Dave Disselbrett started carving Boy Scout neckerchief slides "a lot of" years ago. From there, he moved to carving animals and small figures but there was always a desire to do small caricatures. About 15 years ago, after retiring from volunteering with the Jaycees and the Little League, he started spending more time woodcarving and concentrating on small caricatures.

In addition to bottle stops, he carves over 50 different caricatures from old salt-and-sea captains, baseball players, golfers, fishermen, Uncle Sam's, Santa's, snowmen, pumpkin heads and painters to animals like bears, bunnies, moose, pigs, frogs, ducks, beavers and hippos. There always seems to be one more new design coming from his "what if…" creativity.

His carvings never see a power tool; rather they are hand carved from basswood, also known as the linden tree. Most figures are carved from 2" x 2" or 2" x 2½" blocks. However, some are carved from blocks as large as 8" x 4". Each carving receives paint with acrylics before receiving a sealer to preserve the wood and finish.

Dave is a member of the National Woodcarvers, Capitol Woodcarvers, McKenzie Woodcarvers, Costal Carvers, Lower Columbia Woodcarvers, and the Western Woodcarvers associations. He lives in Salem, Oregon as a retired lumber broker and full-time woodcarver and instructor.

Several of Dave's designs, carvings, and intructional demonstrations have appeared in woodcarving publications. One of his most recognizable designs, "Bufford", appeared in Carving Magazine.

Visit Dave's web site at http://www.angelfire.com/or2/carvingsbydave/ to view many of his carvings. Dave's class schedule is also available on his site as well as on the Capitol Woodcarvers event calendar.