Human hands have the power to bring things back to life, if people work with love and use their imagination. Then, one can make some amazing works which inspire with their beauty.

Once upon a time there was a piece of wood. It was no special wood. It was an ordinary large log which was usually used for heating during the winter. This is how the fairytale about Pinocchio begins. It tells us that someone like Geppetto the woodcarver can turn even the most uncomely things into something wonderful.

Bulgarian woodcarver Vlad Vladov made many piecesof wood, found in forests or in abandoned yards, look alive. The seventy nine year-old craftsman made firebirds and multiple figures of Bulgarian housewives during his long career.He also used to make wooden airplanes when he was still a young boy. Perhaps, that is why the man born in the village of Beli Osam (Lovech district) decided to join the Bulgarian Airforce Academy in the town of Dolna Mitropolia (Pleven district) and become an aircraft engineer. Later, Vlad was employed at the helicopter airbase in Krumovo and stayed there until his retirement. However, the most exciting moments of his life were when he exercised his hobby in his workshop after work.

“I realized that I was a skillful woodcarver when I started work. I did not have enough time to do woodcarving when I worked in Dobrich, but when I moved to Krumovo I had the chance to work much more with wood. My works were based on my curiosity. I also used photos, in order to make my wooden paintings. Woodcarving taught me a lot of lessons, but the most important one was to stay calm. Time was flying when I was working in the basement and my wife used to call me quite often for dinner. In other words, woodcarving is an interesting and time-consuming hobby.”

Was wood able to “speak”, or your imagination “saw” the images?

“First I choose the picture I would like to make and then I select the wood for that work of art”, woodcarver Vlad Vladov went on to say. “Usually it takes me between two and three months to complete a givenpicture. Smaller things take an average of 20 days. However, most pictures are labor-consuming. Linden is the most appropriate wood for woodcarving, because it can be cleaned and matted easily. I also lived for some time in the town of Karlovo (Central South Bulgaria). There were many chopped linden trees in the local forestry and I had plenty of wooden material for my works.”

Today, the basement of Bulgarian aircraft engineer Vladov is full of winter supplies. However, he still keeps his woodcarving instruments there. Vlad admits that he rarely works with wood now. However, those who visit his house are excited with his woodcarvings. Recently, he showed his wonderful works of art for the first time at an exhibition in Aleko gallery in Plovdiv. The exhibition gathered many art fans who made positive comments on his works. Vlado's friends encouraged him to continue exercising his hobby.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov