Woodcarver List Who's Who: H

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hipshot301 aka Brian S. Sims

Brian S. Sims, a native Kentuckian, began woodcarving in 1992 by necessity. On a camping trip the hatchet handle broke and Brian decided to carve a replacement. This experience prompted him to find another piece of wood and start carving. That first piece became a very simple but recognizable bust of a Native American Chief.

Upon return from the camping trip, Brian experimented with carving a variety of subjects, not always successfully, but he continued to hone this skill. Self taught, he created wood art pieces for family and friends until 2003. In the fall of 2003, he founded HipShot Wood Carving and offered his work and talent over the internet. He designed and continues to manage his website, www.hipshotwood.com as well as www.anniversaryoriginals.com.

The rise of hipshotwood.com has mirrored the continued evolution of Brian?s style and talent. In 2006, country music artist Gretchen Wilson received one of Brian?s carvings as a gift. This was followed in 2007 with a commission carving designed and created especially for Gretchen. The DIY television network filmed Brian at work for a half hour program in their wood sculpting series in 2007. The University of Texas at Dallas Police Department commissioned Brian to carve their police badge in 2007. The magazine for the National Wood Carvers Association featured Brian in their summer issue. In 2010 Hollywood actor James Marsters became the owner of one of Brian's original works.

Brian is passionate about his work. An act of vandalism in May 2007 in a park in Lexington, Kentucky highlighted that driving force. Someone maliciously set fire to an American Sycamore tree that was over one hundred years old and one hundred feet tall. Brian read the news story, became upset and immediately contacted city officials with an offer. The offer was that if the city would give Brian some of the wood from the tree he would create a sculpture and donate it to the city for them to use as they saw fit. Turning a negative act into a positive result was the goal. The sculpture he created, ?Athena? now resides in the Mayor?s office.

Brian believes that his art allows him to feel and experience the beauty of nature?s bounty. He never tries to mask the inherent beauty of wood. His goal is to enhance what nature has already beautifully crafted. There are times that the wood speaks and Brian listens to the direction that God and natural events have destined him to create. He has also found a gift in turning the ideas of his clients into wooden works of art. All of his work is created with the tenet; ?Take what the wood gives?.

Brian is joyfully married to Salena and the proud father of four daughters. He, Salena and their youngest daughter reside in Dry Ridge, Kentucky with their Rhodesian Ridgeback, Mr. Shakey.