Wood Sculptor Stefan Käser - Niederndorferberg

Carved from Good Wood - A Life for and with Wood

For 39 years, Stefan Käser's favorite place has been his workshop. There he sits in front of a piece of wood, the same material he often feeds into his stove, until he shapes it with his hands. Into a cow, a Madonna, a cross.

As a young boy, Stefan Käser was fascinated by how a piece of wood, which could just as easily end up in the fire, could become a figure. But back then, he didn’t know he could make a living from carving. "Chance helped me find my way," says the master sculptor. His uncle had connections to the Lechtal Woodcarving School in Elbigenalp. Against his parents' wishes, Stefan Käser learned to model, draw, and eventually carve lifelike figures from a piece of wood there.

An Eternal Cycle
Quickly, another log lands in the stove, swallowed with crackling sounds. For his work, he uses the colors and properties of various woods: linden, pine, walnut, cherry, apple, pear. The local farmers inform Stefan Käser when they have suitable wood for him. Many of the Christ figures, crosses, cows, and horse figures then end up back in these farmers' parlors. One thing leads to another, creating a cycle. But before cows emerge from the farmers' wood, Stefan Käser spends some time in their barns, modeling the animals to be lifelike. Only when he is satisfied with the model does he sit down at the carving table. The clay animal figure within sight. This is the most challenging carving work. The sculptor knows how important it is for his customers that the wooden figures look exactly like the real animals. "The proportions have to be just right. The owners know their animals and want to recognize them in the figure," explains Stefan Käser. People often bring photos of their - sometimes already deceased - animals, wanting them immortalized as wooden figures. A particularly delicate task, as the animals are often hard to discern in the photos. Currently, the Niederndorf native is working on a coat of arms for a hotel. A task that he handles quickly. He roughly cuts the board with a bandsaw before it lands on the carving table. Even as he speaks, he creates different layers on the board with his tools. With each wood chip that falls to the ground, a clearer picture emerges on the board.

Beekeeping as a Balance
Stefan Käser spends three-quarters of the year working on commissions for customers. But sometimes he is drawn away from his carving table, especially in the summer. Then the woodcarver devotes himself to his second passion: bees. Beekeeping complements carving well. In the summer, the busy insects demand more attention, while in the winter, they retreat to the boxes built by Stefan Käser. Like their owner: he also enjoys retreating to his workshop in winter to focus on carving.

A Beautiful Profession
What does Stefan Käser love about carving? He doesn’t have an immediate answer to this question. Perhaps because he has been carving all his life, he hasn’t thought about it for a long time. But suddenly he says, "Being a sculptor is just a beautiful profession. I am free, can check on the bees in between. And in winter, it's the most pleasant job ever." Right after his master craftsman examination, he went self-employed and opened his workshop at the age of 21. "In the past, there weren't many options; today, I would first look around in other workshops," he considers when asked what he would do differently today. But even nowadays, it would be hard to find another workshop - because there are not many sculptors left.

Anyone who wants to smell the scent of worked wood in Stefan Käser’s workshop and watch him work can visit and see some of his pieces.

Opening hours:

• Monday to Friday: 08:00 - 12:00 and 13:00 - 17:00
• Saturday: 08:00 - 12:00
• by appointment