Custom Relief Carving and Architectural Wood Carving
Fred is often asked to carve custom relief carvings including replicas of broken and missing parts of antique furniture, old fireplace mantels, architectural carvings, and
other decorative elements. But what he really likes and enjoys is realistic and figurative relief woodcarving. Fred’s ability to sculpt allows him to create unique pieces portraying people, animals and still life for any setting. During the past 20 years he created several large relief carvings for churches, schools and other institutions. He also carved many smaller pieces – some of them were custom commission works and some just for his enjoyment. Fred really takes time and tries to capture all details when he carves. He always makes sure the fabric and hair are flowing and the muscles are moving. His relief carvings capture moments in time. Fred loves sculpting and carving women’s faces and he tries to show their emotions and vulnerabilities which can usually be felt just looking at pictures of his work.
Relief carving of a woman’s face – side view. Carved from basswood, stained.
Carved family coat of arms
Angel, basswood relief carving
Decorative panels, relief carving, Honduras Mahogany
Figurative relief wood carving – carved decorative panels from Honduras mahogany. Inspired by Alfons Mucha posters and carved by Fred Zavadil
Carved picture frame, Honduras mahogany
If you like staining and finishing on the basswood carvings below, please check posts where I explain how I seal my carvings before staining and how I stain my carvings
High relief of St. George with the Dragon, carved from basswood and stained
Carving of a profile of a girl, bas relief, stained basswood – this was a gift for my brother in law and his wife when they celebrated their 50st birthdays
Carved and painted family crest, basswood relief carving. If you would like to see different stages of carving and a clay model which I created first for the crest, please visit this page.
Carved sculpture of an angel, this is one of my favorite relief wood carvings – stained basswood.
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Architectural wood carving
Custom carved wooden door elements
These are some of my first woodcarvings which
I carved about 25 years ago.
They are carved from Honduras Mahogany,
my very favorite wood.
Carved door handle with a wood spirit
Carved door key in baroque style
Carved door knocker with a gargoyle
Samples of some of my architectural relief wood carving
Napoleon, 2’8″ x 3’2″ x 4″, This high relief carving was a commission for one of my clients. It is based on the original painting by J-L David. Carved, painted, and stained basswood.
Large relief wood carving: Nature’s Realm, Cambridge, ON
Another of Fred’s large relief carvings for a public art project for the Region of Waterloo. It is carved from a beautiful Black Walnut tree cut down on one of the region’s properties to make room for Christopher Children Centre (30 Christopher Dr., Cambridge, ON). Its name is “Nature’s Realm” and it consists of 6 carved pieces – a large relief panel shows a forest scene with animals native to this area (4′ x 12′) and 5 3-D sculptures of animals. The large piece adorned the entry hall of the Centre, the animals were placed by individual rooms – basically naming those rooms – instead of having rooms 1, 2, 3…. or A, B, C,…, there will be the “Squirrel Room”, “Raccoon Room”, etc…. The Centre is now closed and the piece will be moved to Kitchener airport.
Grand Wood Park Retirement Residence, London, ON
The custom relief carving for Grand Wood Park Retirement Residence in London, ON was finished and installed in 2009. It is a large carving – 10 feet long, 6.5 feet high. It is carved partly from elm wood and partly from basswood. Used elm wood comes from a tree cut on the Residence’s property.
This is one of my very favorite carvings and also one of my first carvings – The Fall of Icarus , The motive is from Bernard Picart engraving and it is carved from Honduras mahogany. Bas Relief Carving.
Model of a cathedral carved from Honduras mahogany, Ornamental relief wood carving
This little cathedral took Fred 3 winters to complete. He would work on it almost every day instead of watching TV in the evenings. Fred carved the cathedral from Honduras Mahogany, his favorite wood. He completed it in 1996 and it really represents his beginnings in woodcarving combining very intricate and detailed ornamental relief carving and realistic figurative carving. It is not a model of any specific cathedral, Fred picked parts he liked from different churches. What you do not see are tiny wood sculptures about 1-1.5 cm ( 1/2″) above entries on both side. The windows are stained to create illusion of stained glass and there are also lights inside – you can actually see colors in windows when the light is on. Fred made the roof from hundreds of little wood pieces. This is a real “one of a kind” piece. The model is under glass case – to protect it from dust and dirt.
Having little fun – relief carving of a Pirate
Santa Claus relief carving tradition
In 2011 Fred won the the Best of Show at the Artistry in Wood in Dayton Ohio and was asked to donate a small carving for the 2012 show. Because the show was not too long before Christmas, Fred thought that the best topic to carve would be Santa Claus. He had so much fun carving and Santa was so much liked by so many people that Fred decided to create a new Santa every Christmas. And he is just carving his fifth one. All of his Santas are little different than what you would usually see around – they are funny, with a twinkle in the eyes, and most of the time show Santa celebrating after Christmas – with Mrs. Claus, with a reindeer, little drink or a bottle, with a couple of elves taking a selfie or a crying child
2019 – Wood carver’s wish list – basswood relief carving
Fred Zavadil, Master wood carver, located in Windsor, Ontario
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