John Hein Woodcarver

John Hein Woodcarver All work carved by knife and hand-painted.

I have begun listing items on Etsy and will resume shipping Basswood as soon as the tundra melts or about late Feb/March 2026 time frame.

I've heard of "Writer's Block" where one can't seem to move on to the next paragraph/chapter etc. But have you ever had ...
06/23/2026

I've heard of "Writer's Block" where one can't seem to move on to the next paragraph/chapter etc. But have you ever had Painter's Block where you get to the end of carving and can't seem to move ahead?
That's me and this Wood Duck.

Making my Loon ornament. Head is cut from 3/4" basswood approx 2 1/4" long and carved. Body cut from 1" thick x 2" x4" b...
05/27/2026

Making my Loon ornament. Head is cut from 3/4" basswood approx 2 1/4" long and carved. Body cut from 1" thick x 2" x4" basswood and carved. Neck is shaped to fit on body and glued. Neck is shaped to fit breast. Acrylic paint.

A reminder that we have to get busy. The St Paul European Christmas Market is adding a 5th week-end this year. It will o...
05/12/2026

A reminder that we have to get busy. The St Paul European Christmas Market is adding a 5th week-end this year. It will open the week-end before Thanksgiving and run until the week-end before Christmas.

Kickin' back while the younger ones put the dock into the below 50 degree water. Oh look! A knife, some wood cut-outs an...
05/09/2026

Kickin' back while the younger ones put the dock into the below 50 degree water.
Oh look! A knife, some wood cut-outs and a cup of coffee.

Visual proof of Basswood characteristics that make it the preferred carving wood. 1. It has straight-grain. Note the abs...
05/09/2026

Visual proof of Basswood characteristics that make it the preferred carving wood. 1. It has straight-grain. Note the absence of twists and turns in the trunk. 2. Notice that there are no large branches whose weight will cause compression of the grain below it and stretch the grain above it.
Photos are from our place in Northern Minnesota. Where some areas are about 75% Basswood.

Our Christmas house with a pair of Cardinals has been a top seller for the past 7 yrs. These, with summer flowers, are p...
05/08/2026

Our Christmas house with a pair of Cardinals has been a top seller for the past 7 yrs. These, with summer flowers, are part of an order headed north to a gift shop in Nisswa, Minnesota.

IMHO Things I've learned... When to use Matte as opposed to Satin paint. Satin provides a smoother finish but can prove ...
05/07/2026

IMHO Things I've learned... When to use Matte as opposed to Satin paint. Satin provides a smoother finish but can prove difficult to paint over with another color of Acrylic paint as the over coat tends not to "grab" the smooth surface. The black used on these Loons is Matte. The white is Satin. This results in a pattern that is not only uniform and eay to paint but also saves time. Time is a valuable commodity when you are producing items in quantity.
Be sure to Follow me for more tips.

To use BLO, or not to use BLO; that is the question. My answer is it depends. It depends on what you wish the final "loo...
04/28/2026

To use BLO, or not to use BLO; that is the question. My answer is it depends. It depends on what you wish the final "look" to be and a lot of that depends on the wood and the paint colors you will be using. BLO seals the wood and darkens the grain as you can see in the photo. L-R Basswood block cutout. Top and bottom of carving after a dip in BLO. . I decided to dip as the subject is a female Carfinal whose lower body I painted with a watered down Yellow Ochre (YO). The YO compliments the BLO by adding just a bit of a golden hue and allows me to slightly darken the breast. Next, I use watered-down Raw Sienna to color the back. Ready for some weathering and black around the eyes. This BLO process makes the soft transition from one color to another. Follow me for more tips

There comes a time a time to put down the knife and pick up a brush. Maybe two or three brushes to get these Wrens, Loon...
04/14/2026

There comes a time a time to put down the knife and pick up a brush. Maybe two or three brushes to get these Wrens, Loons, Gnomes, and Goldfinchs painted and put a way.

Address

3233 Xenwood Avenue
Saint Louis Park, MN
55416

Telephone

+16124192159

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