Elaine and Fred Stenman welcome you to Stenman Studios website. We create low relief woodcarvings of rural and wildlife scenes. Our creations are usually a combination of very shallow relief augmented with wood burned and painted details. Come visit our studio.

Over forty years ago, Elaine and Fred developed a unique style of woodcarving. Elaine had an arts and crafts store background. She asked Fred to take a simple country relief carving class. Elaine loved this type of carving and started to produce pieces. Fred (a very good multimedia artist] draws all the details on each board when the carving layer is completed. His ability to sit down and draw on demand is the keystone of the finished designs.

Our designs concentrate on wildlife (loons, bear, moose etc.) and rural buildings (cabins, barns, lighthouses, and whimsical scenes). The major elements are hand carved. All the details are drawn in to tell a story. The details are wood burned and painted with acrylic washes. Each piece is stained and haloed before four to six coats of hand rubbed varnish is applied.

Initially, we used clear live edge boards which are easy to design. The boards with knots, weird grain or odd shapes were more challenging for Fred to come up with designs that worked. These boards create truly one-of-a-kind pieces of art. These unique pieces sell faster and for higher prices than the clear boards. We also found that the boards worked well for extra detailed flat wood burnings.

Most of our pieces are sold at art shows where customers can see and feel the textures. Our finished woodcarvings and wood burnings are also available for sale online. Each piece is an original and may have already been purchased. Please contact us directly for availability.

We also offer patterns for relief carvers and wood burners online. You can either download them or have us mail them to you.