HARDY, Ky. - Many characters have come to life over the past couple of years in Jim Hall’s workshop. With a few simple, but sharp tools, time, and imagination, Jim has hand-carved blocks of wood into caricatures that are charming, extremely detailed, and very folksy.

“When I start working on a piece, it’s hard to stop,” he said. “I want to keep going until I get it finished so I can see what it becomes.”

In his workshop, upwards of 50 wooden figures adorn the shelves carved into simple blocks or fashioned into canes. The variety of characters range from the well-known like Santa Claus to characters of Jim’s own creation, like his Civil War soldiers “John E. Reb” and “Billy Yank”.

Though Jim has only been carving since he retired from his job at Columbia Natural Resources seven years ago, there is still no telling how many caricatures he’s made.

“I have a bunch all throughout my house and I’ve sold some and given some as gifts,” he said. “I just love to carve.”

Though being primarily self-taught, Jim has studied under some of the top caricature carvers in the U.S. He has been carving since his retirement, but has only made caricatures in the past two years.

“When I retired, I was about to go crazy. I needed something to do. I used to do a lot of painting and after I saw someone carve, I decided to try it for myself,” he said.

Jim has done more than just try woodcarving in the years he’s been retired. His work has been juried into the Hindman Appalachian Artisan Center, David Appalachian Crafts, and the Culture Heritage Network, the latter of which has him registered as a roster artist, a title that only seven other people hold.

Jim primarily uses basswood for his carvings because of the softness inherent in the wood and it tends to be less grainy than other woods. It takes him around two to three weeks to complete a figure from start to finish, including painting the finished piece. Almost all of his carvings are done in a single block of wood excluding caricatures that have a prop, like a fisherman, a hunter, or a musician.

Jim’s imaginative works aren’t limited to just basswood though. Lately, he has been making caricatures into dehydrated sweet potatoes and into the cores of golf balls.

Inspiration can come from odd places as well. A new character Jim is working on, he calls “The Maestro” and he got the idea for the caricature from an episode of the T.V. show “Seinfeld”.

His work has been featured at Hillbilly Days in Pikeville, Ky. and the King Coal Festival and Jim will be teaching a six-week woodcarving class at the Pike County Artisan Center from March 6 until April 10.

In the course, students will learn to carve a caricature out of a block of wood using basic carving tools. The class is available to adults ages 18 and older at a cost of 65 dollars per student for the session and will meet from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturdays. Materials will be provided for students.

The class will cover safety, proper woodcarving techniques, learning about the tools used, and of course, how to make your own caricatures.

Jim has taught classes previously at Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College, but this is his first time teaching at Pikeville College’s new artisan center.

Though the Hardy native could sell his work for profit, he only charges people for his materials and his time just to cover the cost of what he loves to do.

Jim is a father of two and grandfather of three and lives at Hardy, Ky. with his wife, Kathy.

To learn more about his class at the Pike County Artisan Center, visit www.pike artisancenter.org on the Web or (606) 433-0193 for more information.