Spirit of the Woods

   Lundy Cupp sees faces. The artist in residence in Kingston Springs has carved out a full-time career from the humblest of materials, the flotsam and jetsam of the forest, as it were. His incredible wood sculptures have made his face almost as familiar here in his adopted home town as that of his Old Man in the Tree, a sentinel on Main Street.

   Cupp grew up Minnesota, the land of lakes (and trees), and brought his love of the outdoors to Tennessee some 25 years ago. Just about six years ago, while enjoying a campfire in the woods on his property, he was fascinated with a particular piece of firewood. Sparing it from the flames, he took it home and started carving.

   That experience kindled his ardor for the craft, and brought to light a previously unexpected talent. (“It surprised both my family and me,” he says. I can’t draw anything more complicated than a smiley face.”) He set to work educating himself on types of wood, varieties of tools, and finishing techniques.     

   Along the way, he discovered the spirit in dead wood. He calls his method “freehand” carving.

   “I look at a piece of wood, and let the shape and the grain dictate the work,” he says. “I exaggerate what’s already there.”

   Cupp has worked with all types of woods—cherry, white and red oak, cedar, dogwood, maple—and says that walnut is one of his favorite. Whatever the material, he begins with a chainsaw, and uses a chisel for detail. 

   Cupp sells his freehand pieces, and also does custom work. Last year he was commissioned by the city to work his magic on a post oak on Main Street. His nearly ten-foot-tall Old Man in the Tree would normally have taken him three days to complete, but the project took three weeks instead, because of all the people stopping him to talk. This year he plans to carve faces—a lot of faces—out of the 12-foot oak behind the Old Man.

   “It’ll be a work in progress,” he says. “There’ll be faces all around it—and I’ll try not to scare the kids.”

   Speaking of scary, Cupp has found a new niche: Pumpkin carving. He plans to conduct workshops, and if his mastery of woodcarving is any indication, he may one day be known as Lord of the Gourd.
   Actually, he considers himself still a novice. He says he’s found a breathtaking array of talent at the Leipers Fork Carving Club, which he recently joined.

   Modesty aside, Cupp’s fame is spreading. His work can be seen as far away as Michigan and even Canada (“I’m international!” he laughs), and he’s working now on a large piece for a lodge in Colorado. 

        (To see Lundy Cupp’s stunning wood carvings, stop by the Harpeth Art Center & Gallery, 462 Highway 70 in Pegram, or visit www.lundycupp.com.)