Morongo Basin Wood Carvers want to whittle with you

Every Tuesday morning, a group of more than a dozen amateur artists gather in Yucca Valley to carve wood. 

I stopped in to one of their most recent meetings, and was met by a table full of skulls, walking sticks, and little wooden people of all shapes and sizes. 

They call themselves the Morongo Basin Wood Carvers, and they describe themselves as both a class and a club. A place where people can come to learn to carve wood, then stick around to work on collaborative projects. 

Here’s Richard Davenport, explaining why he likes to carve. 

“Why do you enjoy carving? That’s a good question. That’s just, only thing you can really create with, very little, you don’t need a talent, you don’t need, all you need is a knife, and you can go from there to, to use the electrical tools, and buying more knives, and files. You can do whatever you can imagine you can do. I’ve been carving since I was a kid, but I didn’t get serious about it until I joined this group.”

Everybody comes to the session to work on their own projects in the group setting. They teach each other things, connect, and most importantly, carve.”

Here’s Mary Worthen.

“Everyone does different things. They do walking sticks. I do little people. Linda does even smaller people. Jim does skulls. He does cowboys. Carolyn does spoons. So we all do something different, but we have a group project is our western town, and we’re working on the mercantile.We’ve already done the Sheriff’s Office and the saloon.”

Worthen took me across the Community Center to see the saloon and it is a stunner. A several foot long diorama, it features dozens of carved wooden characters in action across the two-story wooden saloon. It’s on display at the Yucca Valley Community Center if you want to see it in person and you should.

But the Morongo Basin Wood Carvers is more than an artists collective. It’s an essential community gathering place. Here is Carolyn Lee. 

“I’m carving kitchen utensils. Forks, spoons, knives. I’m going to get into cups and bowls pretty soon. I started about three years ago. And I found that it brought me back into social life. Conversation, laughter, something I was lacking a lot of was the humor and the laughter that people bring into your lives through their own experience. I’ve gained that here. I’ve gained new friends. It’s just a wonderful experience.”

If you want to learn to carve, the group meets at the Yucca Valley Community Center’s Ocotillo Room every Tuesday from 9:00 a.m. until noon. Bring $2 to cover supplies and lunch.

No experience is required. Take it from Wink.

“My opinion is if you can sign your name, you can carve.”

Jef Harmatz

Jef Harmatz

Jef Harmatz is the co-host of Z107.7’s “Morning Show with Cody and Jef” and Z107.7’s News Director. He has worked as a journalist, cartoonist, chef, and delivery driver. He is known nationally for his writing and comics in publications like TimeOut, Popula, Roadtrippers, Solrad and Spiralbound, and for his album covers for Third Eye Blind and Sir Sly. He is known locally for his pop-up barbecue restaurant Hot Dog Panic. He remains unknown in the field of beekeeping, because he is too afraid of being stung to try it. When not on the radio, he draws comics and self-publishes little books. He lives with his partner and his dog Sunday in Yucca Valley, where he cooks them both elaborate meals.