John Niggemeyer and his wife Sara of Heath, Ohio are regular exhibitors at woodcarving shows in the Ohio area. John is a prolific carver of various carving subjects be it chip carving, realistic, bark, caricature or ornamental. His creative eye as well as his sharp carving ability always display an unique and eye popping carving display. Here are examples of his carvings at a couple of recent shows that also show the many ribbons his carvings garner. John is truly an inspiration to all who admire his creativity. And besides that he and Sara are the nicest people one will ever meet. Thank you John and Sara for your friendship to the carving family. Read the rest of this entry »
Woodcarving is an open door to friendships made and being made. A carving can be an extension of the personality of the carver, so much so that we can know the carver through their carvings without having met one another in real life. Such friendships also happen in a casual meeting at a woodcarving show or in a carving seminar. Such was the case when Karen Scalin came to the Artistry in Wood Show in Dayton, Ohio in November of 2012. Listening to her passion for carving opened the “carving friendship door” to receive two photos of her style of carving. Those two photos needed to be shared with the visitors of this blog along with reading her story as an encouragement to us all to grow our passion for wood carving. So here is Karen in her own words: Read the rest of this entry »
Bud Murray and his wife Carol live in Camdenton, MO where they both carve and Bud makes carving knives and carving tools. Shortly after he began carving over twenty years ago, Bud began to make his own knives. A carving friend in Georgia made one for him and then taught him how to makes knives. Like carving, making knives grows with experience and with experience grows quality. A Murray knife has gained a reputation as a quality carving knife over the years. Murray Knives and Carving Tools are made by a carver for carvers and it does not get any better than that.
For almost two years now Bud has been making knives for the WOOD BEE CARVER according to his blade design and pistol grip handle. These knives are designed for Whittle-Carving style of utilizing the slicing cut as often as possible.
Used planer blades from the lumber industry is what Bud uses for the shaping and sharping of the blades that are mounted in either Walnut or China Berry wooden handles custom shaped by Bud. The photos that follow show a portion of his basement work shop area where the knives are transformed from high carbon tool steel into a functional carving knife. Bud uses grinders for stock removal in the shaping of each blade and then moves on to other motorized tools to continue the sharpening process. Finally, he strops by hand the finished blade on a series of finish abrasive paper held flat in specially designed holding devices. A final buffing brings the knife to the next stage of testing for carve ability which completes the final process. The wooden handles are treated with tung oil and then waxed for durability. Read the rest of this entry »
“Never judge a book by its cover,” is a wise old saying that is often truer than fiction and yet it is the cover that invites a look inside the book. Steve Prescott was commissioned to develop a book cover for a collector friend, author Coleman Archer who has written a collection of short stories about western life in the Texas panhandle in the early 1900’s. Read the rest of this entry »
The BEFORE and AFTER photographs of the “Cowboy Limo” created by CCA Member Steve Prescott demonstrates how a good idea can be made even better. The “Cowboy Limo” was first introduced to this blog in the February 1, 2012 posting entitled “Steve Prescott – Cowboy Limo” (which can be found by going to “Main Menu” in order to click on “Blog Site Map” which will bring up a written index of postings by title listed under “Categories” and look under “Carving Friends” to find the title of the posting).
Even though the Cowboy Limo in the BEFORE photograph stands alone as a eye-catcher of a caricature carving, yet its “presentation” is enhanced with the “Better Idea” presented in the AFTER photograph. Read the rest of this entry »
Lynn Doughty of Jay, Oklahoma will be honored and recognized with a one man show at the Woolaroc Museum, Bartlesville, OK November 23, 2012 through January 6, 2013. Lynn is well known in woodcarving circles for his very unique caricature carvings with a Western theme. Read the rest of this entry »
The pumpkin egg noggin carved out of a basswood hen egg was being used as a “go by” in a class taught at the recent Caricature Carvers of America Seminar in Converse, Indiana. Dale Kirkpatrick, aka Carver Dale was using it as a study guide while carving an egg noggin for himself. A fly landed on the pumpkin’s head and being the ever alert observer that he is, Dale took a picture at just the right time to capture an amusing scene. It appears that the eyes of the pumpkin are looking directly at the uninvited fly. Now that is what is called “serendipity.” Read the rest of this entry »
Hugh O’Neal is a carving friend who lives in Alabama. He is one of the Survivor Students from the recent class conducted in Charlie Leverett’s studio. Hugh brought to class some of his recent carvings and granted me permission to take pictures and to share in this blog. Some of his earlier carvings have been featured in previous postings as part of the Carving Friend series. Hugh continues to come up with some of the neatest carving projects that are worthy of being seen by a larger audience. Hugh has a creative eye and a carver’s touch with a very unique style of carving. Hugh is living proof of “the more you carve the better you carve,” as each carver develops a unique style of his own. Read the rest of this entry »
