Merry Christmas (belated) and Happy New Year!!!

     WOW! I did not realize it had been over a month since I posted. Must be getting old in my old age!
     Anyway, it has been a busy time here, getting things done, shopping and generally staying busy. I had a few carvings to get out of the way, and I have been busy with family duties. We had my father-in-law move in with us to prepare for his own place, which he will be moving into at the end of the week.
     So I have been able to do some carvings. Most of these are in preparation for the Idaho Artistry in Wood Show in February. Two of our members have challenged the Idaho Woodcarving Guild carving club members to carve more entries. To participate in the "5-Section Challenge" (because there are 5 sections in our show), each carver must enter at least one carving from each section. The sections are: Section 1 - Birds; Section 2 - Animals; Section 3 - Humans; Section 4 - Miscellaneous; Section 5 - Ethnic/Cultural. 
     So far, I have concentrated on the carving sections that I am not that experienced with, such as birds, or miscellaneous. That takes more time than doing the things I am experienced with such as animals, caricatures, etc.
     For my Section 5 entry, I did an Inca mask .

     For my Section 1, I did a stylized bird. I will be the first to admit, I am not a bird person. You should see my first attempt.

     For one of my miscellaneous entries, I decided to do a Japanese Peace gate, sort of an entrance to a Japanese Peace garden. The symbol is Japanese for peace.

      For another one of my entries in the Miscellaneous section, I did a relief carving of a samurai warrior.

     For another one of my entries in the Miscellaneous section, I did two woodburnings (pyrography). This bird turned out pretty well, if I say so myself. 
 

      For this woodburning, I chose a drawing of a mountain scene. I believe all of these have turned out pretty well. I had never done much woodburning, except for on a carving, to emphasize the shadows, or to clean up fuzzies deep in a cut. But I have found out that I enjoy creating a picture with just wood and a hot tip of a woodburner. I will be teaching a class for the club in January for woodburning.
     I did this small bear with a cutout provided for me by my friend, Dave Disselbrett in Oregon. It turned out well, so I decided to turn it into a fan bear from my school, Meridian Middle School, complete with the school colors. He looks great.

     I will be teaching several classes through the WoodCraft store in Boise. In January, the class is a Chinese symbol (letter). In February, I will be doing a class on dogs. And in March, I will teach a class on boots. Hopefully, we can get some folks introduced to a new hobby that they will enjoy. The classes will be offered through the WoodCraft store as well as through the Community Education classes in the Boise School District.
     Anyway, thanks for listening. Happy New Year! Let's make 2014 a year of wonderful times, great times with friends, and daily taking the opportunity to spread God's word.