Ken Jessop has a love of trees and nature.
He and his wife Jessie retired to a comfortable home on Sunnybrae Crescent in Fergus 10 years ago after selling the family farm in Erin.
It was at that point in life Jessop was looking for a hobby to fill some free time in his retirement. An avid golfer and curler, his love of wood and what could be created from it became a hobby he has fostered ever since his first carving.
The decision to sell the 250-acre farm, which had been in the family since 1832 when Jessop’s Irish ancestors settled here, coincided with his retirement from farming and the fact his children Paul and Michael weren’t interested in carrying on the tradition.
“Neither one of my sons were farmers so we sold the farm when I retired,” Jessop said.
As part of the sale, he held on to 40 additional acres which was special to him since he planted some 30,000 trees on the property. He admits he was looking for a spot where he and his wife could spend some quiet time.
“A friend of mine offered me a big pile of logs and I built this cabin,” he said. “It’s my quiet place.”
Jessop said he was fascinated by the idea of building a cabin from salvaged logs, but admitted he didn’t know much about how to go about it.
Eventually the cabin was built, piquing his interest in learning more about woodworking.
It wasn’t until he visited his son Michael in Vancouver that the idea of honing his woodworking skills was really carved out, after he visited a city park known for its totem pole carvings.
“I was looking at the totem poles and I said, ‘I can do that,’ so I did.”
His first idea was to carve out a totem pole to stand in front of the cabin.
“I didn’t know what I was doing, I was just fumbling along,” he said of his first carving. “I said, ‘If it doesn’t work I have firewood.’”
The pole would reflect the couple’s life and love of nature and was adorned with a thunder bird at the top, a wine bottle because they enjoyed a glass of wine, a sun and flower.
“It was kind of geared to the cabin,” he said.
Jessop estimated it took about 60 hours to create, using chain saws for the rough cuts, and small saws and carving tools for the finer cuts. Also included was painting the pole’s various symbols.
He would eventually carve out poles for his sons depicting facets of their lives.
For Michael’s Vancouver property, the pole was fashioned with an orca whale and bear, and for Paul, who is a landscaper living on a portion of the former family farm, it included a sun, cat and flower.
For the Vancouver totem pole, Jessop was fortunate enough to connect with a mover who was making a trip to the west coast who agreed to take the totem pole along and deliver it. The poles range in height from eight to 16 feet.
The poles would lead to more intricate carvings of animals, focusing on giraffes.
The decision came about when Jessop and one of his sons were sitting on the deck of his Sunnybrae home looking at some of the trees in the backyard.
He recalls asking his son what kind of an animal design would fit one of the elm trees.
The pair agreed the elm, which was tall and skinny, would lend itself to a giraffe carving.
“That’s what started that,” Jessop adds.
The smaller giraffe carving was teamed up with another larger carved elm and joined as a mother and baby theme. Today the pair adorn the couple’s backyard.
Jessop is always on the lookout for ways to incorporate some of his woodcarving creations.
A structural post for the cabin was carved out of a piece of wood to replace two-by-fours which previously held up the cabin. The post is adorned with a carving of a “mountain man face,” Jessop said.
He has a similar carving in his backyard that stands out with its bright blue painted eyes.
Many of his pieces are created for friends. One wall hanging piece with a mountain man head and deer head carved into it was given to a couple who intended to put it in their cottage, but later changed their mind.
“It stayed in their home,” Jessop said.
Another friend has asked him to create a four-foot bear out of wood and his grandchildren have all received carved pieces.
He’s also created a carving of a piper for a member of the Fergus Pipe Band.
Laurie Black Rooney received the piper as a birthday present from Jessop, something that was a surprise given the pair usually does not exchange gifts.
“It was a big surprise,” she said. “It has a place of pride in our household.”
Jessop also takes commissioned work and is currently building four Muskoka chairs in his basement workshop for a friend.
He is personally considering carving a cougar.
“I’ve got a big cedar log that’s three-feet across so I’d like to do a cougar lying down,” he said of the project he is contemplating.
Jessop has submitted one of his pieces for consideration for the upcoming Elora Sculpture Project.
Artists whose work is chosen will have their pieces displayed around the community. He is hoping the piece will make the grade.
He admits when he starts a project it becomes an obsession.
“I enjoy it,” Jessop said. “The trouble is when I get into a project I can’t leave it until it’s finished. Then I can stand back, enjoy it and do something else.”
Jessop said he has picked up woodcarving advice at the Chipping Away Woodstore in Kitchener and picks up tools from around the area when he is looking for a specific tool needed for a particular carving project.
The workshop in his basement where Jessop designs some of his pieces houses a complete line of tools.
Carving has become a hobby for Jessop who speculates that maybe if he had been exposed to the craft at an earlier age he might have taken it up professionally.
“I was always a farmer,” he said of his choice. “I could have probably built a profession out of this. “I should have been a builder.”
