In Remberance of Frank Gibbs

Our dear friend and honorary member of the South Dakota Woodcarvers, Inc. passed away February 18, 2014.  Our club and its individual members were among  many of the benefactors of Frank's generosity and willingness to be of service to any one who needed help.  We very much appreciated his judging our competitions and inviting us over to his house to see his collection of fine art.  His memorial service today at the First Reformed Church in Sioux Falls was truly inspirational, and I feel privileged to have been familiar with many of the characterizations and anecdotes  that were told by family and friends.

In particular I am honored to have shared in some small way in the story of his son-in-law asking him for his daughter's hand in marriage.  He leaned back in his chair and said "Well...Quite Frankly...", and that of course was the title of the carving his family commissioned me to do. 

Welcome Springtime!

Whether you attempt the super realistic or a simple folk art style, songbird carving is a lot of fun--especially  after a long hard winter.  We will continue working on bird carving this Saturday.  In the meantime check out some of the videos about bird carving on YouTube.  Unless you're making something to enter in one of those really strict competitions, you probably don't want to bother with making your own bird legs and feet, but here is one that shows how it's done:  Bird Foot Construction

One of my favorite bird carvings is a Cardinal done by Frank Orthmeyer.  Folks who have attended his carving sessions Monday and Saturday mornings probably have one of its
off springs.