Frank Bettencourt (Condon), is a woodworker who produces replicas of farm equipment, vehicles and old western buildings - all without patterns. His pieces pay homage to the aesthetics of his past occupation as farmer and cowboy.
Bio
Frank Bettencourt builds wooden miniatures of farm equipment. Bettencourt’s grandfather was a builder in Portland, and, as Bettencourt says, he “just grew up with it.” In 1948, Bettencourt moved to Gilliam County, where he worked as a farmer and cowboy. He and his wife ran their own ranch from 1967-81.They now live in Condon where Bettencourt has a large woodworking shop in a separate building next to their house. His way of working is to first visualize an object and then craft it, which he does without patterns. His miniature structures often replicate farm equipment, like the combines he once drove. His birdhouses resemble old western buildings or churches; the birdhouse in his backyard is almost an exact model of the huge grain elevator that stands directly behind the family house. Bettencourt’s model vehicles all have moving parts that leave visible the grain and uniqueness of the wood.
