I recently attended Floyd Rhadigan's woodcarving week of classes in Evart, MI. It was held at the fairgrounds and camping was available for those who wanted to do that but an excellent motel was also within walking distance for those of us who are not curently campers. :)

Caricature carving classes were taught by Floyd (www.fantasycarving.com) and also by Steve Brown (www.sbrownwoodcarving.com) Classes in woodburning, wildlife power carving, relief, and walking sticks were also available. This is an annual affair and I am definitely planning to attend next year.

In Steve's class I carved "Bobo the Bigfoot Hunter".





I plan to carve a bigfoot sneaking up on him. :o) I also am working on a Halloween witch that is in progress at this time.

In Floyd's class I did "Rodney" that resembles an old friend from Florida.

One of the other wood carvers was a delightful old gentleman who walked with two canes but did not let that slow him down one bit. I could not help carving him, too.

So, it was a great week and I learned a lot of tips and tricks and just plain good info. Thanks to both Steve and Floyd for great classes.

Basket Making

Just finished some Biscuit Baskets. They have a solid oak bottom designed to hold a clay tile that you warm in the oven, place in the basket, cover with a cloth, add the hot biscuits or muffins,  and, presto, bun basket is doing its job. Fun project!

Woodcarving

This carving was insired by our family vet who is also a fine woodworker. The idea of carving him doing puppy surgery with woodworking tools has been floating around in the back of my mind for a long time. I made clay models of the dog in order to work out the location of the paws hiding his eyes and of the guy with the drill. It is painted with acrylics and waxed with a mixture of half light and half dark liquid wax.

Woodcarving

The Black Swamp Woodcarver's Show will be held this Sunday at St. Clemment Hall on Tremainsville in Toledo Ohio from 10:00 till 4:00. Come on down to enjoy some great woodcarving talent and spend  a fun afternoon exploring the art of woodcarving.

Woodcarving

The Sauder Village Woodcarving Show is now history and was delightful as usual. The many talented carvers, turners, and woodworkers that participated made the weekend great fun and an opportunity for learning and fellowship. Don Mertz's carving class centered around learning about human face proportion and his carving technique using only a knife. It was both challenging and and a great learning experience!

Woodcarving

This Thursday and Friday I am taking a caricature carving class from Don Mertz at Sauder Village. Don carves tiny folks using only a knife. He is a member of the Caricature Carvers of America and is a great instructor. His website is www.woodbeecarver.com. I promise to post pictures of my classroom efforts. :o) 

Saturday and Sunday I have a table at the Sauder Village Woodcarver's Show and Sale. I have been working on a Gnome Village. The show runs from 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday and 11 am to 4 pm on Sunday. It is also the last day of the 2011 regular season and all sorts of fall and harvest activities will be happening. Check out www.SauderVillage.org to see what is going on. By the way, this guy is a Sarasota Gnome as that is where I was when I carved him. :o)

Tin

So, I have discovered  that making things out of tin is extreme fun. This summer I have had the opportunity to work with Mike Runyon in the Tin Shop at Sauder Village in Archbold Ohio. Thanks to Mike's extreme patience and teaching skill, I have been able to make some items using historical techniques and tools. I have made a couple of tin cups, a tray, and best of all, cookie cutters. My fave has to be free form cutters that are soldered to a back plate. I have uploaded a pic of the shop and also a pic of a manatee, lady gnome, a shark, and a pug face cookie cutter.

The cutters are soldered by using an alcohol lamp and a blow pipe. The operator blows through a brass tube through the alcohol flame to create a point of flame that can be directed to the joint that you want to solder. The solder is lead free and safe to use for kitchen items. After bending a strip of tin to the shape you want, it is soldered to the plate. Done! And extreme fun!