Bringing wood to life

Sandra Healy is a California artist who makes exquisite wood sculptures of animals. I discovered her etsy shop, SandraHealy and have saved her as one of my favorites. She's got an eye for the essence of a creature and brings it to life in her basswood carvings.

I've always been fascinated with wood carving, and I love the naturalistic, yet stylized portraits of Sandra's. Her animals are carved simply, but with the essential characteristics that make you feel that these are individuals, each with their own personalities. Her carving of the King Penguin and chick is one of my favorites. This piece just makes me smile to look at it. I also love the Bluebird carving, one of her many birds.

In her item descriptions, Sandra says she carves the basswood with knives and chisels, and airbrushes the color with water based inks. Her art is truly collectible, very reasonably priced and each piece is adorable.