Pudding River Carving Studios

Pudding River Carving Studios Welcome to my new page. Here I will share updates on new art, upcoming shows and exclusive behind-the-scenes glimpses into my creative process.

Occasionally, I’ll offer special previews and early access to new pieces. Please follow the page. To call Jim Barton a chain saw artist would be misleading. He refines his pieces using traditional hand tools, carving and sanding to a high level of finish. But he does use a chain saw on certain pieces. Barton's skill honed in decades of work as a logger and later, from years of work as an artist al

lows him to slab massive, flawless inch-thin sections of stock from snags and long-abandoned redwood stumps and roots. Jim grew up in a little logging community in the Pacific Northwest. His grandfather owned and operated a sawmill thirty years before he was born. His own father did the same. By the time he was a freshman in high school, he was already working in a local sawmill. Jim also grew up in Alaska between the age of seven and fourteen. His father was a bush pilot, his mother a watercolor artist and mother of four children. After a few years of college he returned to Alaska and fell timber for a number of years. "That's where the money was, you were your own business, you would go out and you'd live or die. There's a danger there, you better be savvy; you better have a good sixth-sense". Jim has a natural feeling for design and image. "You look at a big old chunk of wood and it weighs ten thousand pounds and you know something is there, you sense it and it reveals itself. The biggest, ugliest, orneriest piece of wood always turns out to be the best. There is always a certain amount of disbelief, but it happens that way every time," he said. "The beautiful thing is the body. I just go to work. I just put one foot in front of the other, go out and get a piece of wood and go to work. Then it all comes back, you're grounded and you're able to put something back into the world". Learn more and stay in touch at www.puddingriverstudio.com.

Had a great time meeting people and showing off my work at the Portland House & Outdoor Living Show (Mar 20–22, Conventi...
03/24/2026

Had a great time meeting people and showing off my work at the Portland House & Outdoor Living Show (Mar 20–22, Convention Center). If we met there, stay in touch!

11/17/2025

Progress update on the Spiral Sculpture!

SNEAK PEEK: Tangtong Gyalpo image in process for buddhist monastery in Northern California.
09/08/2025

SNEAK PEEK: Tangtong Gyalpo image in process for buddhist monastery in Northern California.

08/11/2025

The spiral sculpture continues to take shape!

Dear friends, thanks to all those of you who were able to come out to Pudding River Studio for our recent annual picnic....
07/30/2025

Dear friends, thanks to all those of you who were able to come out to Pudding River Studio for our recent annual picnic. What fun it was, and perfect weather too. It truly was a memorable day of old friends and new, all coming together to break bread, tour the property, see the workshop spaces where all the creations are made, and build community.

It was particularly special for me to reconnect there with some of you I had the good fortune of meeting recently at the various home & garden and sports shows. It's always gratifying to be able to "show" the workshop, the surrounding acreage and the beautiful Pudding River. And I was heartened to get some new commissions from some of you, which I'm looking forward to starting soon.

We plan to continue the tradition next summer, and hope to see you there. In the meanwhile, let's stay in touch!

07/28/2025

Sneak peak at a Spiral Sculpture in progress.

A big beautiful Oregon maple tree needed to be removed and will become future tables and fireplace mantels! Lots of fir...
06/08/2025

A big beautiful Oregon maple tree needed to be removed and will become future tables and fireplace mantels! Lots of firewood and clean up in the front end of this process. Big table tops will be cut at the end of process. Freehand on site then everything was brought back to the workshop in Aurora for drying.

Come tour Pudding River Studios with us...
03/09/2025

Come tour Pudding River Studios with us...

Learn about James Barton and his love for carving. Visit our showroom and learn about the sustainable approach used in creating our custom products.

The Portland Build, Remodel & Landscape Show took place January 10–12, 2025 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland,...
03/09/2025

The Portland Build, Remodel & Landscape Show took place January 10–12, 2025 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon. Pudding River Studio was pleased to participate and be there, and it was great seeing previous clients who were back again, as well as meeting new friends and clients. A special thanks to my family—including my niece and my nephew-in-law—who came to support the cause. It was all great fun! And hope to see you all at the next one...

03/07/2025

Please join me at the "House and Outdoor Living Show" April 4-6 at the Oregon Convention Center (Exhibit Hall C). I will have lots of artwork to view/purchase, might be actively working on a commission and will generally be on hand to chat! Reply below if you will be there so I can be on the lookout for you!

For more information about the show: https://www.oregoncc.org/en/events/2025/04/house-and-outdoor-living-show-2025

02/18/2025

Photos and video from recent shows (including Home and Garden shows as well as the Pacific Northwest Sportsman's Show). Say hello if we met there!

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Aurora, OR
97002

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