SARANAC LAKE — Two weeks ago, Rachel Lamb was invited to join the Adirondack Artists Guild in Saranac Lake.
“I hung my work two days later, so it was a quick turnaround,” the Bloomingdale resident said.
“Since I moved here, it’s always been a dream of mine to be a member there, so I didn’t feel like I could say no,” she added.
Lamb grew up in Chazy and was a class of 2000 graduate of Chazy Central Rural School.
“I’ve always enjoyed art from a young age, but the woodcarving, I learned in a college course,” she said. “I went to St. Lawrence University. We did independent study. I did an Adirondack Semester, and that was in Tupper Lake. There was a man in Tupper Lake who you could work in course with. I chose carving, and he gave me some tools, and a board, and I was left pretty much to my own devices. I learned on my own over time. Just honing the skills, developing, and getting better at it.”
Lamb studied studio art at St. Lawrence University and graduated in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts. Two years later, she moved to the Adirondacks, where she worked various jobs including leading activities at Mountain Lake Academy, a boys’ residential home.
Lamb found her artistic stride with ArtWalks in Saranac Lake in the summers and by submitting her works to juried competitions and joining another Saranac Lake gallery for exposure.
“I love the Adirondacks for all the activities here and outdoor adventures and such,” she said. “I was focused more on that, but kept doing my carving on the side. I joined a different gallery in 2012 in Saranac Lake, and I was a member there for five years. Then, I had my son, and I didn’t have enough time, so when he was about a year old, I left. Then, I had another son. Now that my youngest is in kindergarten, I have time to really focus on it more.”
Lamb carves primarily in bass wood. Pine is also good, but she prefers bass wood because it’s smoother and carves more crisp and easier.
“I get that right in Saranac at Adirondack Hardwoods, which is a nice local place there,” she said.
Lamb uses Swiss-made, palm-handled tools to carve.
“They are pretty small,” she said.
Lamb’s subject matter is Adirondack flora, but she also does abstracts pieces too. Her work has been in many local and regional art exhibits.
Her Guild works include “Jack-in-the-Pulpit” and “Live in Full Color,” her latest abstract piece.
“I have a pink lady slipper and a pitcher plant that I found in bogs, and some abstract things with swirls,” she said. “I don’t know how to describe the abstract pieces. I usually just draw it out. Just start with some shapes that I seem to like, and then just trying to make sure there is a reoccurring pattern to it like whatever shape I’m using, use them multiple times in different areas.”
Her process begins with reference photographs she captures when she’s out hiking or canoeing.
“I draw on the wood with pencil, and then carve from there,” Lamb said. “I either paint or stain it afterward.”
The relief-wall hangings are about an inch-thick.
“I’ve done a few three-dimensional pieces,” she said. “I’ve done some bookends, and a lamp, but for the most part they are relief-wall hangings. The largest piece I’ve done is probably my first one, which is 4-feet wide by a foot-and-a-half long. I do a lot of small ones of leaves. They are like 5×7. I also do coasters, barrettes, and earrings.”
If You Go The Adirondack Artists Guild will welcome woodcarver Rachel Lamb as a new member. Lamb grew up in Chazy, where she was an avid artist from a young age and dabbled in many different mediums. She studied Studio Art at St. Lawrence University and graduated in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts. The Adirondack Artists Guild is a cooperative retail art gallery representing a diverse group of artists residing and working in the Tri-Lakes region of the Adirondack Park. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays. The gallery is located at 52 Main St., Saranac Lake. For more information, call 518-891-2615. The Guild is on Facebook, Instagram and on the web at www.adirondackartistsguild.com.