From an ordinary tree to a fairy tale: the story of a master from the Rostov region

For most people, an old tree trunk is just a tree. And 51-year-old Oleg Yakubovich sees in him a future sculpture. From under his instruments, bears, fairy-tale heroes and other characters appear, which then decorate the city streets.

The master is from Kazakhstan. His childhood was spent in Shemonaikh, several thousand kilometers from the Rostov region. The first handicrafts made of wood Oleg began to carve as a schoolboy using a regular knife.

However, after graduation, he chose a completely different direction.

- My parents wanted me to pursue a practical profession. After school he entered the agricultural technical school in the department of mechanization. But over time, I realized it wasn't mine. I have always loved creating something with my own hands. Therefore, he returned to wood carving, Oleg said.

I had to master my favorite craft on my own. He had no professional education. The master studied images in magazines, considered other people's products and tried to create similar works.

At first he carved small souvenirs. But in the 1990s, such products were not in great demand. Then Oleg began to make crosses, icons and church utensils. In parallel, he studied icon painting at the temple of Nicholas the Wonderworker.

- There I put my hand, taught to work with a brush. It was necessary to repeat the drawings exactly on the sample so that all the lines were clear. This school helped me in carving, recalls the carver.

In 1996, a regular newspaper ad earned him his first serious commission. In Ust-Kamenogorsk it was necessary to make a large wooden panel depicting the jungle.

- The panel was about three meters long and two and a half in height. Made it out of cedar. The customer wanted there to be jungle, waterfall, trees and leaves. And all the details had to be cut voluminous. We used different lights and lights. When the light fell to the surface, a feeling of dawn or sunset was created, Oleg said.

Gradually, small pieces were replaced by large sculptures. Among the first were bears. Their master cut down with axes, because the chainsaw was not yet used.

Now those jobs make him laugh.

- I remember those bears and I think how terrible they were! Although the customers liked it. It’s funny to see my first sculptures.

Later, professional artists and sculptors began to come to the unusual self-taught woman. Most of the guests were surprised by the lack of sketches. Oleg did not make preliminary models and did not transfer to wood pre-calculated dimensions.

- They asked me where I had a sketch, a model, how do I transfer dimensions to a tree? And I didn't do any of that. Just looked at the picture, imagined the future sculpture and began to work, explained the master.

From the habit of working for the eye Oleg did not give up today. Moreover, in this way he continues to learn. He is especially interested in the old school carvers. Watching their work, he adopts new ways of working wood.

In 2016, the family of Oleg moved to the Rostov region. They settled in the farm Beregovo near Azov.

Things weren't easy in the new place. There were almost no orders for sculptures. To provide for the family, the master had to make ordinary tables and stools.

Suddenly, a wooden bear changed its position.

One day, a local deputy told Oleg about an emergency tree that was going to be cut down. From the remaining trunk, the carver decided to make a sculpture. And no one paid him for the work, he took over all the expenses.

- I packed up the tools, came and made a bear. Everyone liked it. After that, orders gradually began to appear. First, private companies appealed, asked to decorate the yard areas. And then the administration of Azov invited to work in public places, recalls Oleg.

So his products gradually became part of the urban space. First, sculptures appeared in Azov, then in Rostov. Now on Pushkin Street, the master creates wooden characters of fairy tales by Alexander Pushkin.

However, not every trunk is suitable for the future figure. Oleg explains that wood species differ in color and processing features. For example, poplar and ash allow you to highlight details in different shades, and with oak, acacia and elm, this is more difficult to achieve.

But sometimes the real surprises are not hidden outside, but inside the tree.

During the creation of the Swan Princess, the carver came across nails. Just three metal objects ruined four chainsaws.

- What did I find inside the trees? Once there was something like a pipe or scrap. I never understood what exactly was there. I had to cut the sculpture only on the surface of the trunk. And in another barrel, a whole bunch of nuts and bolts were found, as if someone had arranged a warehouse there, the master said.

To work, Oleg uses four chainsaws of different sizes. When you need to work out small elements, takes grinding tools and stones.

How many sculptures he created in his life, the man does not remember. Orders are very different: animals, fairy-tale characters and religious images.

Sometimes the imagination of customers is especially surprising. For example, one woman wanted a wooden Babu Yaga similar to herself. At the same time asked to make a fabulous old woman young.

Now the master has another unusual job ahead. For a temple in the Voronezh region, he is going to carve Seraphim of Sarov with a bear from a tree. While for the future sculpture looking for a suitable trunk.