Featured Artists

Loren Baker
Member of Blue Earth Royal Chiselers,Blue Earth, MN

Loren was a farm boy, who after graduating from Worthington High School farmed for a year. Loren enlisted in the Navy and served from 1951-1954. After which he worked in a sheet metal shop before going to North Dakota State School of Science. There Loren studied the sheet metal trade. Before entering the North Dakota State School of Science Loren married Janise Roberts, a high school class mate. While spending ten years working in the sheet metal trade in Montana, Loren and Jan had two daughters and a son. In 1967 Loren and Jan bought a Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning business in Blue Earth, MN. Loren and Jan operated this business until retirement in 2002.

They are now enjoying retirement which encludes as much camping and RV’ing as possible and their four grand children, two in college and two just starting school. In 1972 Loren took a Wood Carving Seminar and joined the Blue Earth WoodCarving Club. Loren did not do much carving as business was good and did not leave much time for hobbies. In the summer of 1995 Loren’s carving interest turned toward chip carving. Loren took a seminar from Tim Manska at the Vesierheim Museum in Decorah, Iowa. This became Loren’s main focus in carving. Since then Loren has taken seminars from Wayne Barton, Pam Gresham, Shirley Hunter and Walt Grittner. Loren also enjoys relief carving and other types of carving as well. Because of Loren’s love of carving, Loren’s wife Jan has taken up woodcarving. Jan and Loren attend carving weekends and seminars together. Loren is proud of Jan’s progress as a beginner and they look forward to many more years of Woodcarving together.