Bonny C. Millard photo
Gene Webb with one of his tree trunk carvings.
A childhood fascination with wood led Gene Webb to his lifelong vocation.
Webb, a Townsend, Tenn. resident, is an award-winning woodcarver, artist, and teacher, who uses hand and power tools as well as a chainsaw to create wood spirits, animals and people.
Sitting at ease in his studio, Webb speaks of his lifelong passion of woodcarving and how that intertwines with his love of country music. Autographed photographs of country musicians adorn his studio walls. Webb, who strongly resembles his favorite musician Waylon Jennings, sports his trademark black cowboy hat complete with rattlesnake band (and rattler). He wears a black vest accented with inlaid rattlesnake skin, and finds rattlesnakes intriguing because of their dangerous nature and their handsome skin.
“And I’ve worn one on my hatband since I was 15 years old,” he says with a smile. “I think they’re very interesting, but I don’t play with them.”
A coiled carved rattlesnake — fangs bared, ready to strike — would startle anyone who happened upon it, but Webb is quick to point out that his award-winning creation is only wood.
Webb has paid tribute to Waylon Jennings with a head bust that won Best of Show in 2005 in Johnson City and won blue ribbons in the human figure category in three different shows. Now, in his spare time, he is completing a life-sized carving of Jennings with a guitar that will be attached to the figure’s chest.
“I love wood and anything of wood fascinates me,” he says. “I started carving when I was 10 years old. I’d sit and watch my daddy carving a stick.”
The curly shavings from his father’s whittling inspired his own love of woodcarving. His father bought him a knife, and Gene started carving farm animals. Since that time, the 44-year-old has graduated to more complex pieces that tell stories and win awards. His work has been featured on DIY network’s 2007 Blog Cabin.
Many of his works are stand-alone pieces that can be hung on walls or displayed in cabinets. Webb had a unique opportunity in 2006 to create a garden of wood spirits, bears and other creatures at the Blount County home of David and Jean Nelson.
After purchasing a new home, the couple discovered the roots of several large trees were damaged during construction. An arborist told the Nelsons that the trees were at risk of falling down.
David Nelson had purchased Webb’s work years earlier and came up with an idea: Webb could carve figures in the trees’ trunks. Nelson had the trees cut down to about seven feet.
“I tried to turn something negative into a positive,” he said.
Webb walked around the trees, pondering the possibilities and then fired up his chainsaw, Nelson added. They had some discussions about what to carve, but much of it was left up to Webb’s imagination. The largest tree was transformed into a black bear, native to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. “Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil” that circles a large oak is Nelson’s favorite.
His wife’s favorite is leaf man, one of a pair of trees that supports a hammock.
“In my opinion, [Webb] sets the gold standard because of the detail,” Nelson said. “People are driving by all the time.”
Webb uses a chainsaw to rough out the shape and then adds details with hand tools.
He approaches his subjects in two ways. On drift wood, he sees the basic shape of something and then lets his imagination and talent take over. If he has a particular piece in mind, he uses a larger piece of wood.
For about 16 years, Webb has been teaching his craft to many, including his brother Terry. Gene has also made 11 instructional videos. Working on a piece in Gene’s studio, Terry acknowledges that his brother pushes him to do better.
“All this stuff that he’s been teaching me, he had to learn on his own,” Terry says.
The studio and a store below it are in a renovated barn, originally built by Gene’s grandfather-in-law.
“None of this was planned, but it all worked out perfect,” Gene said.