{"id":68854,"date":"2025-12-23T20:56:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-23T20:56:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/68854\/"},"modified":"2025-12-23T20:56:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T20:56:07","slug":"bethlehem-woodcarvers-nativity-is-on-display-the-taylorsville-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/68854\/","title":{"rendered":"Bethlehem woodcarver\u2019s Nativity is on display \u2013 The Taylorsville Times"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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By KARISSA MILLER
Special to The Times<\/p>\n

Using a carving knife and a few other tools, Dean Wright can transform a piece of basswood into a work of art.<\/p>\n

Wright, 88, of Bethlehem, has been carving wooden figures by hand and teaching wood carving for more than three decades.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s my therapy. It keeps me busy,\u201d he said. \u201cI started out making birds and ducks, then I got away from that and moved onto other things.\u201d<\/p>\n

But what he\u2019s most proud of is his 21-piece nativity scene that depicts Jesus\u2019s humble birth, the message of Christmas and serves as a reminder of his faith.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Lord did it all. He is the one who gave me the gift. He deserves all the praise,\u201d Wright said. \u201cI started on it in 1990. It took me 35 years to make. I completed it last year.\u201d<\/p>\n

His nativity scene is on display inside the sanctuary of Bethlehem Baptist Church this month. It shows Jesus in a manager, Mary, Joseph, the Three Wise men, animals, a barn, a star, straw and other fine details.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt led to add this to our d\u00e9cor this season,\u201d said Bethlehem Baptist Pastor Dean Chambers. \u201cIt\u2019s a labor of faith and love \u2014 to our church and to our Lord and Savior.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe whittled every one of these characters and did some by machine. He finished it last year, and won first place at Catawba Valley Wood Carving with this display,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Helen Wright, his wife of 68 years and a talented painter, said that over the past three years, their family has experienced a lot of ups and downs with navigating health challenges. Having his art on display has lifted the spirits of their family.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very proud of him,\u201d Helen said. \u201cIt\u2019s nice to know that someone is acknowledging Dean\u2019s gifts.\u201d<\/p>\n

His daughter Sandie Price agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I found out the church displayed it, I called the Pastor and told him that it meant a lot to us. He\u2019s worked on it for years and years,\u201d Price said.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve given him honest feedback, she continued, good and bad, over the years (on the nativity).<\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing that\u2019s touched me is that while we, at times, saw the imperfections, the people who see it, only see the beauty and finished work,\u201d Price said.<\/p>\n

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Charming Santa Claus collectibles<\/p>\n

Wright has made dozens of figurines through time from frogs to boots to his specialty Santa Clauses.<\/p>\n

Using cypress knees (protruding structures from the roots of cypress trees), Wright envisions Santa figurines in different poses and gestures. He then sands, hand carves and paints and antiques every piece.<\/p>\n

Cypress knees have an unusual shape, which means that each piece of wood will dictate the design. The end result is a charming figure of Santa in an endearingly comical pose.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome Santas will show a belt, boots or toy bag. Every one of them is different,\u201d Wright explained.<\/p>\n

Wright is a charter member of the Catawba Valley Woodcarvers. The group started from humble beginning in the basement of his house.<\/p>\n

He is passionate about inspiring the next generation of young woodcarvers.<\/p>\n

Most of his carvings are sold at local galleries, including The Red Awning Gallery in Hudson and Hiddenite Arts and Heritage Center, and at craft shows.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By KARISSA MILLERSpecial to The Times Using a carving knife and a few other tools, Dean Wright can…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":68855,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154],"class_list":{"0":"post-68854","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bethlehem","8":"tag-bethlehem","9":"tag-bethlehem-headlines","10":"tag-bethlehem-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68854"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68854\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}