John Lauzon

John Lauzon was born in Ironwood Michigan in 1942 and is a lifelong resident of the Gogebic Range. Though he did not begin carving until age 40, he “always had a bit of creativity in [his] being, along with a great deal of inquisitiveness.”

In 1982 John met Kitty Kocal, a woodcarving artist who has created architectural elements for local buildings, and had taught and produced woodcarving crafts in the area for a number of years. John was motivated by Kitty and considers her influence more inspirational than technical.

John has tried many kinds of wood carving, from duck decoys to whittling and he enjoys the possibilities that round materials, particularly driftwood, lends to his carving.

John’s work begins by locating suitable pieces of driftwood. On the shores of lost lakes in the North Country he finds pieces of trees fallen long ago, by wind or by man, and made smooth by the sun, sand and water. These pieces may have been afloat for many years, washed up onshore only to return to the water by the action of waves and storms. Some driftwood may date back to the 1930’s from trees destroyed when large tracts of land were flooded and the water backed up to form the first hydroelectric plants in the area.

Many of John’s pieces use the root portion of old trees submerged for years and loosened by a great storm or the action of ice, then washed ashore to bake in the sun.

“I spend countless enjoyable hours in my canoe, or walking lake shores in search of the right wood… Not just any piece will do, it has to have character and possibility. Each piece is unique unto itself, like a person, and has its own personality. It’s exciting to find a piece of wood and to have it look back at you only to leap back into the wood, later to be brought out again by my chisel and knife.”

Clouds Wood Carving View Details	Ageless Time Wood Carving View Details

Learn more about John Lauzon at chiseler.tripod.com