Welcome to the Jim Willis web site!!

Wow! It's hard to believe that I've been actively carving for 35 years.  My early carving ventures were neckerchief slides in Boy Scouts and caricature animals in a high school craft class all with only a pocket knife.

Years later, I heard about a woodcarving show in Kansas City, MO so my wife, Ellen, and baby girl and I went to see it.  The carving bug bit big time, and for the past 35 years it has still been biting.

My main focus has always been on realistic subjects whether it's animal or human.  For the past several years, I have ventured into stylized animal carving.  The past four years, 2007-2010, I have been fortunate enough to win the Walter Grether Award for stylized carving at the Dayton "Artistry in Wood" show.  The Lynx mask and Morning Stretch-Lioness were also Best of Show at the Kansas City Chippers show in 2009 and 2010.  Another diversion has been mini-caricature bottle stoppers which have done well at the AIW show and the Kansas City show as well.  I was also honored by the CCA members at the AIW show with a Merit Award for the bottle stoppers.  I still love carving Santas too and I have been adding a few of them to my rough out supply.

Last year I had two articles in Wood Carving Illustrated.  In the Fall issue, I had an article on 3 view band sawing of blanks, and in the summer issue I had an article on carving American and Canadian flag pins.  Be looking in WCI in the future for an article on my Tequila worm bottle stopper.

I am always working on more animals for upcoming seminars at Woodcarving Rendezvous in June and October.  I taught at the Silver Dollar City seminars for two years and then switched to the new Ozarks Woodcarving Seminar in Springfield, MO last March and will be teaching there again in March of 2012.  For the past 4 years, I have been teaching a seminar for the Bolivar, MO carving club which has been a great experience as well.  Please contact me for a weekend seminar at your club!  The newest piece I have been working on is an elk for my realistic classes and a grizzly for the stylized project.  Look for those two in the near future.

Ellen and I live in Kansas City, MO along with our 2 grown children and 6 grandkids.  Needless to say we are enjoying our Retirement!

Visitors :

Stylized Grizzly
Won The Walter Grether Award
at the Dayton Artistry in Wood Show



Rearing Horse



Mule
New Project