ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: Former Shuttle Worker Doug Snider Finds Calling With Artistic Wood Carvings

Art created from reclaimed or repurposed wood

SPACE COAST DAILY TV: Doug Snider, Artist and Creator of Snidely Wood Studios located on Kings Hwy. in Port St. John, shows off his amazing collection of wood fish, furniture and other created gems.

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Career changes often involve unexpected transitions to unfamiliar areas, and Doug Snider’s path is the perfect example.

For three decades,  Snider applied his craftsmanship skills and his discerning eye for top quality detail as an inspector and quality engineer for one of engineering’s top marvels: NASA’s Space Shuttle.

Since the shuttle’s retirement, Snider’s daily focus shifted from a machine carrying some of the most advanced technological pieces on earth to a craft that dates back to man’s first day’s on earth: woodcarving.

A passion that started as a part-time hobby for Snider has transformed into a full-time career creating eye-catching carvings of objects ranging from swordfish to surfboards.

Snider’s passions for wood sculpting,  fishing and surfing in the Ocean fueled the inspiration behind his realistic wood fish replicas and three-dimensional wood art with LED light up fish and furniture.

Snider started Custom Carvings by Snidely LLC and Island Home Decor, and Snidely Wood Studio in 2005.  He built and opened a Wood Studio and Art Gallery in Cocoa Florida in 2015.

Snider has been juried into and participates in fine art and craft shows throughout Florida including Saint Augustine, Mount Dora, Orlando, Melbourne, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, Palm Beach, Port Canaveral, Cocoa Beach, Boca Raton and the Florida Keys.

He has placed first with Blue Ribbon and Prize Money in the Wood Art Category in Orlando at Lake Eola Fiesta in the Park and been awarded Honorable Mention at several other shows.  In 2013, Doug’s Marine Art and humorous personality landed him a guest appearance on the TV show Fishing the Flats filmed on location in Homosassa Springs Florida.

After opening a shop in Port St. John, Snider expanded his business to Artegon Marketplace in Orlando.

His new gallery, Wild Life Gallery, features Snider’s carvings and Damian Mosier of Tiki’s Wood Carvings and Tiki Bar Fun, Armando Havia of MetalFish66.com and Browns Taxidermy, which is based in Port Canaveral.

CAREER MILESTONES:

In 2015 he was selected to create a Museum Piece for Seminole County created from rescued remnants from the 3,500-year-old tree named “The Senator” which burned down in 2012 in Big Tree Park.

Consigned by Viking Yacht Company to create their sponsored Tournament Trophies for the Italian Master Tuna Tournament for 2015 and 2016. The trophy customers are located throughout the globe in Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Nova Scotia, New Found land and all over the U.S.

All of Doug’s Wood Art is created from rescued and reclaimed or repurposed wood that he purchases from local tree trimming companies before they take it to the dump or salvages it from the waterways or old buildings. So his business is a totally Green Company and this makes Doug is literally a TreeHugger.

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