1.12.2013

Carving The Comics

Sometimes you get to witness something incredible that seemingly comes out of nowhere, but has in fact existed in the shadows for far longer than you could have ever imagined. Such is the case with wood carving virtuoso, Charles Ponstingl.

Last year I had the honor of visiting toy design legend Mel Birnkrant, and among the secret treasures within his beautiful home were a series of stunning wood carvings hanging on his walls. On many of his walls.

Upon further inspection, it became clear that these were not only the works of a true master, but also the works of a person with a deep love for what they do. I was absolutely blown away by the art I was looking at. Exquisite renderings, all completely created from wood, of classic comic characters. Everything from Mickey Mouse to Little Nemo to Popeye adorned Mel's walls, all windows into each icon's world.

Mel explained that the carvings were all created by his great friend, Charles Ponstingl. I spent a long time staring at the various pieces, trying to understand how Charles put everything together. Having Mel as the guide, explaining each piece's history made the experience one of the best in my life.

Of course I took a multitude of pictures on my tiny iPod, none of which did the originals any justice, but I just wanted some kind of record to remember the occasion. I kept thinking how crazy it was that so few people would ever know about these wood carvings, as each piece was one of a kind and there was no real documentation of this rather large body of work, most of which Mel owned.

Well, Mel has once again shown how unbelievably focused and vital he is, even in his mid seventies! He has created an all new dedicated website, called Carving The Comics, which chronicles almost ALL of the wood carvings that Charles has made since he picked up a block of wood and a pen knife at the age of 38!

If you get the chance, head over to the site and curl up for an astonishing tale of creativity, comics history and most of all friendship.


12 comments:

  1. This is truly amazing! Thanks for sharing

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    1. Thanks Pj!

      What's the report on your casting for today?

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  2. Thanks for sharing this! The care and detail in each piece is amazing. Besides, I love reading anything by Mr. Birnkrant, I've read over his pages on the OSM many times over. His enthusiasm and love for these pieces are infectious. He's like a Guru, reminding us that our toys are more than just plastic, or in this case wood, but in many cases true works of art and creativity. Trips for our imaginations just as powerful as any great novel or painting could be.

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    1. Well said! You hit the nail on the head with your analysis. Mel can really detect the life within any toy, and has restored many a broken part and scuffed up paint job in his years of collecting.

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  3. Matt this is your best off topic post ever! Feel free to talk about anything other than Glyos whenever you want. I hope you don't mind if I steal this for Tenacious Toys. :)

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    1. Please do! The more people that know about the work of Charles, the better!

      The house Mel lives in is unlike anything I think many of us have ever seen. It kind of reminds me a bit of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, in that you can't believe your eyes as you take it all in. The wood carvings of Charles are perfectly placed throughout the structure, intermingled with other incredible artwork and mind blowing collections.

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  4. Thank you very much for that! Took me about 90 minutes to get through everything and it was well worth it. I bet that was awesome to see in person. I have dabbled in wood carving and understand the work that must've gone in to each of those masterpieces.

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  5. Great share, Matt! Really made my day! And such an amazing story too! All the photos are quite simply astounding. Even though I don't sculpt, Mr.Ponstingl's exceptional artwork is truly inspiring to me. I only wish I could see these one-of-a-kind works in person.

    I'm going to share Mel's link to these photos on Facebook! More people should know about Mr.Ponstingl's incredible artistry and craftsmanship!

    And continued success and blessings to you and yours, Matt! :-)

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  6. Absolutely stunned. Mel has always amazed me on so many levels before, but this story, these images...and the amazing love we can see in Charles' work...

    I just don't have the words.

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  7. Man, that was a fun read. I was scoping beautiful art for hours while reading Mel's storyteller style guided tour. Thanks for sharing this.

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  8. LOVED that visit last year. These are so amazing in person! Mel's done a great job archiving them.

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