Rural Missouri - December 2017 - 23
Below: Jim forges and heat treats many of the tools he uses to scrape, etch and carve details into the
hard-to-reach places of his work. "I'm always making different shapes of tools because I have to fit something in there and don't have a tool that does it," the artist says. Below right: Jim was inspired by rattlesnakes and skinks he saw in the wild when he crafted the minute bumps and ridges in this dragon's eye.
Jim carves these pieces from the bases of naturally shed moose antlers.
rambles in the woods and waters of southwest Missouri. "I don't want to just make a snapping
turtle - it's got to be a 'Jim Hughes' snapping turtle."
During a walk through the woods or a float trip down the river he mentally stores the textures
of feathers and scales to render into his art. Even while out turkey hunting he says he probably
spends more time looking under rocks for snakes than pursuing game.
"I like to see the way their scales overlay, the bumpy skin around the eyes and how the eyelids
fit together because that can then be translated into my reality," Jim says. "Most people just see
a snake, but if you look deeper, you start to see things."
Jim likes working different materials into his carvings when they accentuate a certain design.
Through a network of other artist friends he's formed over the years, he's received different types
of horns and shells plus more exotic materials such as petrified wood and fossilized dinosaur
and mammoth bones. Some of these materials end up decorating Jim's antlers, adding natural
color and features to the sculpture. The gar necklace around Jim's neck bears some of this ornamentation: Polished black chips of buffalo horn are inlaid for gills, and abalone shell eyes gleam
above a jagged smile cut from bison bone.
Even with a portfolio of fine art as richly realized as Jim's, he thinks the best pieces are yet to
come. He's come a long way from those first feathers back in Illinois, and he isn't even close to
running out of ideas.
"I may hit a border some day and realize 'this is it,' but I hope I don't," Jim says. "In two years,
hopefully, I'm doing better work than I am now. As far as I'm concerned, the sky's the limit."
To see what's in the workshop or to order a piece of art from Jim Hughes Carving, go to www.
jimhughescarving.com. Like and follow Jim on Facebook at http://s.coop/25wws.
Below left: Jim added other natural
materials to his moose antler sculpture,
"The Nature of Things," including
buffalo horn and coral for eyes and
the salamander's spine. Walnut and
mountain mahogany make up the base.
Below right: Many of Jim's works
are inspired by outdoor experiences. A
hummingbird sips from a trumpet vine
flower in his piece, "Ruby Summer."
Lebanon
http://www.jimhughescarving.com
http://www.jimhughescarving.com
http://www.s.coop/25wws
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Rural Missouri - December 2017
Contents
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - Intro
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - Cover1
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - Cover2
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - Contents
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - 4
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - 5
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - 6
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - 7
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - 8
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - 9
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - 10
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - 11
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - 12
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - 13
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - 14
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - 15
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - 16
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - 17
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - 18
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - 19
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - 20
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - 21
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - 22
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - 23
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - 24
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - 25
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - 26
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - 27
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - 28
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - 29
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - 30
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - 31
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - 32
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - 33
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - 34
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - 35
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - 36
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - 37
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - 38
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - 39
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - 40
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - 41
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - 42
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - Cover3
Rural Missouri - December 2017 - Cover4
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