A wanderer of the woods
Man carves canes from nature's waste
Stephen Wall, Staff Writer
San Bernardino County Sun
Article Launched:10/10/2007 11:07:41 PM PDT

GRAND TERRACE - The man with the crew cut and the long white beard envisions himself as a modern-day Michelangelo.

But Mike Irey isn't a painter or sculptor.

He's a wood carver who finds his inspiration in the forest.

The 71-year-old Irey wanders the San Bernardino Mountains and other wooded areas searching for sticks he transforms into walking canes of various shapes, sizes and textures.

The retired nurse and former Marine now spends much of his time in the garage of his Mount Vernon Avenue home.

"I just like to whittle. It keeps me off the street and keeps me out of the bars," he joked on a recent afternoon during a break from his carving.

The idea for his hobby came about during his service in the Marines in the 1960s and early '70s.

"When I was in the Marines, I noticed these senior enlisted types were walking around with these sticks that they didn't seem to really need. I thought they could do a heck of a lot better."

After leaving the military, Irey studied fine art at Cal State San Bernardino.

When he started having knee problems, he realized he needed a walking stick.

So instead of buying one, he made his own.

He used a knife for his creations, but says he cut up his hands too much.

Now he uses an electric motor with a bit at the end "to chew the heck out of the wood."

Besides the wood he finds during his walks in the forest, Irey's friends and relatives send him sticks with special requests for designs.

He recently carved a Winnie the Pooh cane for a woman in Texas who was stricken with cancer. His granddaughter found the stick and gave it to him.

He carved images of characters such as Owl, Tigger, Rabbit and Winnie the Pooh and his honey pot into the staff.

Irey is working on a project for a woman who asked for a cane to give to her husband to commemorate the couple's wedding anniversary later this month.

He is using reindeer antlers to make an eagle's beak that will be put on the top of the maple stick.

While he doesn't walk as much as he used to because of his bad knee, he still knows where to find the best sticks.

"You can take a piece of wood that people would stick in a fireplace and burn and make something interesting out of it," he said, pointing to a cane made of white bark birch he found in an open area near Barton Road.

Irey has carved a stick with wood spirits peering out for his wife, Mary.

"I think he does beautiful work," Mary Irey said. "It's amazing."

Irey said he likes to think of his work as serving more than a simple utilitarian purpose. He says his canes have won blue ribbons at county fairs in San Bernardino, Orange and Los Angeles counties.

His canes have been displayed several times at the annual art show sponsored by the city's Historical and Cultural Activities Committee. They also will be shown at the committee's country fair Nov. 3 at the Lion's Community Center.

"Art can have many ways of expression," said Ann Petta, art show organizer. "His canes are very original and very well known. People enjoy looking at them."

Irey doesn't charge for his work, although some people will offer him a nominal amount for his efforts.

While he doesn't think his craft comes close to immortal masters such as Michelangelo, he still dreams of carving his own artistic legacy.

"One day, I aspire to see one of these beauties in a museum somewhere," he said.

Ellie