Grandpa, The Pipe Smoker and Woodcarver

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

Watch for Updates Twice a Week

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Status
Not open for further replies.

tjameson

Lifer
Jun 16, 2012
1,191
4
GrandpaJameson.jpg


This is my grandpa, on my dad's side, smoking a pipe and carving back in January of 1972. This was his workshop which was a cheese factory, general store, and art studio combined. Owned by multiple people. The photo quality is poor because it is from a google news archive (bad scan). Anyways its still a cool picture. My grandpa is one hell of a woodcarver Ill post up some photos I took of his work last time I visited him. He taught me about briar and Meerschaum getting patina and rubbing nose oil on the bowl.

 

tjameson

Lifer
Jun 16, 2012
1,191
4
One of his first carvings

Plaque.jpg

And a couple very early examples. The eagle is what he is carving in the OP image.

eagle.jpg

hands.jpg

Ill post more of his later work its pretty amazing. My grandmother is also a very talented carver. I will post her work later too.

 

bigmike

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 24, 2012
518
4
That is really something and he appears to be a very talented man.
Are you picking up his skills?

 

tbradsim1

Lifer
Jan 14, 2012
9,104
11,066
Southwest Louisiana
When you showed a picture of your favorite tamper I knew there was something special about you LOL, amazeing, remember the apple doesn"t fall far from the tree, get some tools and start up young man The old cajun

 

reichenbach

Part of the Furniture Now
Jan 5, 2012
552
2
West Park, NY
Those pieces are really awesome. My great-grandfather was a carpenter and I still have some of his furniture. I would suggest you learn as much as you can from him because these are a dying skill set. Most people want pressed wood crap that they can throw out in 2 years when they decide to repaint their living rooms (concerning furniture at least) but hand-made woodcraft is an heirloom. It carries a permanence and is a bridge back to the person who made it.
Plus it's a great excuse to hang around and smoke pipes together (not that an excuse is ever needed).
At any rate, your grandfather's art is pretty bad ass.

 

bentmike

Lifer
Jan 25, 2012
2,422
37
That is cool. Something to be proud of for sure. As the others have asked, are you carving too? I inherited a creative gene from my grandpa and I know he was very happy when he saw I was getting into wood working.

 

tjameson

Lifer
Jun 16, 2012
1,191
4
Thanks for the great comments guys. I definitely got my creativity from my grandparents. It was only in my last couple semesters of my art major that I realized I was better working in the round, although I can draw as well. My grandpa taught me carving, drawing, photography, and ceramics. He quite smoking around the time I was born but my dad smoked a pipe until I was about 7 before he switche to cigs full time. My father was more into art than making art but he was a master carpenter and set builder for broadway productions and built his own solar home. My grandfather is also quite a genius and has several patents from when he worked for IBM, including creating thermal imaging film, wiring for the first MRI machines, a few for a fiber optics company he worked for and a wood splitter he made for his own use. I'm definitely proud of where I come from and I do look forward to carving a pipe in the near future, I've actually talked with my wife and she wants me to start. I was wondering is Mark Tinsky a good dealer to go through for a Pre-Drilled block or are there better places and values?

 

tjameson

Lifer
Jun 16, 2012
1,191
4
Finally got around to uploading some more photos of my Grandfather's carving.
These are pieces he carved from a solid piece of wood. They are totally free moving.

Boxes.jpg


scissors.jpg

My Grandmother collects flower frogs so my grandpa carved this modeling her favorite frog.

flowerfrog.jpg

One of several still life carvings my grandpa did. Everything from the cutting board up is carved.

stilllife.jpg

My Grandpa's last few carvings became very abstract. This one he called "Split Infinity."

splitinfinity.jpg

And this one you can rotate 360 degrees and uses mostly natural lines.

splittree1.jpg


splitlog2.jpg

I'll post up some more photos of my grandma's work later. Enjoy!

 

tjameson

Lifer
Jun 16, 2012
1,191
4
So I'm flying to NY tomorrow to visit my family and see my grandparents. My grandpa isn't doing the greatest recently and I wanted to make sure I get to see him. I'm bringing my 4 month old daughter with me so my grandparents can meet her as well as my parents and sisters. I'm bringing a couple pipes to show him and hopefully I can get a few stories to share here. I also am hoping to find out what he smoked back then and see if I can get some more photos of his carvings.

 

pstlpkr

Lifer
Dec 14, 2009
9,694
31
Birmingham, AL
I remember this thread from way back, but I missed the chain and the other free moving works.

I love that stuff...

I tried to carve a chain... once... and failed miserably... that's tough.
My Step-Dad was into wooden toys, oddities. (That was the engineer in him.)

He didn't do any carving but wood working none the less.

Here's an example of some of his work (the cogs).

If I can get a collection of photos of his stuff together I'll post them up.
IMG00211.jpg


 
Status
Not open for further replies.