Santa springs up from cypress
Many young boys collect items like mini cars, train sets and building blocks. Dan Faber, however, seemed to gravitate toward knives and carving tools.
The Indiana native grew up in Miami. Faber often carried around a pocket knife, even at school.
“Back in those days, every kid in elementary school carried a knife. It was just a different time back then,” he said. “I carried a knife all the way through high school. My parents even gave me knives.”
Early on, Faber showed potential in the craft of carving, and his brother saw the talent.
“My brother would always buy me carving type knives and tools. He recognized my ability more than I did,” Faber said. “I just enjoyed it. I liked making things. I still do.”
Faber recalled his mother saving a couple of his first soft stone carvings – one was of an elephant, while the other was a dog. Faber was in second grade at the time.
Not all of his work was immediately appreciated. He once carved the United States’ map into the dashboard of his family’s 1953 Buick.
Since then, Faber has spent his life creating works of art by carving raw items such as stone and wood. He enjoys working with cypress knees, which are the bumps that form on the cypress tree roots. Cutting off the bumps encourages more growth and does not harm the roots.
“It’s like cutting off a wart,” he said.
The cypress knees Faber harvests comes from the swamps in Alabama, and no two are alike, making each work one of a kind.
“The idea is to carve what the item or piece dictates,” he said.
Faber is approaching the 500-piece mark, as each item he creates is numbered.
He also carves using a chainsaw for much larger items, such as the Santa Claus that was on display in front of the Murphy Art Center during the holidays.
Faber has carved birds and ducks, but found the work to be too tedious and time consuming, as their feathers are specific, numerous and detailed. He also tried carving Mary and baby Jesus, before realizing how difficult female faces are to carve.
Faber’s daughter, Carol Ann Demney, once told him of a Mary and Jesus piece he did that Mary was too ugly and people wouldn’t stand for it. She turned it around so the item faced the wall.
“Santa can be ugly, a male face can be anything and it doesn’t matter, but if you make an ugly woman everybody knows it – and nobody likes it,” Faber said with a laugh.
He focuses primarily on creating Santa Claus pieces, as the cypress knees are somewhat pointed at the top and wider at the bottom, resembling the old world European Santa who has a robe.
“Everybody loves Santa except the Grinch, and they’re fun to make,” Faber said.
He carves many of his pieces in the evening while watching television.
“I carve and my wife knits, and then I turn on the vacuum and get all of my chips off the floor,” he said. “She never complains.”
Some of Faber’s other creations include hand tool and chainsaw carvings of large bears, wood-covered Bibles and push toys for children. He enjoys capturing the beauty in “found wood.”
He has made hundreds of walking sticks and carved numerous ducks and decoys, some of which were housed in a Sylacauga, Ala., museum in earlier years.
In addition, Faber has been generous with his knowledge, teaching the art of carving to young folks as well as adults for 40 years. Faber has taught in groups like as Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Pioneer Girls and even on a Russian Aeroflot flight, where he gave a class to four others in mid-air.
He enjoys making items and tries to avoid commissioned jobs, as he wants to do the work his way. Faber also does blacksmithing and welding, as he comes from a family of blacksmiths.
Faber lives in Wolf Creek with his wife of 47 years, Dale. They have three grown children and four grandchildren. There’s no shortage of people around for him to teach his craft to.
For details or to see Faber’s work, visit thesantaclausshop.com.