Philip Tester

St Vincent of Saragossa. By Phil Tester

I work in wood out of a spiritual necessity. I find that the saints and other figures I carve show me how tonavigate life itself. I contemplate their situations as I carve, sometimes finding that, as I help to bring forward or else pare away elements of the wood, that I am able to enhance or pare away vital aspects of my own inner life.

Carved wood changes with each viewing angle and method of lighting, so the work, like ourselves, is always different. Wood, warm and inviting, is an old friend and has been an organic part of my life, from the childhood climbing of trees to later building houses, and, over the decades, heating our homes with wood. I work “with” the wood, changing my initial design to complement the structure and grain found as the work progresses deeper into the wood. 

I am also a cartoonist, draw pencil sketches and play classical and Celtic finger-style guitar. I have spent over fifty years of my life in the Southwest and, for nearly two decades, lived on the eastern edge of the Chiricahua Mountains near Portal, AZ and in Hanover, New Mexico with my wife, poet and playwright Victoria Tester. 

In 2018 we moved to Coleman, Texas to begin the renovation of Mrs. Powell’s Boarding house, later Doctor Jones Coleman Medical Clinic. In 2024 we have made wonderful progress on the home, but there is much to do for completion.