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.

Upcoming events and shameless plug

While teaching a class 2 weeks ago at the local Woodcraft store, I passed out one of my cards to the members of the class. One of the class members, Dave, came to our carving demo this weekend at the WoodCraft store. The demo was conducted by Doug Rose who was doing some bird carving, Gene Fuller, who was showcasing his caricatures, Kay Viste who was showing her chip carving, and me. 

     Anyway, Dave, who stopped by to visit our demo, said that he looked at my website and was interested in asking about a few of my carvings. I happened to mention that all of the carvings on my website were for sale, and he pointed out that that was not stated anywhere. So to make it clear to all, here is the announcement:  

All carvings on this website (that I still have) are for sale (almost all)!

I hope that is OK. At least, the carvings I still have or don't want to part with, such as class pieces, etc. Just contact me (boiseowens@gmail.com) for prices and information to purchase any carving that you see. If I don't have it anymore, maybe I can find time to make another one.  

     So a few events are coming up soon on the horizon. February 22-23 will be the Idaho Artistry in Wood Show, at the Boise Hotel and Convention Center. Anyone interested in seeing examples of the wood art on display here in the Treasure Valley should plan on being in attendance at this premier event. It is a quality event, and I can say that since I am the president of the Idaho Artistry in Wood Committee. We strive every year to make it more appealing to the attendees, bringing in various famous carvers from around the region. This year, the featured artist will be Doug Rose, a longtime member of the Idaho Woodcarvers Guild. he will displaying some of his fantastic bird carvings. Don't miss this treat to see one of the best carvers in the area.

During Memorial Day weekend, May 24-26, the Idaho Woodcarving Jamboree will take place here in Boise, sponsored by WoodCraft. This event will host several big name carving instructors who will be putting on several classes of instruction for woodcarving. Doug Rose and Larry Crist will be doing a bird carving class, and Dave Stetson will be teaching his excellent brand of caricature carving. Other instructors will be announced at a later date, so stay tuned in and see what is coming on the horizon.

Thanks!

Idaho Artistry in Wood Show entries

I have been a very busy beaver trying to finish some pieces for the 2014 Idaho Artistry in Wood Show, to be held at the Boise Hotel and Convention Center, February 22-23. 
    I have completed over a dozen carvings, and still have a few more to finish. Here are a few I have not posted yet.

 This carving is one I created for the section on relief carving. It is the Chinese symbol for "forever".

 This is another Chinese symbol relief carving of the word for peace.

 This one is a simple woodburning of an eagle head.

 I already posted this one, but I wanted to show the changes I made to it. I felt it needed some more "pop" to make it stand out. So in searching for some small stones I could imbed in the carving, I ran across a thing called "howlite". When I looked it up, I found it is a "boro-silicate mineral that can be colored various different colors. So I picked up the one colored like turquoise and shaped (ground and sanded) it down to the right size. It is easy to work with and shape for various different uses. Awesome!

This is another mechanic carving I did for a client. I actually did two of them. The one below had some structural problems that I had to fix. It is amazing what you come up with when you have to be creative. These are loosely based on Steven Prescott's "Blockheads" book. I drew my own pattern and did my own from that.

 So I will have about 14-15 carvings for our show. I still have to do a few more, but those would be duplicates. To meet our club "5-Section Challenge" we had to do one carving from each section. Done! Now I would just like to do more, to showcase to the public and interested observers what can be done in the world of carving.
I hope you enjoy these pictures. Thanks for listening!

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.

Family carvings and family reunions

     Due to a busy, whirlwind few weeks, I have not had time to post. I finished a few carvings, wrapped around a remodeling project for my father-in-law, who moved in with us, a craft fair and a trip to Tennessee to see my family. 
     I did a few carvings, one for my father and one for my brother. I delivered them during a family reunion (for my dad's birthday) this past weekend and they really enjoyed the carvings.
     Here is a banjoman carved for my brother, Jimmy. He started learning how to play a banjo about 4-5 years ago, after a lifetime of wanting to learn how to play. I am so proud of his ability to learn something new, and he is pretty good at it, too!

     Here is a photo of me at the Meridian Middle School Craft Bazaar. We did not do as well as we wanted, but it gave me some pocket money to go to Tennessee and visit family. More on that below.

     This is a photo of a Shawn Cipa inspired Nativity scene I carved for my sister-in-law. She loved it!

     This is a carving of a mechanic I carved for my father, Jim. He just turned 77, and we had a family reunion on his birthday. We had a great time. I was able to reconnect with family members I had not seen in a long time, some of them more than 20 years.

     We also traveled to Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and stopped at Smoky Mountain Woodcarvers, owned and operated by Mac Proffitt.

     All in all, it was a great visit, catching up with family and reconnecting with loved ones. We hope it is not another 20 years before we visit with family again.
     Anyway, thanks for listening, and I hope you enjoy the pictures.Comments are always welcome.

Memorial post to Amy Linkert

 For those who knew her, she was a sweet soul and a dedicated friend and carver. Amy passed away last month while on a day hiking trip in the Craters of the Moon Park, in Arco, Idaho. She had been out day hiking with her friend Jo Elliot-Blakeslee, who is still missing today.

This was one of the last of Amy's carvings. This carving was of a white buffalo, with some embellishments on the background.

 Here, Amy was sitting in a class with some of the members of the Idaho Woodcarvers Guild. The class was carving faces, hosted by Gene Fuller. In this picture, Amy is chatting with Ken Peterson.

 In this picture, Amy is carving in Dave Stetson's class. She is working on a mountain man designed by Dave Stetson. Amy later finished the carving and it was one of her best, which is saying a lot about the carving.

Amy, we already miss you. We know you are teaching a carving class in Heaven. I hope the angels enjoy your company as much as we did while you traveled among us.

Busy, busy, busy

Like everybody else, it has been a busy time around these parts. I have finished a few carvings, but many have not been painted. I started a woodcarving/woodworking club at school (6th-8th graders), and have taught two classes for Woodcraft (through the Community Education program of the Boise School District). Here are a few carvings.

 These horses are my version of Dave Stetson's caricature horse. I changed some things to suit me.

 I carved this little guy from a blank that I got from Dave Disselbrett in Salem, Oregon when I went to the Tri-Cities Woodcarving Rendezvous in June 2013.

 This fella is a companion to my red-headed cowgirl I carved some time ago. I will have to put them on a base together.
Anyway, I hope you like them. More coming later.