Cecil C. Carstensen was born in Marquette, Kansas in 1906. In 1940, he moved to Kansas City with his wife Blanche and became a part of the art community. Carstensen primarily worked in wood carving, however, woodcut printmaking was another important medium. He taught wood sculpting at the Kansas City University and was President of MidAmerica Artists Association. He wrote "Craft and Creation of Wood Sculpting" in 1971.

The Kansas City Public Library has four of Carstensen’s wood sculptures in their art collection. This sculpture is abstract in form with two primary pieces which connect in the center. The lower vertical piece acts as a base for the upper horizontal piece which is characteristic of the head of a woodpecker. The carving technique and form of this sculpture encourage the viewer to move around it and engage with the sculpture.

Carstensen and Blanche’s woodcut prints were part of a Print Society of Great Kansas City Spotlight in 2013. The Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art in St. Joseph, MO has two woodcuts by Carstensen entitled "Family Unit."