Woodcarvers are a unique breed of any of our modern hobbies. Somewhere along the way, the idea of transforming a chunk of wood into a work of art took hold and never let go. In Steve Collinske’s case, he caught the ‘wood bug’ at the age of 28 during a long winter in Colorado Springs. He said, “You’d sit in the garage and look at the boat and say, I wish I could get the boat out of the driveway or decide to do something constructive. And that’s what I choose to do.” From that point forward he’s had some sort of project going ever since. Through trial and error, Steve has become an outstanding self-taught woodcarver. Working in the field of construction, Steve has always had an interest working with his hands and enjoying the outdoors. It’s no surprise that he chose wildlife in their natural environment to carve. A lot of his pieces have been birds and sea life. In fact, one of his first pieces was an American coot (not to be confused with an Australian geezer).
Everything Seemed To Be In A Fog
There came a moment that Steve had to put down his wood knives, files and sandpaper due to his loss of clear vision quality. Steve said, “Well, first thing that happened was my vision started going away and it was frustrating me immensely. It got so bad that I couldn’t continue carving. So I went to my eye doctor for a check up and he recommended Dr. Davies. Although, I’d already had cataract surgery while living in Arizona, Dr. Davies informed me that I had a secondary cataract. And that was the reason everything seemed to be on a fog, which made is really difficult to paint. One moment it was there and the other moment it wasn’t! It would leave me sitting midstream with a wet brush and nowhere to put the paint.”
We’re glad to report that Steve’s youthful vision has been restored and he’s back in the wood shop for good. He said, “Everything is a lot brighter! It’s like the fog has been lifted. I’ve gone back to my carving, which I love. It was so depressing sitting around and not having this to slide off to. It’s like that blinds have been opened and I can see as good as I ever saw.” Steve was kind enough to share some advice for anyone just starting out as a woodcarver. He said, “It’s a beautiful art, but you have to have a lot of patience. It takes years and years to become a master, and you really have to love it to do it.”
“I’d recommend Dr. Davies in a minute. He is a great guy and very good doctor. He helped me feel at ease during the whole experience. I have no problem telling somebody else that if you have a problem, Dr. Davies is the one to see…he’ll fix you right up. I Just want to say thank you to Dr. Davies and the staff. Everything was fantastic!”