14 Facts About Stephen Huneck

Stephen Huneck was an American wood carver and folk artist.

Stephen Huneck authored a series of children's books featuring Sally, the first of which, Sally Goes to the Beach, was a New York Times best seller.

Stephen Huneck was born in Columbus, Ohio, but grew up in Sudbury, Massachusetts, as one of seven children.

Stephen Huneck had severe dyslexia, but he found calm in exploring the woods near his home and roughly carving bits of fallen branches.

Stephen Huneck began finding and restoring antique furniture, beginning with an old chair he noticed had been set out for trash collection.

Stephen Huneck was discovered in 1984 when Jay Johnson noticed one of his carvings, an angel carved from pine, in Huneck's pick-up truck.

Not intending to sell it and believing that the man would not pay such a high price, Stephen Huneck told Johnson that he wanted $1,000.

In 1994, Stephen Huneck fell down the stairs at his studio while carrying a large carving, breaking several ribs and suffering a head injury.

Outside of initial cutting and final sanding, Stephen Huneck only used hand tools, and he had an atypical carving style, drawing the blade towards himself.

Pieces of Stephen Huneck's artwork are in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian Institution; Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, New Hampshire; the Museum of American Folk Art and American Kennel Club Museum of the Dog in New York City; and Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont.

Stephen Huneck received commissions for works from celebrities and politicians, including Sandra Bullock, Dr Phil McGraw, and US Sen.

Stephen Huneck began building The Dog Chapel at Dog Mountain in 1997, completing the project in three years.

Stephen Huneck described his coma as a "near death experience" during which a dog-headed figure visited him and sold him "a fantastic dog sculpture that seemed to contain the secrets of life itself," inspiring him to build the chapel.

Sally Goes to the Beach spent a week in The New York Times Review of Books children's best-sellers list in 2000, and Stephen Huneck earned a silver medal at the Society of Illustrators's The Original Art competition, which honors illustrations from children's books, in 2002 for Sally Goes to the Farm.