Sometimes seemingly unrelated factors determine the paths that people follow. In the case of Charles Smalligan these included early childhood memories of freshly sawn wood; Joyce Kilmer’s poem “Trees”; fence rows made of pine stumps; a leaf collection assignment; a love of the out-of-doors; a trip to Europe; a competetive spirit, the warmth and dynamics of hardwoods and the discovery of a God-given talent for sculpture.
As a result this self-taught artist has been involved in wood carving and sculpture since the late 1970’s. Mr. Smalligan is a retired science teacher who is currently involved in creating works of art, giving private instruction in carving and wood sculpture and teaching English at Peking University in Beijing, China.
