Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
Working with wood has always been a part of Jearl Cart-wright’s life. He’s had a wood shop at his home in Norton since 1974 and when he wasn’t at work – in construction, logging or driving a school bus– he was making furniture, animal feeders and all kinds of decorative items.
Cartwright worked for the power company for years with Kenneth Slagle, of Huntersville, who suggested he jury into the Pocahontas County Artisans Co-op. Slagle, who is also a woodworker, and sells his work at the co-op’s galleries, convinced Cartwright to join and, in 2019, his application was approved.
“Wood is fairly easy to work with,” Cartwright said. “There are so many different species. You can get different looks. I do rustic work – that’s the name of my business – Rustic Worx. You get a lot of variants in the species of wood and lots of different looks.”
Cartwright used to set up at craft fairs, including the Mountain State Forest Festival, and has had events at his wood shop, but now he only has work at the 4th Avenue Gallery in Marlinton.
From bird and squirrel feeders, to coat racks and candle holders, he makes it all, as long as it’s small.
“I don’t make big stuff like I used to,” he said. “I used to do kitchen cabinets and gun cabinets, but over the years, I’ve added more equipment and more material, so I don’t really have room. It’s hard to finish stuff like that, so I’ve moved to smaller stuff.”
In addition to using new lumber, Cartwright salvages wood from old structures that he has torn down over the years.
“I’ve accumulated a lot of wood from tearing down structures,” he said. “I’ve obtained a lot of chestnut lumber, and I use hollow pieces when I can find them in the woods. As far as lumber is concerned, I haven’t had any trouble keeping up.”
