Extraordinary 12 year old artist also motocross champ
Levi Hogston has been wood burning sea creatures for four years, and his earnings finance his motocross equipment
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — To look at him, you’d never guess 12-year-old Levi Hogston possesses the mastery of an adult artist, but he does.
He uses small torches to burn wood into beautiful custom art, mostly sea creatures but also logos and small gifts for his friends.
” I start with a projector to trace the fish or whatever I’m doing and then I cut it out in the garage with a jigsaw,” Levi explains.
“Once I’m done with that, I leaf blow all the dust out of there and then I bring it inside. If it’s a fish that has scales on it, I Dremel those first. Then I do a first light burn, and if I like it I do a second, darker burn. ”
Levi uses different sized torches to get big shading lines and smaller, finer details.
He learned the art from his father, District Court Judge Chad Hogston, who also has an artistic flair.
“He takes instruction well,” Hogston said. ” He’s very patient and deliberate and is open to learning.”
The two have carved out quite a niche in the wood-burning art world, with a backlog of up to a year for custom pieces, ordered from across the globe.
Levi has earned enough money over the years to fully finance his other passion– motocross racing.
“I don’t know where that came from,” his father laughed. “He does things on a bike I would never do.”
Levi’s whole family is athletic: mom Erin is an Olympic-caliber marathon runner, and his little brother Wyatt is an all-star catcher on his baseball team. Both parents want their boys to be humble and kind, and Levi is taking the lessons to heart.
Like his talent, his wisdom belies his years.
“I used to think it was over when I messed something up, but then my dad taught me how to use sandpaper,” he said. “I can just sand it out and burn it over, and it looks like nothing happened.”
Life lessons for all of us, from an old soul inside the body of an extraordinary little boy.
