There's a Bear in That There Wood!

Cherry Wood Relief
by
Derek Boekoff

Had the pictures I took at last Saturday's meeting turned out, you could have seen Dick Peterson offering advice about carving the head of a bear or wolf mounted on a slice of wood, cross-cut, with bark still attached, from a basswood tree branch.  The glued-up and ready-to-carve blanks were provided by Dick along with study pictures of bear and wolf heads.  

Another picture that was too blurry to publish was of Nancy Cummings working on one of her excellent relief carvings.  She has gotten to be quite an expert at accenting her reliefs with the wood burning pen. Hopefully she will be on hand at our next Third Saturday meeting, May 17th, to help us apply the wood burned hair and details to finish our bears and wolves.

The one picture that turned out OK is another example of Derek Boekoff's excellent progress in the art of woodcarving.  Thank you, Derek, for contributing to our "Show and Tell".

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.

 

34th Annual Artists of the Plains Art Show & Sale

Begin chopping in September

It has been a few years since I was listed as one of the artists appearing in the Center for Western Studies Art Show, so I was happy to accept the invitation for this year..   Anticipating that possibility late in September of last year, I started one of the most difficult and risky wood carving projects I've every attempted.  My goal was to create a bust of George Washington in a chunk of black walnut that would resemble what most people could recognize as the same person they see on the dollar bill but, also, to show the  facial expression of a resurrected George Washington viewing the current state of the union. 

Hard to know if you're not cutting off too much

The Show begins Friday evening, Feb. 14, and ends Sunday, Feb. 16,  at 3:30.  So I will miss the February meeting of SDWC, but maybe I will see you all at the show.  I don't know exactly how our new "carving theme" approach to club projects is going to work, but someone will probably have some song bird cut outs available. Please bring what ever you have to share on the subject of song bird carving!

Start the New Year Out with Sharp Tools!

There has been no special carving project prepared for this Saturday's meeting, so why not have a tool sharpening seminar?  Bring your favorite dull tool, stones, strops, or any power sharpening tools that are portable enough.  Or just bring your already sharp tools and a project of your own to work on.