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Pye's woodworking wins
Dan Brisebois
 |
Ken Pye of Cold Lake is a master woodworker.
Dan Brisebois
|
Cold Lake Sun — For
local artist Ken Pye, turning an ordinary slab of wood into an intricate work of
art just comes naturally.
What started out as a way to get out of the classroom in high school has evolved
into a hobby that’s garnered international acclaim over the last 30 years.
"I wasn’t the best on the academic side in high school," he says,
adding it didn’t take long to figure out that the industrial arts program was
where he wanted to be.
In fact by his senior year he was the assistant instructor for the Grade 10
classes and ran a woodcarving workshop for seniors a few years later.
"I do it as a hobby. It keeps me out of trouble," he jokes.
But modesty aside, his first actual competition was a two-day event in Edmonton
April 17-18 sponsored by the Northern Alberta Wood Carvers Association. Only
allowed to enter two pieces in each category, he won the top two rankings in the
‘intermediate’ category for relief and plaque carvings. Over 300 carvers
from as far away as Sweden competed, but Pye’s reliefs of the old Kinosoo fish
logo for the Town of Cold Lake and the Edmonton Police Service crest beat them
all. The EPS logo in fact was bought right there as a retirement present for a
prominent outgoing member of the Force. Pye was quickly requisitioned to do two
more for the EPS just like it.
His father was in the Royal Canadian Air Force so it was only natural the
self-professed "army brat" prefers doing military crests, though
he’s tried his hand at other topics which have wound up on all four corners of
the globe.
"I’ve got carvings basically all over the world," he says, noting
the Dutch Air Force crest as among his favourite pieces.
He’s a member of the Cold Lake Arts Society and says spending 60 hours on one
project isn’t uncommon. And although he’s dabbled in other wood workings, he
says, "I’ve done a few sculptures but it doesn’t really get me
going...just doesn’t turn me on."
The satisfaction and peace he gets out of his hobby are the main reasons he’s
done it for three decades. "They’ll probably have to pry the chisels from
my hands when I die."
