBrooke! Mark Erickson, our Wood Carvers president, won a first-place award in the Advanced category at the annual Arizona statewide carving competition in Mesa in February.
Mark has been carving since his youth and has found that his lifelong hobby has developed into a true passion. He has carved dozens of birds and has carved almost all the birds that live in our area. His carved birds start as small as hummingbirds and progress through roadrunners, Cooper’s hawks, and now up to a red-tailed hawk.
His red-tailed hawk started as a large block of Tupelo wood. In four months, it was carved out with knives and grinding tools to get the basic body shape. Then he carved, filed, and sanded the head and beak, wings, tail feathers, and body feathers. After wood burning the feather details, he spent two weeks painting the bird. He also made the feet, as well as the base and branch where the bird is perched. As a full-sized bird, it looks like it could fly away!
We hope you have a chance to see this magnificent carving and can appreciate the tremendous detail and lifelike look of his masterpiece!