Two years ago I visited a museum in a small village near my town which displays the wooden sculptures of a local artist, Uno Axelsson. He was 53 years old when he started making sculptures and about 80 when he died. He made about 250 wooden sculptures, big and small. He found his inspiration in nature, studying animals, and collecting oddly shaped pieces of wood.
He started with smaller things like bowls:
But went on to also making big, life-size sculptures:
All his sculptures were made in one piece.
The eyes are not glass but painted and lacquered.
He never sold any sculptures. He gave some away but kept most of them in a private museum in his own barn.
After his death, the collection was moved to a new museum built by the local folklore society. More photos from there can be seen here (my blog from 2010)
In 2010, we had a stone sculptor working on this gigantic stone head in the town centre during a sculpture festival (going on all summer). The finished sculpture has been moved to another place. I think I have a photo of it finished as well, but I can’t find it now. The polished surface has the darker colour you can see in the top left photo, under the ear.
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See more things made by hand:
Friday My Town Shoot Out
