Lake Effect
Tory Kaupang is trying to make a full-time career
of carving images of lakes into wood.
Tory Kaupang carves water.
The 30-year-old North Branch man makes three-dimensional
images of lakes from wood, showing not only a lake's shape, but
its depths too.
On some carvings, he adds blue ''water'' from a resin that darkens
the deep spots of a lake. On others, he's covered the plaque with
faux birch bark, giving it a rustic look.
It's a lake map and a work of art rolled into one.
"I've been playing around in my workshop trying to come up with
something unique, and I kind of stumbled onto this,'' said Kaupang,
who has been carving lakes for five years. "It started out as a hobby,
and now I'm trying to make it a full-time business. We'll see where it
takes me.''
Kaupang is among hundreds of purveyors who will be displaying
their wares, from docks and fishing gear to RVs and dog equipment,
at the Northwest Sportshow, which opens Wednesday in downtown
Minneapolis. Until now, he's displayed his work mostly at art shows.
He's already carved most of the major lakes in the state, including
Superior, Vermilion, Mille Lacs, Gull, the Whitefish Chain, Big Sandy
and Rainy.
He would seem to have a steady supply of customers, considering
the number of people in Minnesota and Wisconsin who own lakeshore
property or cherish a fishing lake.
"The typical person has a home or cabin up north,'' Kaupang said,
but he's also sold some to resorts. He'll add the location of a home
or cabin to a lake, but prefers not to clutter them with lake depth
figures, towns, roads or other type.
"That distracts from them being a piece of art,'' he said. "Otherwise,
it's just a map on a wall.''
Trial and error
He's not the only one making carved lake maps. A fellow in Two
Harbors has been producing similar maps for years. And Kaupang
said others have crafted wood maps by cutting out pieces of wood
with a laser, then gluing them together to create the lake topography.
"I'm having fun coming up with unique finishes and different looks to
set them apart,'' he said.
He started out tracing the contour lines of a lake on a piece of wood,
mostly oak, and then creating the depths by hand, with a router.
"That worked well, but took a long time,'' he said. "Now I'm doing
most of it with a computerized router, so I can focus on the finishing
work.''
He downloads a lake map into his computer, and the router machine
carves the basic shape and depth of the lake. Kaupang then uses
a hand router to add other details, like streams. He custom-makes
the maps, using faux birch bark on the fronts of some, plain wood
finishes on others. If the buyer wants, he adds transparent blue
''water'' to the lake, then finishes the final product with lacquer.
The price of each varies, depending on the complexity of the lake
and the types of finish, but generally ranges from $200 to $500. It
can take six to eight hours or more to complete one map. Recently,
Kaupang has broadened his work, adding landscapes such as Isle
Royale in Lake Superior, as well as ocean bays. And he's begun
incorporating his carvings into tables.
An artistic family
Kaupang comes from an artistic background. He grew up in Stacy
and lives in North Branch with his family, where he carves in a
garage workshop. His dad was a college art professor and wood
carver and his mother is a free-lance artist. Kaupang has a
construction background.
"I've always enjoyed playing with woodworking tools,'' he said.
Now he'll see if he can carve himself a different future in the Land
of 10,000 Lakes.
"Tory Kaupang of North Branch is "carving himself a niche" among
lake shore property owners, and cabin dwellers with his Custom
Lake Carvings." (click below to read the entire article)
When exhibiting at the GAME FAIR near Anoka MN in August,
I
had the privilege of meeting Ron Schara of Minnesota Bound
and to be interviewed by his production crew. My custom carved
lakes were one of the features on the television program in the
"What's new at the GAME FAIR" segment.
March 24, 2010
Written by Doug Smith
Click above on the newspaper
to view the full size.
August 21, 2008
