WORKS OF THE CARVER Jim Menken can be found in many places. The Eagles (left) were commissioned by the City of Mississauga and can be found in Riverwood Park. "Bill" (centre) was a work commissioned by a log home owner while the Owl (right) can be found in Hockley Valley. Contributed Photos Jim Menken says that years ago, "there was a gentleman from Australia who was my minister's father-in-law. He told me: 'Whatever you do in art, take every opportunity. If you're passionate about it - do it!' He was a wood turner and was touring all around the world, doing workshops about carving."

In 2002, the then mayor of Orangeville, Drew Brown, on returning from a trip to Nova Scotia was inspired to run a competition. In Truro, Mr. Brown had seen beautiful carvings made of the stumps of dead elm trees. This gave him the idea to engage carvers to make something of the dead maple trees in Orangeville.

To discover his carvers, he ran a competition for the best person to create statues from the maple stumps.

And nobody entered. The problem, as Jim Menken explained it, was the maples, which can have rotten centres. Once the competition was seen to be a flop, Jim gave Mayor Brown a call.

He told him: "I've just been playing with a chain saw and I'll have a go at your stumps." He continues the story: "The first one was rotten in the middle. So, I asked Mr. Brown to bring me a butt log and I'd carve it at home."

The butt log was solid and Jim carved a farmer into it in honour of his grandfather, who was a farmer in this area.

Born in 1967 of a Dutch family, Jim Menken lived his early life in the suburbs of Thornhill, "where there was always road hockey and shovelling the snow off the driveways." He and his wife Debbie also lived for awhile in the suburbs until they decided to move with their three children to the country in 1998. There was a shock to country living where the nearest neighbour is several acres away, but they love it now.

Always interested in painting and drawing, although he had no training, Jim began to discover carving at the Norval Riverfest when he saw a "gentleman" carving a log with a chainsaw. For Jim, it was all a matter of how drawing had taught him to see things. He tried the art himself, carving a bird, a South American face and an eagle. It was with this experience and faith that "(he) was blessed with the ability to do it," that he made the call to Drew Brown.

"The Australian gentleman's words were ringing in my ears while I was doing the carving," Jim declared.

The farmer carving was erected across Broadway from the old Sobey's store and Jim has gone on to carve many figures for the town. One success has led to many.

He is now the "official carver" for the City of Mississauga, having completed several carved figures from downed trees for the parks department there.

Jim's day job was as a teacher for the Christian school in Laurel, where he taught grades 5 and 6. However, as his reputation as a carver grew and, more and more, people were coming to him to offer commissions and his smaller carvings sold in shops, he realized that he was "watching the clock and waiting for the bell to ring so I could hurry home to my carving."

Finally, he decided to "make the switch", give up teaching and work fulltime at carving. His life has become a balance of sales, commissions and word-of-mouth referrals. It is a balance that works.

One day, a man drove up his driveway, saying, "I've been looking for you for six years. I want you to carve me!"

Jim is interested in everything, every medium and every chance. He carved a sign for a restaurant at Blue Mountain, along with a (silly sounding) carving of a Coors beer can, with a beaver on it, holding another Coors beer can.

He works on scaffolding, in spite of a fear of heights; he wields chain saws large and small for hours at a time. He refers to the carving as "extreme art" but reckons that his life is great, that he "totally (feels) blessed."

In addition to carving, Jim also talks about it as speaking engagements at Rotary and Optimist clubs and churches. He does demos for stores. This week, he is going to the Boyd Conservation Area in Vaughan, near Woodbridge, to do a demonstration for young people.

With real enthusiasm, Jim said, "I'm very happy doing what I'm doing and I'll take every opportunity to keep doing it.