Harold L. Enlow was born in Missouri, the oldest of nine children in a family that moved frequently, occasionally serving as migrant workers. Harold admired the way his grandfather made things out of wood and says his most memorable childhood gift was a pocketknife from his mother, which he used to carve all the bark off a boxelder tree in the front yard.

“I enlisted in the U.S. Army when I was 17 and spent time in Maryland, New Mexico, and Okinawa, Japan,” says Harold. “While in Okinawa, I found a book in the base library by H. S. ‘Andy’ Anderson and was immediately hooked on caricature carving.

“After being released from the army, I married Elaine. A year later, I was called to serve during the Berlin crisis. While I was serving at Fort Lewis Army Base in Washington, I began to carve seriously. When that tour ended, I returned to Springfield, Missouri, where I met Peter Engler, who owned a shop in Silver Dollar City near Branson, Missouri. I carved for Peter and sold carvings through his shop for a few years before opening my own shop in 1968 in Dogpatch, Arkansas.”

The town was named for Dogpatch, U.S.A., an amusement park based on the fictional hillbilly town made famous by Al Capp’s comic strip “Li’l Abner.” It opened the same year Harold moved there and closed in the mid 1990s.

In 1975 Harold began the second phase of his carving career, teaching his first carving class and seeing his first carving book published. He continued to write and teach up to 40 classes a year for the next three decades, reaching thousands across the United States and Canada. He now has a dozen books and many study sticks to his credit, with subjects ranging from cigar store Indians and Western figures to hillbillies and hoboes.

In 1990 Harold and a number of other prominent carvers met to discuss forming a national organization to promote the art of caricature carving. The result was the Caricature Carvers of America (CCA), which is active in exhibitions, seminars, and compilation books featuring members’ work. Harold is currently an emeritus member of CCA.

“Few carvers have received the praise that Harold Enlow has gotten. And fewer still have had their names become household words to those who carve,” is how Woodcarving Illustrated announced his selection as its inaugural Woodcarver of the Year in 2001. The honor was in recognition of “the respect he has earned from students and fellow carvers alike, the quality of his publications, and the impact his work has had on caricature carving.”

Except for 4 or 5 local seminars each year, Harold has now retired from active teaching. He and Elaine still live in Dogpatch, now know as Marble Falls.

Contents

Carving Out a Legacy

The Swedish Roots of American Caricature

Harold’s Hints

Introduction

Carving Facial Features

Eyes

Lips

Hair

Noses

Ears

Carving Complete Faces

Female Face

Cowboy

Native American Chief

Santa

Witch

Ugly Face

Wood Spirit

Index

Carving Out a Legacy

I was more than a little nervous before meeting Harold Enlow. Friends and acquaintances had been telling me that he is somewhat of a living legend, a prime mover in getting caricature carvings recognized and accepted as a form of art in the United States. In fact, most anyone doing caricatures today has been influenced through his efforts as an instructor of instructors and students alike.

The day came when I finally met Harold. It was prior to his receiving Woodcarving Illustrated’s Woodcarver of the Year award at the fourth Open House in March 2001, and I was the presenter. When we got through the obligatory introductions and handshakes, I found a man so self-effacing and downright humble that my fears of inadequacy quickly dispersed. The presentation went well, and he gladly received the plaque as well as a framed citation from the office of Arkansas’ governor. He went about his duties as a lecturer and manned his booth with a total absence of fanfare. Weeks afterward, I could still imagine his saying, “Gosh, I don’t know what all the fuss is about. I’m just a carver.” My response to that is, “Hardly.”

While his biography includes a stint in the Armed Services, running a shop in Dogpatch, doing commission work, writing ten books on a variety of themes from cigar store Indians and Western figures to hillbillies and hoboes, his greatest contribution may well be his teaching career. Spanning nearly four decades with thousands of students “graduated,” that relationship with other carvers has had a profound impact. People come away from the classes with an understanding of how a few simple tools can work magic on a piece of wood. And many of those carvers pass that knowledge on to others. The carving world has been a much better place thanks to Harold’s efforts.

Owing to the amount of influence that Harold has had, rumors have circulated that he was around when the Titanic sank and even when Teddy Roosevelt charged a hill in Cuba. Again, I respond with, “Hardly.” A robust man with a sprightly step, Harold is as youthful in spirit as any carver I know, and he’s not a day over 62.

Woodcarving Illustrated,