Tim Lewis

Tim Lewis lives in Isonville, Kentucky, in a beautiful hillside home he built himself, with his wife and his daughter, Amber. He is brother to furniture maker and sometimes-carver Leroy Lewis, and Junior is his cousin. Lewis was in the army and traveled around for six years. He has also done oil well digging, strip mining, and logging. Driving a runaway truck on a mountain road discouraged him for continuing his work in logging. He says his first inspiration came from seeing what Junior Lewis was doing, and then Minnie and Garland Adkins encouraged him. Tim Lewis started by making canes from the root-ends of small trees. These he painted elaborately to create a face or figure. He spends more time now making stone carvings, often from chimney stones found in the woods. He also uses sandstone blocks. He carves with a hammer and chisel. Lately his work schedule has been interrupted by bouts of arthritis.

—Reprinted with permission from Self-Taught Outside and Folk Art: A Guide to American Artists, Locations and Resources By Betty-Carol Sellen with Cynthia J. Johanson

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