A self-taught Australian woodcarver goes from discovering his dad’s old whittling knife to creating life-size sculptures, award-winning work, and a workshop filled with gouges, chainsaws, and bark.
In this episode of The Modern Woodcarver Podcast, I sit down with Pedro Rodriguez of PR Sculptures to talk about his journey from simple knife whittling to large-scale wood sculpture, live carving shows, chainsaw work, and the realities of teaching yourself the craft.
Pedro shares how following a single Santa carving tutorial sent him down the woodcarving rabbit hole—and eventually turned into an almost daily practice and a drive to make every new carving better than the last.
We talk about trusting the “ugly stage” of a carving, learning anatomy to create more realistic figures, developing your own style, and why sometimes the best way to improve is simply to keep carving.
Pedro also tells the incredible story of how a priest discovered one of his early carvings and commissioned him to create a life-size crucifixion sculpture—a project that would challenge him for more than a year.
Throughout the conversation, we get into:
Pedro’s journey as a self-taught woodcarver
Moving from whittling to larger wood sculpture
Creating a life-size crucifixion carving
Learning anatomy for realistic figure carving
Gouges, sweep numbers, knives, and chainsaws
Carving from photos, videos, and real-life references
Developing your own woodcarving style
Learning to embrace the “ugly stage”
The difference between praise and constructive criticism
Australian carving woods and how they compare with basswood and cottonwood bark
The mindset behind continually improving your craft
Pedro’s story is a great reminder that you don’t need to have everything figured out before you begin. Skills are built through experimentation, mistakes, stubbornness, and putting in the hours.
If you’re a woodcarver, whittler, sculptor, or simply someone who enjoys hearing how a creative hobby can grow into something much bigger, this conversation is packed with inspiration and practical insight.
Pedro Rodriguez is the artist behind PR Sculptures in Australia, creating carved figures, wildlife, bark carvings, and larger sculptural work. His work has earned competition recognition and commissions as he continues to push his skills and develop his own style.
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