Burrowing away, armed only with the patience of a saint and a tiny carving knife, a single angelic shaft of light illuminates Tom Parkes world.
The earthy scent of fresh pine shavings swirls around our nostrils as our feet shuffle around the varnish-stained cement floor of Parkes darkened townhouse garage.
Encroaching from high above and closing in from every crevice below are slices, blocks and slivers of wood of all size and variety.
Eyes widening under his steel-rimmed glasses, Parkes carefully selects a thin flap of scrap wood from a pile and shows it off.
To the uninitiated, the item is completely worthless. To Parkes the Richmond Carving Society president its a precious piece of wooden gold, full of treasured texture and possibilities.
His garage the smell, the tools and, of course, the wood is his life.
When hes not being a graphic designer to pay the bills in his south Richmond home, Parkes is holed up in the garage workshop, fixated over this latest creation.
I probably spend four or five hours a day in here, said Parkes, whos been carving wondrous wooden creations for 45 years.
I go to shows six or seven times a year. But Im still a working man, although I want to quit some time soon and become a full-time carver.
Breaking away from fashioning snail-shaped feet for a giant jewelry box a six to eight-month project Parkes shines the dust off two magnificent works of art in the darkest corner of his shop.
One is a three-foot high ornate vase and the second is an incredibly detailed morning glory flower with a hummingbird.
Each, Parkes revealed, took around 150 hours to carve and each, he hopes, will fetch up to $1,500 at a show some time soon.
It sounds like a lot of money, but it works out to about minimum wage really, he said.
I have sold a piece before that allowed me to go out and buy a car.
Parkes dedication and passion for carving is typical of the other members in the society.
We get together every week to show off our latest work and we help each other out in terms of problem solving and ideas. Everyone really bands together.
Around 70 men and women, young and old, make up the 24-year-old Richmond Carvers Society. The youngest is a 16-year-old girl; the oldest an 84-year-old man.
Weve been approaching the wood shops at the schools, and at every show we invite all the students to take part and enter. Theres a $100 Top Student Award, said Parkes.
The Richmond Carvers Society 24th Annual Woodcarving Show will be held on Saturday May 25 and Sunday May 26 at Steveston Community Centre. More than 100 carvers will come to show off their creations, from as far as Alberta and Washington State.
