People’s Choice
In addition to People’s Choice Best In Contest, Jerry Mifflin of Springdale, Ark., earned the People’s Choice in the Relief Carving Category with his Lake Norman Survival Mantel.
Jerry Mifflin took home two well-deserved awards for his Lake Norman Survival Mantel: People’s Choice Best of Contest and People’s Choice in the relief carving category.
“The concept for my mantel was an underwater scene depicting the natural food chain in a bass fishing lake,” Jerry explained. “My inspiration for the design and its elements came from my childhood, growing up swimming and fishing in the rivers and lakes of north-central Arkansas.”
The mantel is essentially a box with an open reinforced back that mounts on a 2 x 4 anchored to the fireplace. It is 12″ wide, 12″ deep, and 96″ long. Jerry made the top shelf, bottom, and molding from white oak. The carved face and returns are basswood. The piece took about 150 hours to carve.
Editor’s Choice
Steven Smith of Falls, Pa., earned the Editor’s Choice award with his Mandala.
The editors felt that Steven Smith designed and executed a difficult piece perfectly. The overall size of the Mandala project, 36″ by 36″, increased the difficulty of carving a regular repeating design, especially in the center. The fact that the piece was carved from a hard wood such as teak only increased the editors’ admiration of the piece.
A mandala is a traditional tool to focus attention and help with meditation. Normally circular in design, the elements of the mandala draw the viewer in toward the center. Today, mandalas also imply a sense of unity with the world and other people.
Scroll down to see a gallery of all of the entries in the Relief Category.
