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He’s known as ‘The Stickman’.
In fact, his Facebook page can easily be found at: neilthestickman.
A quick walk around Neil Terry’s booth at the Penticton Farmers’ Market on a Saturday morning, and it’s quite easy to understand why.
“Well, I started out basically with hiking sticks and canes, which is why ‘The Stickman’ kind of came about. People just started calling me that and it grew from there,” explained Terry. “It’s basically a hobby that became a job. I’m semi-retired and work three days a week, and do this the rest of the time.
“I do a little bit of everything – woodworking, carving, I make fairy garden stuff, painting, a little bit of sculpture – whatever strikes my fancy on any given day.”
Indeed, Neil Terry’s table is a treasure trove of mostly wood pieces, such as rustic signs with every saying in the book, and then some! He has some paintings hanging for patrons to view, beaded keychains, and even tic-tac-toe boards with painted stones as moveable pieces.
One particular carving stands out – and requires an explanation.
“This piece is actually spalted maple. This is kind of cool. When I start carving, the first thing you do is remove the bark. With this one, the bark came off in one piece, so I made a removable corset,” explained Terry of his creativity. “You can dress her back up again when the pastor’s coming for dinner.”
Every piece of wood is different. Each piece is suited for a carving.
“With this one (corset), the shape of the wood was pretty much there to begin with, so I was able to basically bring out what was already there,” explained Terry. “Sometimes I’ll start with a preconceived ‘This is what I’m doing’, and other times, it just kind of comes out of the wood as I’m carving.
"I did one a couple years ago that was going to be a ballet dancer. I started and struggled for a week. I came out one morning and I had it upside down from where I’d been carving, and I’m like, ‘It’s totally a dragon!’ I ended up carving a dragon instead of a ballet dancer.
“Sometimes it’s like the wood has a mind of its own.”
Neil Terry also specialized in fairy houses, and had many on display.
“I build the box basically. I carve in the shapes for shingles, and doors, I use junk jewelry mostly for the windows, and then I use a ceramic tile adhesive that I’ve tinted grey, and glue all the rocks on,” he said. “I put a little hole in the bottom so people can put in tea lights in it, and they can set up a little fairy garden.
“Basically I make it a birdhouse – but then I’lI pretty it up and make a fairy house.”
The small fairy houses sell for $65.
Terry will work on four or five houses at a time, spending roughly five hours over a couple of afternoons.
He uses mostly driftwood, and has a friend with a mill where he can get outside cuts – perfect for carving whatever comes into his mind.
“It’s all scrap to most people, whereas to me it’s the lumpiest, most interesting pieces. I buy very little,” said Terry. “Most of it is from free firewood piled out at the sawmill, and stuff I find out in the bush when I’m out hiking.”
The Stickman’s other claim to fame are his rustic signs.
The sayings he carves into the wood run the gamut.
“Some of them I’ll see on a T-shirt or a bumper stick. I’ve got one over there that says, “I got aphids from a dirty hoe’. That was a custom piece for a customer, and I didn’t charge him for the sign, cause I was totally stealing that,” explained Terry with a laugh. “But I try to keep it family friendly."
Terry watches the market, and if he finds something missing, he’ll get out his carving tools.
“These little dog dish trays, there used to be people in the market selling them,” he said. “I noticed this year there’s nobody doing it, so I added that to my inventory.
“It changes all the time. When I get new ideas, or the market is saturated and certain things stop selling, I quit making it.”
The Penticton Farmers’ Market helps The Stickman promote his wood carvings and paintings in many ways.
“It’s huge. This market is one of the best markets anywhere,” he said. “We get people coming from big cities all over North America and the world. They are blown away by how vibrant this market is.
“For me, sales-wise, you couldn’t ask for a better market.”
And to finish off, here’s The Stickman’s favourite rustic signs, which are currently for sale.
“If you’re looking for a sign, that you should have a glass of wine... this is it!” said Neil Terry, adding, “And the second one would be, ‘It takes a lot of balls to golf the way I do’.”
The Stickman can be found every Saturday at the Penticton Farmer’s Market.