Walt Cottingham: Camp Creators & Alumni Artisans Series

Walt Cottingham, Wood Craftsman

For Walt Cottingham Jr., summer camp is in his family’s history. His father, Walter Cottingham Sr., grew up going to Camp Greenville, and was Director at nearby Camp Pinnacle for 20 years before joining Falling Creek Camp, where he worked for nearly 3 decades. “I kind of grew up there at Camp Pinnacle”, said Walt. In fact, Walt’s father built their family house on Camp Pinnacle property, and when his family moved, Walt got his first real lesson in carpentry by helping disassemble, transport, and rebuild the home in Zirconia.

Walt’s journey as a carpenter and wood artist has continued to grow over the decades. He built his own house next to that property, where he lives with his wife Karen, and now uses the lower level of his father’s handbuilt home as his woodworking studio. Today, Walt is best known for the beautiful, one-of-a-kind birdhouses he crafts from natural and reclaimed wood in the area.

Walt began his history at Falling Creek in the 70s, when his father was looking for his next chapter in summer camping. “He was looking to keep working in camping, but in a reduced capacity, not as the overall director. And so, he was hired at Falling Creek.” Soon, Walt Jr. was finishing college and needed a summer job, so he became a counselor at Falling Creek too, starting in 1975. He spent his next 7 summers working at camp, until 1982. During the school year, Walt worked as a history, geography, and english teacher for 42 years, first at Northwest Middle School in Travelers Rest, SC, and later at Hendersonville High School.

Walt left his legacy at Falling Creek through his carpentry. Many of the old outpost buildings and cabin overnight shelters exist thanks to his hard work. Today, Walt continues to use his woodworking skills, but rather than building structures, he now focuses on creating art.

Walt’s studio space is full of lumber, tools, and wood he’s carefully selected during his hikes around the Zirconia area. “I tell my children, you gotta hope that I clean all this up before I die. Otherwise you’re going to have a big mess,” he joked.

“The main thing that I sell at craft shows are bird houses. I make them out of all kinds of wood, things that I find hiking in the woods here. I make them out of old barn lumber.” Friends and neighbors will often call Walt before they tear down a barn or wooden structure, to ask if he wants to collect the wood. “Old wood has pieces of burls and really fine stuff that makes beautiful boards,” Walt said.

Most of the wood that Walt uses either comes from repurposing building materials like this, or from finding it on his many walks around the hills and forests of Zirconia. “I live in a place that’s conducive to woodworking. I think just about every bird house I’ve ever made has some piece of mountain laurel in it.” He uses mountain laurel for pegs, locks, or latches on the doors of his bird houses, because the wood is hard, twisty, and interesting looking. “I live in the middle of a bunch of mountain laurel, and if I lived in a city I just wouldn’t have it. So it’s nice to live in an environment that supports your habits,” Walt says.

In the past, Walt has made everything from houses to the furniture inside them. “I’m sitting at a dining table I made right now,” he said. “I don’t make many tables any more. I used to carry tables and benches around the craft shows, but they’re so hard to carry and move and all that. I finally thought I’ll just stick with the smaller things.”

Though his birdhouses may be comparatively smaller, the character they hold is larger than life. Walt makes his birdhouses with specific birds in mind, crafting each to appeal to a particular local species.

Why birdhouses? “I’ve always liked birds, and I made bird houses before I was ten years old. I made my first one in my Boy Scout troop. Overtime I got better at it, and I’m still getting better at it. Maybe it goes along with being somebody that’s worked on buildings over the years, but I like things that are a combination of functional and artistic.” Walt may have learned his first woodworking and craftsman skills from his father, but he inherited his artistic side from his mother, who was a painter.

The biggest boost for Walt’s art career was in 2005, when he was accepted into the Southern Highland Craft Guild, America’s second oldest craft guild. “This guild was started almost 100 years ago by people in the southern Appalachians trying to make a living. Being in this guild has given me a lot of great friends and opened a lot of doors for me.” In addition to the Southern Highland Craft Guild, Walt is also a member of the Piedmont Craftsman Guild, which is based out of Winston-Salem, NC. These days, Walt does about 10 craft shows a year, traveling as far as Cincinnati, Memphis, Nashville, and Atlanta.

Making art a career is not for the faint of heart though, and Walt points out that it’s difficult work. When asked what advice he would give to a camper who wanted to pursue woodworking as a career, Walt said, “If you find you are interested in something, there are lots of ways to pursue it without it being a source of income. Maybe if you get good enough, you can sell pieces and things like that, and there are lots of resources to help you today. But I wouldn’t tell someone how to have a career. I would say, if you find you love something and you’re passionate about it, then maybe you should look into ways that you can make it profitable. However, I know many woodworkers who are very skilled and they’ve never sold a thing, but they make beautiful stuff because they just love doing it. To me, I think that’s just as important.”

Though it’s enjoyable, creating the art pieces is also hard work. “I don’t look at it as a hobby, it’s a profession for me at this point, and so I make that distinction,” Walt says. But his favorite part about this work is having something to do every day that he’s still excited about. He enjoys having a passion to work on in retirement that has kept him interested and introduced him to so many people. “It has been a real joy as part of my life to have a passion for woodworking. The fun part is finding a piece and conceptualizing how you’re going to use it. I’ve met so many nice people, and I’ve got such great friends in the craft business. I feel really blessed by it.”

If you come to the Falling Creek main office, you’ll find one of Walt’s original benches in the welcome room. Walt generously gifted this bench to camp, where it will continue to be enjoyed by Falling Creek families for years to come.

You can keep up with Walt’s latest creations on the Southern Highland Craft Guild’s artist website.