Well, the Christmas Show is over and we are recuperating from 24 hours of selling. What an experience. It was good for us, but we will always want more. I did meet a load of great people, talked to many who wanted to learn how to carve of knew someone who did want to learn, and I may have picked up a few commissions. We shall see.
     Here are a few carvings I finished in the past few days. This first one was for our annual Idaho Woodcarvers Guild Christmas part gift exchange. He is a shelf sitter, about 5 inches high. I had some time at the Christmas Show and competed him down there. I really like him and hope to do some more. I will be teaching a Community Education class in Boise in February on shelf sitters.

        


This minion is a carving I did for a class I will be teaching at the Woodcraft store in Boise in January. He drew a lot of attention at the Christmas Show, with many wanting to learn how to carve him and others wanting to buy him.

This group of carvings is a set of ornaments I carved for the parent of one of my students. She buys Christmas ornaments every year for her kids (as do many of us; we are still doing it even though our kids are grown) and wanted ones that reflected the activities of the kids. I hope they like them.

Until next time, see you around the carving table.

     This carving is for my cousin's granddaughter. She requested a princess bear for her for Christmas. I think it turned out OK. 

     I hope you enjoy it! Thanks for looking.

 

     I thought I would post some new pictures since it has been a while. I have been busy carving some commissions and getting ready for the Boise Christmas Show, December 5-7 at Expo Idaho. Getting some ornaments done has been keeping me busy, as well as preparing for carving classes at Woodcraft. I will teach a class at Woodcraft in January, which will be a 4" figure of a minion from "Despicable Me". Then in February, I will teach a Community Ed class, at Woodcraft. That class will be a shelf sitter, a shelf elf. 

     Anyway, here are some of the latest carvings I have completed.

      

   These three wise men are for a Nativity scene for my sister-in-law. Last year she received Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus.

    

    

     These three gnomes are for a possible class later in 2015. They are woodcarving gnomes. Two of them have walking sticks, which have faces carved on the sticks. Small carvings like these faces on a stick are a challenge, but we all need challenges in our lives. Carving small faces will certainly do that. 

     I will have to let you know if I am successful at our Christmas show. I have yet to find a venue in which I have more than barely covered my expenses. Only one craft show made more than a moderate amount of money. I will have over 200 carvings on hand for this show, so hopefully I can be successful in selling some carvings. If nothing else, I will get my name out there for those who want to learn, as I will be advertising my classes, and for those who want to purchase some commissions. 

    One can only hope. But then selling art is always a challenge. But I enjoy the carving, and if I pile them up, eventually I will just have to give them away.

     Have a great day!

More busts.....and then some

I have been busy doing some more baseball player busts. Here are a few more.

 

 


This guy is a Harley Refsal inspired carving, his hunter guy. I added my own special touches. I like him.

 

This is a walking stick I carved. it is about 66 inches tall.

I am trying to get ready for the Christmas Show coming up in December at the Fairgrounds. I am hoping this venue is more successful for me selling carvings. I have not found the correct place for selling my carvings, even though I have tried several craft and art shows, and have items in a store in Idaho City. None have been as successful as I have wanted them to be. Of course, be careful what you ask for. If I am too successful, that's all I will be doing: carving. 

My wife and I attended the Art in the Park event in Boise, as we do every year. I may have to try to  get a booth in there and sell some stuff. We shall see. So far there has only been 1 woodcarver on a regular basis at this event. He is a bird carver out of Arcata, California. His birds are smoothies and not detailed. Great work, but so far I have never seen any woodcarvers at the Art in the Park, let alone a caricature woodcarver. Maybe next year.

Fair results

Well, I did OK at the fair. I received a blue ribbon (1st place) for my Inca mask, a red ribbon (2nd place) for my woodspirit walking stick and a white ribbon (3rd place) for my cowboy scene. I will post some pictures later on the walking stick. The mask and the cowboy scene are in previous posts. Check them out.

All in all, I did OK. I would have liked to have all blues, but considering the competition I was up against I think the results were good enough to live with. I did get beat by Mark Dettmer, a local woodcarver who does some fantastic things, and I tied with Gene Fuller, a local Caricature Carvers of America member, although I believe his was better than mine.

The Idaho Woodcarvers Guild will be demonstrating at Woodcraft on Saturday, September 13. Come on out between 9 and 4 to visit with us. We will be using Flexcut tools to demonstrate how to do some woodcarving. We would love to see you. And if you are interested in learning how to carve, we will have information on classes, instructions and how to join the club.

See you there.

Judging and competitions

     Is it just me or does judging at events seem to be a hit or miss thing? I have seen blue ribbon winners at one event fail to even place in another. I am not one to be hung up on ribbons. Rather I am interested in improving. Without feedback, the only thing to rely on is the competition that beat you.
     I have had entries that did not win at one competition, then win big at others. What gives? 
     I wish there was some sort of clearinghouse for judges, a place where those who wish to be judges could get consistent and thorough training to be qualified judges. This is the same complaint I have heard from competitors in all part of the country I have traveled to, or discussed with on Facebook or email. 
     Some years ago, a group of carvers got together and talked about hosting some judge training in the Pacific northwest. I received some materials in the forms of judges books, but if what I received was from this group, it needs to be more fleshed out.
     I know as a competitor, I want to improve my skills. To do so, I (and others) need consistent feedback on how to get better. We need judges who can distinguish between carved items and plastic ones, between how scales on fish or snakes are supposed to run, whether colors are correct on animals, what a caricature actually is, and a variety of other distinguishing characteristics. I know as president of the Idaho Woodcarvers Guild, and past president of the Idaho Artistry in Wood, that finding judges is not necessarily easy, since you have to find someone willing, who is competent enough to know what is supposed to be there and what isn't. We have been lucky to have highly respected judges at the Idaho Artistry in Wood competition, ones who are experts in their field, are qualified to weigh in on the carvings they are judging, and are darn good people to spend time with. Those include Vic Otto, Gene Fuller, Ted Smith, Larry Crist, Doug Harrison, Ryan Olsen, just to name a few in recent history. These guys know what they are doing and are highly respected as carvers themselves.
     I don't mean to complain, but I have heard from dozens of competitors who get no feedback from judges, cannot understand why an entry receives different places in different events, and are mystified by the whole process. Everyone says "It is just the judges". But I personally feel we could do better as an art form. When the whims of different judges is allowed to cloud the issue, and their personal preferences takes precedence over the merits of the entries, something needs to be addressed.
    
     WHEW!!! Now that I got that off my chest, let's get on to better things. The Idaho Woodcarvers Guild will be demonstrating at the Western Idaho Fair in August. If you are in the area during those times, stop by and say hello. We would love to see you come out and spend some time with us. Plus some of us will have entries in the carving competitions at the Fair. Maybe it is just county and state fairs where the judging is arbitrary. I know in talking to the supervisor of the carving competitions, it is always a chore to get judges. 
     I am going to enter a few new carvings at the Fair. Probably a walking stick, a new woodburning, and maybe a relief. We shall see what I can finish by then. I did finish a few busts and have a cowboy scene I might enter. Wish me luck.
     Thanks for listening.
 

Busy summer?!

     It seems that every summer comes before I am ready for it, along with the list of things I need to get done during the summer. But then, by the time summer comes around, after a long school year, I certainly am ready for some down time.
     So, I get busy with the honey-do projects, the carvings, the relaxing times, the vacation, the reflections I do to prepare for a new school year. Every year, at the end of the school year, I think over what took place in the year, decide what I want to change, and what I want to keep. 
     Then I get the house projects done, and start carving. This summer, I have not carved as much as I wanted to, but I did put some carvings in a shop in Idaho City, at a place called the Idaho City Trading Post. So far, only a bottlestopper has been sold. Not as successful as I had hoped to be, but maybe it will pick up. I put in an application to be a vendor at the Christmas Show at the Western Idaho Fairgrounds, on December 5, 6 and 7. Hopefully I will be more successful at that event.
     Here are a few things I have carved this past few weeks.

I carved these baseball player busts as practice pieces for a set of busts I want to do. They are fun to carve, with unlimited possibilities for commissions.

Here is another of my fat-bellied cowboys. Still working to get them perfect. 

     I carved this alpenhorn blower from some pictures I found. My wife and I were both stationed in Germany, and enjoyed traveling to several countries. We enjoyed a great evening of entertainment in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in southern Germany, in the Alps, listening to local singing and entertainment. This horn blower was similar to one we saw that night.

Soon enough it will be time to go back to school. Hopefully, I can get ready for the Western Idaho Fair (August 15-24) and then the Christmas Show in December.
     Thanks for looking!

Carvings for Sale

I have placed several carvings at the Idaho City Trading Post, in Idaho City. Lisa and Scott Jackson are highlighting local artists in their store and are willing to place their items in their store. 

I put several of my western and animal themed carvings there, such as dogs, bears, cowboys, horses, clowns, and boots. The Idaho City Frontier Days festival is taking place the last weekend of June, so hopefully this will give me a chance to reach a new audience. I am looking forward to a great relationship with the Jacksons at the Idaho City Trading Post. 

Stop in if you are in Idaho City. They are on Main Street, just across the street from the Visitor's Center, Donna's Place and near Calamity Jayne's restaurant.

       

        

 

 

Stop by and check them out at Idaho City Trading Post. These guys need a new home.

Tri-Cities Woodcarvers Club Rendezvous

We just returned from the Tri-Cities Woodcarvers Rendezvous in Kennewick, Washington. What a great time we had meeting new folks, seeing some old friends, sharing a laugh or two with a great group of folks. I was able to teach a class on Chinese letters and a class on feathers.

This letter says peace in Chinese. I did some others but for the class this was perfect.

This feather (about 8" long) was a great project for carvers. I had about 11 people in the class. I actually ran out of blanks. Several others wanted a blank, so I am going to ship some up to Ivan Brown along with some other things he wanted. The wrap is red, and the feather is white, with soft black and burnt umber for the upper tip. The face in the middle is done with burnt umber and soft black. 

The folks there at Tri-Cities (Kennewick, Pasco, Richland) Washington, are some of the nicest people you would ever want to spend time with. We had a great time there going to their Rendezvous. If you want a no-pressure carving event, with some great instructors and awesome projects, check out the Rendezvous, in early June. You will have a great time.

A special thanks to Bob Gough, Lanny, Jerry and Judith Dilley, Ivan Brown, Arlene Spaulding, Barb Pentecost, Everett Koonts, Dave Disselbrett, Terry Pauley, Ron and Linda Lunde, and too many others to mention. It is a great time and we will definitely be back. This is our 5th year attending and learning. 

Thanks, TCWC!

Disappointments

I had signed up for the annual Woodcarvers Jamboree here in Boise for the Memorial Day weekend. Unfortunately, due to low numbers, it was cancelled. I was really looking forward to taking a Dave Stetson class. He had two roughouts, a fiddler and an elf. I was going to try to tackle one of them then complete the other one on my one. Alas, it was not meant to be.

So I decided to check out the Northwest Carving Academy offerings in Ellensburg, Washington. Unfortunately, the only class I would take is a cigar store Indian, which is a full class. The only other ones I could take would be Debbe Edwards' panther class (and secretly turn it into a cougar - my favorite animal) or Chris Hammack's class on a pirate and other roughouts. 

But I just can't justify spending $275-300 for a class, plus 5 nights of lodging, meals and gas (with it being $3.69 here in Boise).

So I will look at taking some classes on the Carvin online website, www.carvinonline.com ($19.95 per month, or $49.95 for 3 months). We shall see. There are some interesting instructors on the site. I have always wanted a class from Gerald Sears, so I will have to check them out.

Talk to you later.

A new scene

I finally finished a new scene I have been workign on. Whew! I did not know these scenes were so much work. I had never done a carving with 4 figures in it, along with all the details, such as a fence, rocks, grass, papers, etc. I am glad to have finally finished this one, and now it is on to the next one.

This carving, titled "No, thanks. I only buy 4-legged stock" was my take on a stockbroker trying to sell stock certificates to a cowboy rancher, who sees no sense in the whole adventure. He only buys stock that has 4 legs. Sounds like a good plan with Wall Street doing what it does these days. Here are a few photos for your viewing pleasure. I  hope you enjoy them.

     Well the Idaho Artistry in Wood Show has coem and gone for another year. Only 11 months until the next one. I better get carving.

     This is the "trophy" I won for winning the Rogue Carvers 5-Section Challenge, within our Idaho Woodcarvers Guild club. Not a bad prize. I love it.

This little guy was carved in a Ryan Olsen class. Ryan was preparing for the CCA Carve-in in New York in May, and was going to do some one day classes. These will be great for that.

This guy was a practice piece for a scene I am doing. Hid beer belly is not exactly what I was looking to do, but it is not bad. I did a better job on the other one, and am looking forward to finishing the scene.

This is my first Native American bust. After getting some much needed advice from my good friend and club member, Gene Fuller, it came out better than I had anticipated. I like doing these types of carvings and look forward to many more. 

     So after doing pretty well at the Idaho Artistry in Wood Show (13 entries, 13 ribbons) I am looking forward to entering a few more shows this year, just to see where I am. Am I ready for the big time, and enter the CCA competition, the Congress in Maquoketa, Iowa, or the Artistry in Wood Show in Dayton, Ohio? I won't know until I enter and compete. 

     For now, since I won more than 5 blue ribbons in the IAW Show here in Boise, I must compete in the Open/Advanced division. This was my 4th show, and I always told myself that I would/should be in the Open/Advanced division within 5 years. Looks like I have to do it. There is some stiff competition, just within the valley here. Steve Dunham is in that category, and his carving entry in our 2013 show won the CCA competition last year. I have to compete with him. Can I do it? I won't know until I try.

     I better get carvin!

Idaho Artistry in Wood Show entries

So, we are deep into getting ready for the Idaho Artistry in Wood Show this weekend. 

I will have 13 entries, as follows:
Section 1 (Birds) - Bird on a Rock
Section 2 (Animals) - Fan Bear
Section 3 (Humans) - Clown Bust
Section 3 (Humans) - Cowboy Bottle stopper
Section 3 (Humans) - Hobo Hiker
Section 3 (Humans) - "One Beer Day" Cowboy in a bar
Section 4 (Miscellaneous) - Samurai relief
Section 4 (Miscellaneous) - Chinese Peace Symbol
Section 4 (Miscellaneous) - Chinese Forever Letter
Section 4 (Miscellaneous) - Peace Gate
Section 4 (Miscellaneous) - Bird wood burning
Section 4 (Miscellaneous) - Mountain Scene wood burning
Section 5 (Native/Ethnic) - Inca Mask

I am looking forward to a great show. If you get a chance, come by and visit. I will be there with my club, the Idaho Woodcarvers Guild, carving and demonstrating during the show. I would love to see all of you.