My name is Charles Smalligan but I generally go by Charlie. I spent the first 33 years of my adult life teaching science for Grand Rapids public school system. I retired in 2000 and taught Wood carving in my home for three years. In 2003 my wife and I went to China to teach English to high school teachers in Wuhan. From 2005 through 2009, we taught English at Peking University to PhD candidates. Since returning home, I work at Quail Ridge Golf Course a couple of days a week and continue my carving. I think my first interest in Wood as an art form happened when I was about nine years old. My father and I were hunting rabbits on a property that was lined with pine stumps. We began to notice interesting shapes in the root systems so we asked permission to cut a few of those pieces out and take them home. We proceeded to clean them up, put some of them on a base and actually sold a few. My fascination with wood carving began in 1976 in Barcelona, Spain. I happened to wander into a small wood carving shop and watched an elderly man carving a horse. He could speak a little English, so I asked him how do you go about carving a horse? His classic answer, which I found out later was attributed to the great artist Michelangelo, was “you cut away anything that doesn’t look like a horse!” We bought a few of his pieces to give as gifts including a Don Quixote and Sancho. The next summer, I glued up a couple of pieces of pine 2 x 4 and proceeded to produce my first carving using a jackknife. Don and Sancho turned out fairly well , so for Christmas my wife bought me a set of chisels and suggested that I carve a nativity scene. A year or two later, I joined the local Woodland Carver‘s club. I was told I should carve a duck which I did, but I had experienced the beauty of hardwoods (because the nativity was covered from walnut)and I decided that my carving future would be carving woods that have a beautiful color and grain.I have never taken an art lesson and I am completely self taught. One of the first lessons that I learned is what sharp is and what sharp isn’t. I also quickly learned that Michelangelo was correct, and that has been my guideline. I am thankful for having the God given ability to be able to see what is and what isn’t a "horse”. I also learned that wood carving is a subtractive art. Once the wood is gone, it is gone. I am not a purist! I use knives ,chisel’s, burrs, dental bits and whatever else is needed to achieve the desired result. I have continued to carve since the early 80s and began to do competitive carving in 1989. I have competed in local, State, National and International competitions and have won top awards at all levels. I have carved pieces for auctions at Harness Tracks of America and the Rocky Mountain Elk foundation. I continue to do commission work, carve for pleasure, and I am represented by art galleries in Michigan and Minnesota.