As of: April 2, 2024, 11:07 a.m
By: Andreas Steppan
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The first bowl she made herself: Marianne Scheifl started training as a wood carver. © Marianne Scheifl
Marianne Scheifl from Jachenau has started training as a wood carver. The idea only came to her after her father died at the end of 2022.
Jachenau - For decades, Josef Scheifl's wood carving workshop in Jachenau was a permanent point of contact for customers who appreciated beautiful handcraft. With the unexpected death of the artist in December 2022, the traditional business seemed to be on the brink of extinction. But now a new perspective is opening up: Josef Scheifl's daughter Marianne has decided to follow in her father's footsteps. The 29-year-old began her training as a wood carver in September.
Marianne Scheifl only secretly tried her hand at carving
It was not foreseeable during her father's lifetime that Marianne Scheifl would one day take up this profession. “Dad never expected this and didn’t pressure me to take over his business,” says the Jachenauer.
She always felt comfortable in her father's workshop. “It was cozy with dad.” She was also enthusiastic about her father’s products: nativity figures, depictions of ibexes and sheep and of course the “Jachenauer Stars”, Christmas tree decorations made of pine wood, Josef Scheifl’s own creation, of which he produces hundreds every year made and sold. But Marianne never picked up a carving knife herself. “I only tried it once when he wasn’t there,” she says. “Then I cut my finger and hid the wood with the blood stain from him.”
Successful first works: Marianne Scheifl has already carved an ibex. © Marianne Scheifl
She only briefly thought about applying to the wood carving school in Oberammergau like her father once did. “But when I looked at the admission criteria, I said to myself: You’ll never make it!”
From freelance writer to woodcarver
Marianne Scheifl took a different career path, earned her money as a freelance author, wrote travel reports, product texts, test reports and more. “There was no need to change anything about my life.”
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She suddenly felt differently when Josef Scheifl suddenly died in the run-up to Christmas in 2022. At the age of 78, he had continued to carve wood with great joy. In the time after his death, Marianne, the younger of his two daughters, was overcome by the strong feeling: “I loved being in the workshop so much – the environment, the smell, the wood. “That can’t all be gone now.”
The idea of becoming a wood carver herself was something of a “short circuit” at first, she says. “At first I was afraid that it wasn't really me. But the idea got into my head and didn’t come out.”
Jachenauerin begins training as a wood carver
Marianne Scheifl looked at the Berchtesgaden carving school - officially it is called the “Vocational School for Wood Carving and Joinery of the Berchtesgadener Land District”. She registered for the entrance exam in March. She liked the family school; the entry hurdles didn't seem quite as high as in Oberammergau.
In loving memory: Josef Scheifl (†) ran his workshop in Jachenau for decades. © Arndt Pröhl
But even though there were only 15 applicants for the 15 places in the year, those interested first had to prove themselves. “That was a hard day from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.,” says the Jachenauer. She had to do carpentry and carving - neither of which she had really done before - as well as drawing and writing down the Pythagorean theorem. A month later she was informed that she had made it.
The training began on September 1st. At the technical school, Marianne Scheifl was “equipped with a set of carving irons,” she reports. “I can’t reach Dad’s irons yet.”
Dad made it look so easy and playful. But he was also 50 years ahead of me.
Marianne Scheifl, aspiring wood carver from Jachenau.
The first week was hard. “Up until then, my job had just been sitting at the computer. Now I was supposed to make a bowl out of hard walnut and I banged on it until my arm fell off. On the second day I said: I'm going home." But persevering was worth it. “I've gotten used to it now. It's getting easier.” Judging by her first grades, Marianne Scheifl doesn't like her new job. In the interim report she has an average of 1.27.
She has already carved, among other things, a salad bowl, reliefs, ornaments and also an ibex. “My dad made it look so easy, like it was playful,” she says. “But he was 50 years ahead of me.”
Jachenau stars were Josef Scheifl's trademark
She has also dared to use the stars, Josef Scheifl's trademark. “He never painted the stars beforehand, he just started carving them,” says the daughter. “If I manage to carve them just as well, then the Jachenau stars will continue to exist.”
When it comes to other motifs, Marianne Scheifl also wants to stick to tradition, for example carving nativity figures or coats of arms and also using the fragrant pine wood that her father left behind a whole storehouse of.
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She also has many new ideas, for example key chains or cups. Marianne Scheifl also loves birch wood. “It has such a beautiful pattern.”
However, she wants to continue the business differently than her father. “A permanent store like Dad had is not my thing,” she says. She plans to sell her carvings online. But that is currently still a thing of the future. The training in Berchtesgaden lasts three years.