Sparky Balla of Silsbee carves a piece of the nativity scene he has started doing for his next project. - By Daniel Elizondo

Sparky Balla may sit in his makeshift workshop behind his home in Silsbee for what could be hours on end. To Balla, he is caught up in a passion for a hobby that has grown on him since a pre-teen.

“The desire I have is to see what I could do better,” says Balla from his converted storage facility to now woodwork shop. “It’s an insatiable desire – a passion.”

For Balla, it all started at a young age when his father would take him fishing. Of course, being a true bonafide fisherman, Balla’s father didn’t believe in artificial bait and relied on the natural resources such as insects and worms.

So curiosity got the best of him. Using cedar, Balla gave it a shot making his own lure. Adding a little red finger nail polish and some creative carving, he soon had his perfect artificial bait to bass fish with – all made by his very own hands.

Balla’s creativity just began with a lure and has since evolved into a passion with extreme complexity, detail and desire that goes beyond any true artisan.

Though his passion is no less than a hobby, Balla continues to work these days and is semi-retired working for

Thermacon Service four days a week. But you can bet he will be in his workshop come Fridays and into the weekends.

Having worked at a younger age for a major oil company, he traveled to many parts of the world and that gave him the opportunity to come in contact with different walks of life. His desire grew after meeting a professor from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. This art professor gave him insight and taught him the use of tools to become an expert wood carver.

“I learned a lot from him,” said Balla. “I will never forget him. He sat there for hours showing me things and I just looked in awe and so engrossed at his work. That gave me a whole new desire.”

He not only received tutoring from this gentleman, Balla was given wood carving tools as a gift, which he still holds dearly today.

For the most part, his driven passion took on a new level, wanting to create and develop his own tools to use.

Though he has gotten the ideas from many resources, Balla’s creation of tools each have its own purpose whether for small intricate jobs or large scale projects.

The most intriguing of his work of course, are his love of birds and feathers. His patience in feathers proves his birds look as realistic as possible.

“Of course I want to be as perfect as I can,” said Balla. “But that’s just the thing with doing this work. I know that all projects I finish can be worked on more to create that stunning perfect piece, but sometimes, that is just a risk at messing it all up.”

Of all the projects Balla has worked on, his passion took a new course after receiving a phone call from E.J. Duvail, a clock refurbisher from Silsbee.

Duvall had purchased an old early 1900’s “Hickory Dickory Dock” standing clock. It was an antique piece but it was missing an important part. That’s where Balla comes in to play.

Duvail needed a wooden mouse that was the time piece to the clock. The mouse would move up the clock on a vertical slot through the course of 12 hours and drop down and begin all over again.

Balla was excited to work on the project and came up with a mouse for Duvail to use. It worked perfect, but Balla wasn’t happy.

“I made the mouse with a curly tail, which is what the original looked like from photos,” add Balla. “But I just didn’t like it and made another with a straight tail that I thought looked much better.”

Duvail’s creative side gave him a knack to fix things. After all, he worked for Etex fixing typewriters for many years until the fall of the machine to the digital age. But today, Duvail has taken his knack for machinery to the clock side.

His most notable work is on the San Jacinto Building in Beaumont.

“I looked everywhere for a mouse of any kind to try and fix the clock,” said Duvail. “Someone asked me about Sparky. I didn’t know him by that name, so I gave it a shot. Today, we still talk. He did a great job on it to help me out.”

Duvail has had his notoriety of sorts, having been on King of the Road and Texas Country Reporter. No retired, he doesn’t use his hobby as a business, but as a love for machines and time.

“You don’t think about it but everything revolves around time,” says Duvail. “We wouldn’t be able to function with out time.”

Since helping Duvail, Balla was called upon once again, this time in the musical side of things.

Robbie Leviness of the Guitar Lesson Studio in Lumberton caught wind of Balla’s name as a woodworker while trying to fix a customer’s beat up electric guitar.

Leviness needed a bridge for the guitar and called upon Balla for some help.

Balla ordered a piece of ebony to carve out the piece of the bridge that could not be ordered anymore because of the age and style of the guitar.

“The original piece of the bridge was rosewood and I decided to use ebony,” said Leviness. “He made two because he wasn’t happy with the first one but it is perfect now.”

Leviness has been working with guitars for the betterment of 28 years now and knows just about everything there is to create the instrument.

Using an expert woodcarver was tops on his list.

Balla’s latest project is a 19-piece nativity scene made from Butternut wood he says, “gives it character.”

The wood, which is old wood that was killed by worms, works easier to carve and adds the rustic look of worm holes throughout giving a very artistic edge on his pieces.

“This is a very emotional outlet for me,” says Balla. “I can spend time in my workshop and time goes by so fast. It isn’t that I want to stay away alone, but just that I get into the work and forget about the time. It is a relaxing feeling to be so engrossed.”

He gives credit to Duvall and Leviness for giving him that much needed desire to continue what he is doing. Though he continues to create Christmas ornaments for his family, he says his hobby won’t stop soon.

“Helping make history was an added plus for me,” said Balla. “It wasn’t that I was losing interest, but we all get so caught up in our every day aspects of life whether work or at home. Getting that emotional outlet breaks it all up. Having that chance to recreate history gave me added inspiration.”