Lichtensteiger

Products found in this category: 18

Wendy Lichtensteiger Artist - Wood Carver

Wendy Lichtensteiger is a Vermont woodcarver who specializes in carving lifesize birds. Lictensteiger graduated college with a degree in Studio Art. Though she knew her Dad had carved wooden birds for 30 years, it was not something she thought she was interested in. But then she tried it.

The Art of Bird Sculpture

Creating a Bird Sculpture, from picking the perfect log, the act of cutting and shaping, beginning to see the end result, and the endless subject matter, is invigorating and addictive, says Lichtensteiger. Once she got the taste for carving birds in wood, Wendy was addicted. In 2000, she moved back to New Jersey and began what would be 6 years of apprenticeship in her Dad’s garage.

After that, she moved here to Vermont and set up her Studio. Visiting Stowe one day, she met Susan, saw our Art Gallery at Stowe Craft and felt what a great fit it would be for her wood bird sculptures.

Wendy Lichtensteiger Likes Wormy Chestnut

Wendy carves using American wormy Chestnut. This wood is full of character. Each piece has a unique fluid & feathery grain. Tiny "wormholes" are usually found in the wood adding to it's unique appearance. Most of Lichtensteiger's bird sculptures are stained rather than painted, enhancing the chestnuts “feathery” grain. Whether on a table, hung on the wall or flying through the air, each Wendy Lichtensteiger piece displays the beauty of nature both in the grain of the wood and the natural form of the subject.

Before succumbing to blight in the early 20th Century, American Chestnut was considered the “queen” of our eastern forests. The wood being lightweight, soft, easy to split and its resistance to decay made it a natural choice for poles, fences, pilings, and log cabins. After dying many of the trees left standing were infested with small borers, who chewed pin sized holes into the wood, hence the term “wormy”. Cracks and checks are a natural characteristic of the wood.