Carvings for Sale

Carving in public usually leads to four questions, not always in the same order: What kind of wood is that? Easily answered.

How long does a carving take? Difficult answer since it varies by subject, size, and amount of detail. I give them the estimated time of the piece I am carving with the admonition that most of my carvings take between two and three hundred actual work hours.

Do you sell your carvings? A little more complicated. Yes I do; but, I do not set out to carve for sale. I carve a piece because I have a contract, or commission, which is pretty specific or I carve a piece because I want to and which I may be willing to sell.

This is always followed by, "How much would that one (the one I am working on) cost? My answer is that I start by valuing my carving time at $ 10.00 an hour. The most I have made on a carving so far has been around $3.50 per hour. If money was the objective, I would be better flippping hamburgers at a hamburger stand.

My carvings are becoming more detailed, complicated and refined. The number of hours involved is rising with each carving and thus the cost of an average carving is now over $500. If it is a commission, I estimate the amount of hours it will take me including design, acquiring supplies, layout, carving, painting, and finishing. I multiply this time $10.00 per hour, add in estimated shipping to achieve the value of a carving.

Only a woodcarver who has a following can receive the actual value of a carving. The rest of us have to rely on a gallery or on a commission contract. Galleries ask for 60% to 70% of the value of a woodcarving. This means if I carve a piece in 90 hours, add in the attendant costs ~ the value of the woodcarving will be around $1000.00 (insurance value). I adjust this to the gallery formula and price my commission at $300-$400 ~ depending on the detail.