Rotterdam woodcarver's work to be featured in Tribes Hill Heritage Center

230123C (1) — PHOTOGRAPHER: Peter R. Barber

Article Audio:

Share on Facebook

Save

ROTTERDAM – Over the last few decades, Carl Borst has carved and chiseled a new career for himself.

From his backyard studio on South Westcott Road in Rotterdam, the 89-year-old shapes and chips away at wood sculptures on a near-daily basis, creating everything from towering eagles to figurines of people, including some past presidents.

Most recently, he’s crafted a soaring eagle, its wings spread wide and its claws grasping a fish.

Once he puts the finishing touches on the bird, made out of white pine, he plans to deliver it to the Tribes Hill Heritage Center on Mohawk Drive, an educational facility that highlights Native American culture and history.

Borst said he’s previously donated some of his sculptures to the organization and the center’s leaders commissioned the eagle for its new space, formerly the Tribes Hill Presbyterian Church.

Since Borst began working on the eagle last year, he’s spent close to 90 hours on it.

Images: The art of Rotterdam wood carver Carl Borst (6 photos)

“As I’m getting older, I’m slowing down a little bit but I used to carve every day just about,” Borst said. “When I got involved with it, I really, really wanted to become good at it. So I’ve spent many, many hours on it, trying to make every piece better than the last one.”

He first got into wood carving when he was in his 60s after seeing a demonstration of the art form.

“I bought a couple of tools, [came] home and I jumped into it,” Borst said, adding, “I was always very artistic. I could draw just about anything I saw. So it became quite easy for me to get into carving because I could envision what I wanted to do.”

He picked up the techniques largely on his own.

“I got so interested in it, it forced me into retiring because I was sitting at work thinking about what I was gonna carve when I came home,” Borst joked. “I really progressed very fast. I joined a [carving] club. About six months after I joined the club, some of the members were coming to me to find out how I did certain things.”

Over the years, other carvers have come to him for help, especially when it comes to capturing the human form.

“Everybody agrees, the human figure is probably the most difficult to perfect. And I specialize in the human figure which is why so many people come to me [who] struggle with trying to do the human figure. If you can carve a human figure correctly, you can carve just about anything,” Borst said.

He’s been a longtime member of the Mohawk Valley Art & Woodcarving Association and has written for the National Wood Carvers Association’s magazine. His work has been purchased by or gifted to people around the world, including Europe and New Zealand.

“In the carving world, I’m pretty well known. People down the street, three doors away, don’t even know I carve,” Borst said.

The eagle will soon be on view at the Tribes Hill Heritage Center, located at 360 Mohawk Dr., Tribes Hill. For more information visit tribeshillheritagecenter.com.

Images: The art of Rotterdam wood carver Carl Borst (6 photos)