Alexander tells of his grandfather teaching him to use chisels when he was only 6 years old, and of studying later with a professional Russian carver, Vladimir Tokarev, who was from Alexander’s home town of Dimitrovgrad, Russia. Imprisoned in Russia for his Christian faith and refusal to serve in the Red Army, Alexander continued woodworking in prison, and after his release started a woodcarving business. He emigrated to the United States in 1996, formed a new company, Aalmark, in Indiana in 1999. Later we find him in Charlotte, North Carolina and more recently in Boca Raton, Florida, always maintaining a woodcarving business.
Alexander mentions Gibbons specifically in one photo, the “Rose Carved in Grinling Gibbons style.”
Alexander labels his work as “Architectural and Ornamental” and works mostly in baroque and rococo style. Yet, he doesn’t limit himself to only those styles. It says on his website, “give him a piece of wood, and he can do anything with it… absolutely anything!”
Update: Since writing the original version of this article, Alexander has started an online woodcarving school. Learn more here.
Videos I found interesting:
A “step-by-step” video of the large rococo carving.
A video of creating sunflowers carving.
Other resources:
Alexander’s website: http://grabovetskiy.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grabovetskiy and https://www.facebook.com/woodcarvergrabovetskiy
Alexander’s School of Woodcarving: https://schoolofwoodcarving.com/
YouTube videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/grabovetskiy/videos
Mr. Grabovetskiy I just wanted to say how much I enjoy your work. You are truly a master carver. I know you are very busy but I do miss your livestreams. I learn so much by seeing your work and watching you carve. I am not very good with computers so I am not able to do the live chat, maybe a good thing for you because I would have far too many questions. I am amazed that people who have the opportunity don’t ask you really good questions, just stupid stuff. For me that is a waste of your time.
All the best to you. Your work is always an inspiration.
Hello Karen,
Yes Alex’s work is very impressive. Be aware that Alex did not write this article. I wrote the article about Alex. If you want to communicate directly with Alex, the best place is his School of Woodcarving site.
Thank you.