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Heel Profile
By Patsy Mcdlin
Carving With Kindness
Catawba County woodwright Eddie Hamrick
has a message of hope for kids in trouble.
In the storybooks, the kindly old wood-
carver sits quietly amid the shavings,
smiling over his bifocals and nodding
as he whittles and chats with visitors. Not
so with this 36-year-old Catawba County
carver. Eddie Hamrick gestures and bobs
about his workshop like an elf the week
before Christmas.
From his studio in the Murray’s
Mill Historic District, two miles west
of Catawba, the master woodcarver
has crafted chairs for the presiden¬
tial living quarters of the White
I louse and designed gifts for three
presidents and two governors.
But Hamrick’s gr eatest desire is to
use his talent to help underprivi¬
leged children, whose lives remind
him of his own difficult past. He did
that last Christmas by donating a
large Bavarian nutcracker to an auc¬
tion for poor children. It brought
$2.000, providing 40 kids with
Christmas presents.
"We couldn’t afford toys,” Ham¬
rick says of his own childhood. "One
Christmas, when 1 was six. I wanted
a train, and 1 didn't get one. So I
slipped around and used Daddy’s
tools when he wasn’t home, and I
made me one. 1 made it out of pop-
sicle sticks and blocks and spools.”
That little train is now in the North
Carolina Museum of History in
Raleigh, a preserved tribute to this
nationally renowned artist.
"Eddie had it hard growing up.” says
Fred Wellborn, a local dulcimer maker.
"The best thing about him is his attitude.
No matter how busy he is, he’ll stop what
he’s doing and help you out — do any¬
thing for you. 1 le’s just a good of boy.”
Hamrick’s mother died when lie was 1 3.
and his father a few years later. As the old¬
est of five children, he was left struggling
to keep the family together. When his ef¬
forts failed, his siblings were put in foster
homes, and he went to Williamsburg. Vir¬
ginia. to wait tables.
In Williamsburg, his love for wood drew
him to a master wood wright’s shop, and
s»x>n he was working as an apprentice. He
stayed in Williamsburg for three years,
learning to use the tools of the 18th cen¬
tury. carving antique reproductions and
discovering the art of woodwrighting at its
historical best.
Eventually, he grew homesick for his
North Carolina birthplace and came back
to work as a wood sculptor and sample
maker for Hickory Chair. It was during his
employment there that he crafted the
chairs for the White I louse.
Hamrick says lie drew his inspiration
from President John F. Kennedy. "I
remember when 1 was in the third grade
being at my grandmother’s house and
hearing him talk about never being afraid
and to l<x>k at a situation and ask ‘why not?’
instead of ‘why?’”
Over the next several years, he spent
his free time entering juried shows and
competitions, winning awards and get¬
ting recogni/.ed by major art organiza¬
tions and museums. In 1989 he was final¬
ly able to leave Hickory Chair and
become a full-time artist.
Today, from his shop next d<x>r
to a 19th century grist mill and
general store, I lamrick is always
happy to show visitors the Ixmiii-
ful things he has made, all to a
background of country music
coming from a radio on the
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He produces his creations
slowly and painstakingly. While
working on a 12-inch Ebcnc/er
Scrooge recently, he sjx-nl three
hours carving a single hand.
“You can’t teach woodcarving,"
lie says. "It’s a gift from God.” I le
credits his genes, pointing out
that his grandfather was a cabi¬
netmaker, and his father was a
woodworker.
Even with his success, however,
Hamrick still hasn't been a
stranger to tragedy and financial
hardship. At one point, vandals
destroyed all the artwork and
tools in his shop. Fortunately, his
large marionette puppet “Pinoc-
chio" was in Asheville at the
Southern Highland Handicraft
Guild's Folk Art Show. Fans
David and 1 jsa Hamilton Ixnight the pup¬
pet. giving Hamrick the encouragement
and money to start again.
Two years later. Hurricane Hugo
destroyed his home and all the furniture
he had made for it. But the latest close call
had a happy ending. While I lainrick’swife.
Rhonda, was pregnant with their son.
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The State/Deccmbcr 1991
33
