Profile

Introduction: Walter Keller was born and raised in Switzerland. There he was a professional logger, before coming to Canada in 1967. In Manitoba, Walter was as a Tower man/Logger and became Park Foreman at Paint Lake Provincial Park. During the early 70’s,Walter returned to Switzerland and until 1973 was employed as a District Forest Officer in Zurich. On another return to Switzerland, from the mid 1980’s until 1999, he was a consulting forester for the National Railway system. During the mid 1970’s to mid 1980’s, Walter started as a Park Foreman in Whiteshell Provincial Park. He worked his way up to Regional Fire Control Officer in Thompson, Manitoba.
LOG BUILDING: Walter has been a log builder since 1976 and has handcrafted more than two dozen, log buildings in Canada and Europe. In 1994, he founded TIMBER BLOCKBAU LTD. a firm that constructed log homes, cabins, and barns in Switzerland and Germany. Walter was asked to conduct his first dedicated log Building Course at a mountain resort in 1997 and in 1998 he published a small handbook on log building techniques in Switzerland. "The Timberman", Chainsaw Carver and Log Building Instructor was established in 1999, in the town of Elma, Manitoba.

Chainsaw Carving: Walter's inspiration for chain saw carving came from watching a video by JERRY FABER, OF MINNESOTA. A Few Words From Walter ... Both my previous careers: as a forester engaged in forest and fire management, and later as a professional log builder and log building instructor have left me with a profound appreciation for my medium; the natural tree trunk. Carving with chain saws and hand tools, I always strive to incorporate the natural features of the trunks, stumps, logs or driftwood into the emerging carving or sculpture. I particularly found that there is beauty in wood, no matter how lowly the piece of raw material may appear at first glance. I often use discarded butt logs from clear-cut areas, whole tree stumps from excavations - or land clearing operations. Urban tree removal services offer large trunks or character logs to me for the taking, in fact, to this date there has never been a tree felled for the purpose of obtaining a carving log. Often, I get commissioned to do on site carving in a trunk that has been left standing after the removal of a tree. Life-size realistic animal carvings depicting the fauna of the Boreal Forest are a large part of my carving repetoire. On the other hand, I found a free hand kind of sculpting, releasing the spirit of the wood into the visible world. Using whole stumps with the root system intact, tree crowns, witch's brooms, and multiple forged trunks i.e. nature's quirks, as a medium to call the wood spirits into the tangible state. These whimsical creatures are allowed to appear without any pre-conceived drawings or notions and are veritable happenings. The size of these sculptures may vary greatly.
	Alpine Wooden Fountain. Hollow log fountains such as are used to water cattle in the swiss alps, complete with carved stands and spouts. Troughs can be up to 10 ft long.