Luke Hawes

Luke's earliest woodcarving memories are of the road side sellers in Africa. It amazed him how they can make something from nothing with simple tools and creativity. Luke's woodcarving skills were born in the mid-1990s. At that time, he was very interested in drumming and percussion, and a group of friends and he learned how to make their own hand drums. They would carve out logs using chainsaws and woodcarving gouges, string them up, and play them together.

Around that time (circa 1998), Luke went camping with family one weekend. He had packed a few basic carving tools, and it was then he carved his first spoon from a branch he found. Fast forward 20 years or so, and Luke finds himself carrying on the spoon carving tradition. He frequently spends time in his workshop instead of watching TV at night—it's a good use of time and quite rewarding. For the most part, Luke is self-taught. Trial and error, coupled with new tools and discovering Australia's vast array of beautiful timbers, has fueled his journey of discovery. In essence, it has always been the process of carving that interests Luke, not the outcome of the process.