By Ruth Epstein
Register Citizen Staff
Farmington, CT
September 5, 1995
CANAAN – You might say Joe Cieslowski has carved a fine niche for himself. Cieslowski is a seasoned wood carver and this year is celebrating the 15th anniversary of his
Connecticut Woodcarvers Gallery, located in a section of his Route 44 home in East Canaan.
Chipping away at a scene of the Cornwall covered bridge as he spoke, Cieslowski, 48, explained why his pieces are unique.
“The technology I use is centuries old,” he said, gouging out strips of Easter White pine as he sat at his worktable surrounded by examples of his intricate pieces, facing a coveted view of Canaan Mountain. “All the textures are left from single-edge tools, such as chisels, gouges and knives.”
He said his pieces are well engineered and unlike other carvers, who use modern-day tools and sand and paint their finished products, he stains them to help enhance the three-dimensional illusion.
While his technique is not hidden – he’s been on television and received press coverage, as well as doing live demonstrations at shows and his gallery – it is not copied. Why?
“They can’t do it,” he replied. “And those who can, can’t produce fast enough to make it worthwhile.”
He can turn out carvings in anything from one hour to two days.
Cieslowski’s subjects tend to be primarily country and wildlife scenes, as witnessed by the variety of lifelike animals and bucolic scenes that adorn his gallery walls. But he also does a considerable amount of sign making and custom work.
Some of the requests he receives are a bit out of the ordinary, such as pet memorials, but no matter, Cieslowski enjoys whatever project is his current one.
“It’s rewarding,” he said. “It’s wonderful to see the joy in a customer’s eyes when you do a piece. One woman who requested a collage of three dogs had tears in her eyes when she picked it up.”
“People ask me how I can part with my work,” the New Britain native continued. “For me, the enjoyment comes in producing the work. When it’s finished I can no longer enjoy it, but it makes the buyer happy.”
Cieslowski’s interest in the craft came at an early age. As a youngster and active in boy scouting, he would look forward to reading “Whittlin’ Jim’s” column in the magazine “Boy’s Life.” Every month “Jim,” who was really Ben Hunt, would present a design for a neckerchief slide.
Cieslowski would try to duplicate them and he apparently succeeded, showing a visitor a box filled with examples of totem figures, teepees, canoes and beavers.
As a student at Central Connecticut State University, he had tri-minors in wood technology, graphics and metals and earned a degree in technology education. He went on to spend 10 years as a teacher of woodworking and graphics at Windsor High School.
During that time he attended many craft shows and found the level of quality of the wood carver’s work to be low. In 1979 he gave up teaching, a year later he and his family moved to Canaan (“We could have moved anywhere, but this is the most beautiful part of the country”) and he began his new career.
The first year he did 32 shows, traveling from Massachusetts to Maryland, or as far as one tank of gas would take him. Nowadays he only participates in one show a year, The Big E in West Springfield, MA.
From there he usually receives enough orders to get him through most of the year. But he always has a backlog and works diligently to fill them as soon as he can.
Also unique with Cieslowski’s work is the accompanying lifetime guarantee on all his pieces. It basically states that as long as he is alive and anyone has a problem with a piece acquired, including being tired of looking at it, it can be returned for a full refund (barring any severe damage.) He’s had two people take him up on the offer, one who traded up for a more expensive piece.
Cieslowski enjoys the reputation his works have come to attain, but he is not out to garner blue ribbons.
“I have participated in some art shows and have won awards, but I’m not impressed,” he said. “People think there is no credibility without ribbons. I find the opposite to be true.”
Cieslowski, while pleased with the career decision he made 15 years ago and the success he ahs found, is even prouder when talking about his family. His wife Diane teaches fourth grade at North Canaan Elementary School. They have two children, a son at St. Lawrence University and a daughter, who is a senior at Housatonic Valley Regional High School.
The gallery where Cieslowski exhibits both his work and his craft, is open “by chance or appointment.” His phone number is 860-824-0883.