I have to give a shout out to my good friend, Cleve Taylor, author of several carving books such as "Cowboy Carving", "Hanging in There: Creative Cowboy Carving" and "Carving Fishermen and the Tall Tale", among other books. It was his instruction, his friendship, and his carving advice that got me hooked on caricature carving. Carving sessions at our club meeting and carving at his house are some of my absolutely favorite times. You just can't spend time with Cleve without having a great time, laughing, telling stories, and sharing life. Of course, being fellow Southerners (Cleve is from Alabama and I hail from Tennessee) really helped us connect as friends.
He is completely retired from both woodcarving and woodworking (his two passions, other than Sandy and the grandkids) due to health reasons. We had a great talk the other day, and he feels sad that that part of his life is coming to an end, but understands how life often sends us in directions we never planned. However, he will continue to create art. His drawings and paintings are first-rate and will be prized possessions for those who are lucky enough to receive one.
So, if you follow my blog, and you know Cleve, he would appreciate a note or comment from folks who have been inspired by his carvings and his teachings. He downplays his role in inspiring carvers, and I feel he needs to know from everyone how they were inspired to create art by spending time with him. He did not ask me to do this, but I feel he needs to know. I told him that even though he is (his words) "completely removed from that world (carving)", his teaching and friendship will continue to cast long shadows for a very long time, considering all the folks who have benefited from his advice, instruction, encouragement and friendship. Anyway, if you get a chance, drop him a line, give him a call, message him on Facebook. But get in contact with him to let him know how much of an influence he has had on them in the past few decades.
I received my carvings (Joseph and his coat of many colors, my buckskin mountain man bust and my banged up cowboy; see earlier posts) back from the CCA competition in Converse, Indiana. I did get a participation ribbon for my efforts, but alas, no 1st through 5 place ribbons. It just shows me how much work I need to do to compete at that level. With carvers such as Steve Dunham, Mike Pounders, Chris Morgan, Lynn Doughty, and others who inspire me, I have to get to work, if I want to rise to that level. I better get cracking.
I will be teaching a Community Education class (through the Boise School District) on October 21 from 6-9 pm. We will be carving a cowboy bolo tie, with boots on the ends of the bolo ties. It should be a fun class. Then in November, I will do a Woodcraft class on a helmet bottle stopper. That one should be a lot of fun, with all sorts of ideas for that class.
Stop by at Woodcraft (on Overland Road in the Overland Park Shopping Center) on Thursdays from 6:30-8:30pm. Bring some carvings you are working on, share a story, drop by with some cookies, come by to say hello to the members of the Idaho Woodcarvers Guild. We'd love to see you and visit with you for a while. Thank you to those who visited with our members at the Western Idaho Fair this past 10 days. We had a great time demonstrating our hobby and chatting with you. We look forward to next year. We will be participating in the Museum Comes to Life event in Julia Davis Park on Saturday, September 26. Come by and say hello (I wouldn't mind if you bought one of my carvings as well; Christmas is coming soon!).
Thanks for listening!
