Skip to content

Wood carving seminar returns to Golden City

Rossland arts council hosts the 2022 Wood Carving Seminar with local artist Lars Baggenstos
29475995_web1_220623-TRL-Wood-sculpture-ss_2
The bear wood carving was done by Rossland artist Lars Baggenstos at the 2020 Wood Carving Seminar and can be found on Centennial Trail. (Jim Bailey photo)

Dare to witness the magic of life emerging from a large block of wood, then come to the 2022 Wood Carving Symposium at the corner of Columbia Avenue and Spokane Street in Rossland from June 23 to 26.

The Rossland Council for the Arts will host the second such symposium with the theme Courage and Movement, and will welcome carvers Lars Baggenstos, Trevor Angus, and Damian John.

Starting with a chainsaw and finishing with a small chisel, the public can witness the artistic process in motion, as the carvers progress from concept to completion.

“The presence of public art demonstrates to visitors and residents that Rossland is not just an active sporting community but also a dynamic arts and culture community that makes art accessible,” read an arts council release.

Born in Germany and raised in Switzerland, Baggenstos currently lives in Rossland where his distinctive wood sculptures can be seen around the community and on Centennial Trail. Baggenstos learned his trade at a woodcarving school in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland, and has honed his craft to a greater degree since moving to the Golden City.

Baggenstos also helped organize and participated in the first wood carving symposium in September 2020.

“I hope to create with the wood carving symposium a bi-annual happening that grows over time and attracts more artists to Rossland,” said Baggenstos on his webpage. “That’s my goal at the end of the whole thing is to bring artists together.”

Angus is a Gitxsan/Wetsuweten artist born and raised in Kispiox, BC, he now lives in Vancouver. Angus trained at the Gitanmaax School of Northwest Coast Indian Art at ‘Ksan in Hazelton, and has studied under Gitxsan Master Carvers Ken Mowatt and Vernon Stephens.

The prolific artist has also worked with Haida artist Shawn Edenshaw and Nisga’a artist Robert Tait, and in 2013 and 2014, Angus completed the Northwest Coast Jewellery Arts program at Vancouver’s Native Education College, learning repoussé and stone-setting techniques.

He apprenticed with renowned Gitksan jeweller Phil Janzé, engraving silver and gold jewellery.

John is a Tl’azt’en artist living in Ymir who is highly influenced by his indigenous heritage and uses his art through painting and sculpture to explore and expose a variety of indigenous themes.

As his bio indicates: “He is self taught and continues to grow as he explores his passion for creation, trying to find a voice for the various spaces his mind and emotion inhabit.”

The seminar will commence at noon on Thursday with an opening Indigenous prayer and will go until 5 p.m.

It will continue from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Friday to Sunday (June 23-26), where residents and visitors can see the three guest artists openly carve masterful sculptures.

The three new sculptures will then be featured on Rossland’s Centennial Trail for trail users to enjoy year-round.

“We recognize that a public art piece that is professional, of high artistic merit, and a subject that people can identify with, creates an appreciation and legacy for the arts by the general public.”

Attendees can vote on Sunday for the public choice award.

Check out Angus’ work at the Lattimer Gallery in Vancouver at www.lattimergallery.com/collections/trevor-angus.

Baggenstos’ art can be seen at www.larsbaggenstos.com, and John’s work on his website www.caribouwoman.com.

Read: Alexander Bacon highlights Nelson International Mural Festival



sports@trailtimes.ca

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter



Jim Bailey

About the Author: Jim Bailey

Read more