He carves — pine, cedar, oak, elm, boards, stumps, roots. Just name it and Vincente Bustamante has probably created some whimsical work of art from it — or plans to soon.

Each of the approximately 200 pieces he has carved since his retirement is etched with DeVinci, which the local artisan explains means, "of Vincent."

"As long as I can remember," Bustamante responds when asked how long he has whittled.

"When I was a small kid, we had no money, so I carved airplanes, saddles and mariachis, complete with a guitar, trumpet or bass — whatever I wanted."

He was born in Presidio, Texas, where his dad, Vincente worked closeby in the silver mines. He remembers that as a young boy of about 9 years old, he would deliver lunches to his dad and an uncle in the mines.

When his family moved to Big Spring, Vincente began doing art work at the church, "I used to paint for St. Thomas Catholic Church. I would paint flags and banners for different occasions.

"The nuns there wanted to send me to Rome to study art, but I was pretty young and said I’m not leaving my mom here. My dad had just died."

Vincente actually did attend art school as a youngster.

He remembers, "Chancellor Studios in Texas used to do photographs of weddings — touch up the paintings, put color in them and make you look good. If you had green eyes and wanted blue eyes, we would paint blue eyes. We would do that work and he (Chancellor) would deduct for his teaching fee."

Bustamante considers himself lucky to have made his living working with wood, "I knew I didn’t want to work in the mines or in the fields," he says. His lifelong occupation began when he was hired by a Big Spring cabinet maker. "Fran Talbot was one of the best cabinet makers around," according to Bustamante. "He started me on building cabinets and that used to be my living."

He is proud to have served his country in the Army during the Korean War, stationed at Ft. Carson, Colo., at Sandia Base and with a tour of duty in Korea.

DeVinci doesn’t know where he got his artistic talent, but believes his talented children owe his wife’s side of the family. Eleanor Bustamante is a weaver, whose art focuses on her Indian heritage.

The couple’s children are Margaret, Juan and Diana, who live in Artesia; Silio who is in Bend, Ore.; Alcario, who is based with the Navy in W. Va.; and Lucas, who is stationed in San Diego, Calif. with the Marine Corps. They also have 11 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

After retiring as a cabinet maker, Bustamante worked at the Artesia Senior Center and at the senior mealsite for a time. Then heart problems, "put me out of commission and I went back to carving."

With a lilt in his voice and a subtle sense of humor shining through, DeVinci explains his philosophy when it comes to choosing subjects for his craft.

"I whittle just about anything. I never do the same thing twice. The only thing I hate to whittle is chickens and pigs — I never liked to whittle those. A chicken just doesn’t fascinate me.

"Anything else, dogs, cats, turtles, people. Yolanda (at the Center), I kind of whittled her and her boy. It looked like an elm tree stump. I just find materials here and there. It doesn’t matter if it is old or not. I just look at the wood and decide what it should be. I look at it, start on it and see what comes out.

"When I know someone a long time, I carve something for them. I do it because I enjoy doing it."

Dora Fierro, executive director at the Senior Center says that Bustamante is a regular there, "We see him every day. If we don’t see him for a day or two, we worry and call to make sure he’s OK."

She says, "How can you look at a piece of wood and come up with what he does? He has such a wonderful imagination."

To illustrate her point, Fierro picks up an original DeVinci from a shelf in her office, "He made this eagle for me out of a piece of tree, and then he carved my name on the front," she says proudly displaying her personalized gift.

The tools of Bustamante’s art are basic. A pocket knife, chisel, hammer and hand saw. He uses sand paper to finish the pieces.

About three hours is normal to complete one of his creations according to Vincente, "I like to see the chips flying out. I get into it and see chips flying. My wife thinks I’m real messy, but I clean up after myself."

The late Dr. C.A. Stryjewski and Vincente Bustamante spent a great deal of time together at the Artesia Senior Center.

Bustamante points out a
detailed statue of a saint he carved for Dr. Stryjewski, "We were real good friends. He would give me stones and I wanted to make him a little something and he was real pleased."

Friends of ‘DeVinci’ are hosting a reception/exhibit, with refreshments, for him at the Chamber of Commerce, from 2-4 p.m. on Sunday, June 23.

Those who attend the event will see a clever collection of charming, works of art whittled by a talented folk artisan with a playful sense of humor.