Welcome to the Cranbrook & District Arts Council

Bob Kirk started carving in 1991 and although self-taught, Gunther Guyer, a master carver from Bavaria was a mentor who helped Bob to believe in himself.

Since that time, Bob has gone

on to become a skilled carver

himself and has won multiple awards. He now mentors others and offers individual instruction in various carved sculpting techniques.

Bob explains that wood and bark, as opposed to clay, is a very unforgiving medium to work with. When a mistake is made with clay you can add on another piece - it's an ongoing process - but with wood, once that piece is chiseled away, there's no way to put it back on. Bob finds that this fact makes carving that much more rewarding.

Bob carves with wood, bone and antlers using everything from a chainsaw to a small grinder and chisels. He creates what he calls 'wood spirits' from dead hollow trees laying on the ground. Faces appear out of gnarled, dried wood where the knots and grain become part of the sculpture.

Bob leaves bark on much of his work, an idea he pursued after too many people scraped his displayed work with their fingernails to see if it was indeed wood and not a ceramic casting. Bob also simply enjoys the look of bark.

To view a large relief carving project commemorating Cranbrook's Centennial and depicting 100 Years of Artistic History, that Bob was involved with both as a mentor and as sculptor, click here

Contact The Cranbrook & District Arts Council at (250) 426-4223 or EMAIL us.

Visit our Office location @ Artrageous Art Gallery!

Visit the Key City Theatre Gallery