I studied the art of Woodcarving under the guidance of Michael Denike for about 10 years.  In the early 1990’s Michael decided it was time to retire, but wanted to find someone to carry on the tradition he started in 1974.  He approached me one day, and gave me a slip of paper with a number on it.  He asked if I were interested in purchasing the school for an amount equal to the number on the paper.  I said, “Mike, let me make a phone call.”  I called my business partner, who also goes by the name of Michael, and said, “ Mike.  Did you ever think about owning a Woodcarving School?”  I told him the sum of money that would be required and he said, “I’ll be right there.”  The rest is history, as they say.  Mike Holst and I purchased the American Woodcarving School in 1992 and ran it, along with our Sign Business, until 2006.  Mike and I decided to pursue other interests, and decided to pass the baton to Jerry Cetrulo.  Jerry taught many of our classes at the school, during the time that we owned it, and expressed his desire to purchase and continue running the school.  He is doing a fine job with the school and is helping perpetuate the long tradition begun by Michael Denike some 34 years ago.

Today, I continue to teach classes at the school, continue my study of the figure with Michael Shacham at the Morris Art Association in Morristown,  and have begun devoting some time to woodcarving again.  I am pleased to be able to share some of my work with you. 

About Me

My name is Eric R. Bunn.

I was born October 20th 1954 in Paterson, NJ. 

In High School I took a class in Architectural Drawing and discovered that I had an interest in my creative side.   I went to Auburn University and received a Degree in Industrial Design from the School of Architecture and Fine Arts.  After college, I took a job as a Package Designer for Sealed Air Corporation in Totowa, NJ.  One lunch time, while wandering around the back roads of Wayne, I happened upon a school called, The American Carving School.  I was curious, but my lunch hour was over and I had to return to work.


I questioned a few people in the office about this strange place, called the American Carving School.  No-one knew what it was, and some actually thought it might be a School for Butchers.  The next day I decided to investigate this so called School for Butchers.  I remember the day clearly.  It was a Wednesday, and it was the day that would forever change my life.  I stopped in and discovered that it was not a School for Butchers, after all.  The American Carving School was a School of Woodcarving.  Founder, Michael Denike , started the school in 1974, and taught classes in both woodcarving and stone carving.  He later decided to change the name to The American Woodcarving School, because of the strong interest in Woodcarving.    I met with Michael, he showed me the school,  and I signed up immediately.