Claude Bolton, a retired Texas educator from Fort Worth, Texas, started carving in 1974. He wrote three books on caricature carving: Carving Cowboys; Carving Cowboy Faces; and, Carving Heads, Hats, and Hair. He conducted nearly 100 seminars in 20 states and was an instructor of the War Eagle, Arkansas, summer seminar for several years.

Claude organized the Fort Worth Woodcarvers in 1975 and was a founding member of CCA. He was a member of the North Texas Woodcarvers, the Texas Wildfowl Carvers, and the California Carvers Guild.