151059828Miles B. Carpenter18891985MilesCarpenterhttps://collection.folkartmuseum.org/internal/media/dispatcher/9284/fullMiles Carpenter was born in Lancaster, PA but in 1901, his father sold the family farm and built a saw mill near Waverly, Va.  As a child, Carpenter often operated the saw mill, leaving little time for formal schooling and did not progress beyond the eight grade.  By 1912, he had his own saw mill to which he later added an icehouse. Carpenter started carving small animals and figures around 1941, when WWII had interrupted most people's lives and livelihoods. After business picked up again, he did not carve substantially until his retirement from the mill in 1955. He continued to operate the ice-house, though, adding soda and fruit. The large carved watermelon, now in the AARFAC collection, served as a trade sign for this venture. After his wife's death, Carpenter began to carve pieces for which he is best known today.  He used mostly yellow poplar, but would carve almost any piece of wood for the "root monsters" he liked to sculpt, provided he "saw" a form in the wood. He used hand carving tools and painted many pieces with latex house paint.  His sculptures range from 1' to the 7' over-life-size Indians that would fill his Chevy pick-up, becoming a familiar sight as he rode around town.  His sculptures are often irreverent and demonstrate Carpenter's pervasive humor, as in this example which expresses the wages of sin in no uncertain terms, and the elephant cutting taxes he presented to President Reagan in 1981.  In 1983, Carpenter received the Virginia Heritage Award. His family home and 60 sculptures were given to the Waverly Women's Club to be maintained as the "Miles B. Carpenter Museum."(1889–1985)WaverlyBrownstownWaverlyBrownstownWaverlyBrownstownMiles Burkholder CarpenterMiles B. Carpenter