Jim Foster Wood Carving Workshop

Jim Foster, owner of the Matador Hair Studio in Piqua, Ohio, is a wood carver of many years. Jim also teaches wood carving classes, and has been doing so for 13 years. Over the past 7 years, he has been forming three dimensional pieces that many people enjoy recreating. Jim loves showing people how to make a piece of wood come alive.

In his youth, Jim was very interested in drawing, and did a lot of it to pass the time. He then graduated high school, went off to Barber College, and worked for three months’ time. Next, Jim served in the army for three years, married his girlfriend at the time with whom he had three great children. From then on, he stayed in the Barber business, as well as occasionally helping his brother-in-law build houses on his days off.

When Jim was about 50 years old he got together with his best friend, who taught him a little bit about carving. The art interested Jim, and once he started to carve, he loved it, and began developing a great skill for it. One day, he adventured to Branson, MO, and found himself carving there for a week. Though he was nervous, he became impressed with his own skill. In Branson, he was introduced to carving with rough outs, which then made it a lot easier for him.

After 6 years of practice with different types of carvings for others, Jim began to design his own pieces for others to carve. Since then, he has made many rough outs of various shapes and sizes. Jim continues to practice wood carving in his studio at the Matador in Piqua, Ohio, where he hosts a weekly wood carving class every Wednesday night. There, nearly every day is filled with a wood carving adventure.