Gary Janisch, a talented, self-taught woodcarver, has made more than 60 carvings since he started more than 30 years ago. Photos: Chris Emeott
Gary Janisch’s home welcomes woodland birds, freshwater fish and even rabbits come Eastertime. But when November and December beckon, Santas (yes, plural) make their way into the home’s seasonal décor with all their whimsical merriment. While some observers of Gary’s work have assumed his lifelike animals came by way of taxidermy, they are mistaken.
He’s a talented woodcarver, who has made more than 60 carvings since he started more than 30 years ago.
Our readers and followers might be familiar with Gary Janisch’s work through his daughter Emily Charlotte (formerly Carriveau), who was featured in Lake Minnetonka Magazine and is a regular contributor to our Noteworthy section. While Janisch doesn’t have social media (yet!), he is quite popular on Charlotte’s accounts, including on Instagram @smalltownme.
While the Delano resident is a self-taught artist, he didn’t begin his foray into woodcarving with a completely blank slate. His creative journey began in his childhood, playing with erector sets and building things with youthful imagination and emerging skills. Much later, Gary’s career in business real estate, envisioning and executing successful retail hubs, also informed his creative thinking.
But what finally led Gary to woodcarving came by way of a priest, a bar of soap and a Christmas gift. Gary and his wife, Peg Jansich, were visiting with a priest, who was whittling away on a bar of soap. As Gary watched with interest, the priest offered him his carving knife and soap to try his hand at carving. Gary revealed his artistic aptitude, transforming the soap into a small animal. The experience inspired Peg to gift him a carving knife that next Christmas. And so it began!
Woodcarving isn’t Gary Janisch’s only hobby. He and his wife, Peg Janisch, entertain at assisted living centers and church—Gary on guitar and Peg taking care of the vocals. He’s also an avid fisherman, which lends itself to his realistic carvings of freshwater fish.
Thirty-plus years on, an eclectic array of carvings can be found tucked into spaces large and small at the Janisch home and their cabin near Pequot Lakes. Gary doesn’t give his work away—save the sets for his grandchildren—and he’s only entered one piece into a competition. When he submitted a carved, airbrushed sunfish to the Wright County Fair, he was twice directed to the taxidermy section due to the fish’s lifelike representation. Eventually, it was understood that his piece was indeed made of wood, and Gary had the final word—winning a blue ribbon!
Whether he’s working on realistic or whimsical carvings, basswood is Gary’s material of choice as it provides essential firmness while being soft enough for carving and holding detail. He has a steady wood supply, since folks in the area know he uses basswood for carving and are willing to send the material his way. On average, Gary says one piece takes about three or four days, working about three hours a day, to complete. Painting takes more time, especially considering drying periods between coats. “I do it during the wintertime, the slow time period [when] I can’t go out fishing,” he says.
While uniform in spirit, pieces in Gary Janisch’s Santa collection reflect individual whimsy and merriment.
While Minnesota wildlife and his love for fishing primarily inform Gary’s carving subjects, he also reaches for reference books and guides to ensure realism in his work. The shape of a fin. The curve of a muscle. The posture of a stance. So much creative detail and natural nuances go into his handheld carvings, and it is Gary’s imagination and sense of whimsy that shape other carvings that lean into his playfulness and spirit of originality
With most things in life, there’s a journey and a destination—a process and a result. In woodcarving, what part does Gary appreciate most? “I would probably take the final result,” he says. “I guess it’s the same if you have a goal and achieve it, you feel great. The final result is the same for me as achieving the goal.”
While he began using a knife for his woodcarving, tools of Gary Janisch’s trade now include Dremel devices, gouges and the occasional band saw.
Regardless of what stage in a creative outlet elicits the most joy or satisfaction, more people are realizing the importance of hobbies, allowing them respite from the stresses of life, too much time with technology or an unhealthy relationship with social media, for example. Gary embraces the benefits that hobbies provide, noting that, for him, it all begins with engaging in creative thinking at the start of each project, continuing as he ruminates about a project’s next steps. And then there is the carving, which also pulls him away from the here and now. “If you have problems—everyone does in life—when you start doing this kind of thing, woodworking or carving, you can’t think of those problems,” he says. “It’s kind of fun; you get away into another world … you know, it’s nice to get away.”
And those who have the pleasure of holding Gary’s work, looking at the details and appreciating his artistry, they, too, can be transported—to springtime, a canopy of woodland trees, the depths of lake’s clear blue water or the merriment gifted as families and friends gather for another holiday.
