Eight Students of the River Valley Wood Carving club participated in a three-day class entitled “The A-B-C’s of Face Carving” on November 2, 3 and 4, 2016. The students pictured in the photo above are (first row ~ left to right) Donna Waller, Barry Penningtgon, Charlie Brown, Dick Middleton (second row ~ left to right) Ed Handy, Gwen Provins, Lee Dryer and Bill Wright. Read the rest of this entry »

Ten Students of the Miami Valley Wood Carving club participated in a three day class entitled “The A-B-C’s of Face Carving” on March 2, 3 and 4, 2016. The students pictured in the photo above are (first row ~ left to right) Doug Claugherty, Teresa Balsbaugh, Joyce Stewart, Bob Caughron, Wayne Young and (second row ~ left to right) Andy Zinsmeister, Mike Lawson, Andy Calinger, Don Ward, Jim Wander and Don Mertz ~ the WOOD BEE CARVER. Read the rest of this entry »

Seven students participated in a one day class at the Woodcraft Store, Dayton on November 21, 2015. Survivor Students pictured above (first row, left to right) Sharon Spencer, Kim Foister, Gavin Wright, (second row, left to right) Sherman Weaver, Carl Wright, Joshua Spencer, David Neff and Don Mertz, the WOOD BEE CARVER. Read the rest of this entry »

Nine members of the East Fork Carvers gathered at the Clermont Seniors Center in the Union Township Civic Center, Batavia, Ohio for a two day Whittle-Carving class, August 7 and 8.  Those in the photograph are (first row left to right) Ann Olsen, John Dotson, C. G. Uebel and Gwen Provin (second row left to right) Ed Handy, Pablo Gonzalez, Bill Wright, Mickey Huston and Hugh Cooley.

These Survivor Students learned about the efficiency of making slicing cuts with the knife’s cutting edge while making the opening up cuts of a notch cut (ditch or trough) as well as the three cut triangular cuts to create another kind of opening. These opening cuts begin the process of shaping the carving in its various stair stepped levels with the realization that “one cut is not the end to all cuts, rather it is just a beginning for making further cuts”. Following the exercises in making the notch and triangular cuts, each student chose a six inch, five inch or three inch figure as a go – by to guide in carving a figure under the guidance and demonstration of the instructor. Carving subjects chosen included a Gabby Hayes cowboy, hillbilly with jug wizard, cowboy with rifle, ogre, hobbit, sea captain with pipe, sea captain and hillbilly with jug.

Each carving project served as a “learning piece” that became evident as each student progressed throughout the two days of shaping the carving to the basic form in order to have a good foundation to apply the detail carving features. Whittle by whittle each carving began to take shape while being refined in the overall design. The purpose of a carving class is to learn and each student learned new ways of approaching a carving project. To supplement the continued learning process, each student was given a folder of a variety of instructional material that included three learning projects along with necessary blocks of wood in order to learn on their own at a time of their choosing.

With good humor, good eats, good conversation and the opportunity to carve together, these nine Survivor Students survived to carve another day and many more days ahead with the encouragement to do a “twenty minute a day workout” to keep the creative juices flowing. We all learn to carve by carving and the more one carves the better one carves.  These East Fork Carvers are becoming better carvers and are good friends as well ~ and that is what was experienced ~  good friends carving together.

The see what Survivor Students receive a part of their instructions, go to CATEGORIES and click on “To-Tor-Plus”  ~ then “Tutorials” and also, all the postings in the BEE HIVE located in the middle of the right column on the home page.

During the International Woodcarving Congress in Maquoketa, Iowa, eleven students survived a five day class of Whittle-Carving using only a knife to learn the ABC’s of Face Carving. The Survivor Students in the photo above are [ left to right – front row] Gen Kreylin; Kathryn Overcash; Diane Guntzel; Linda Medhus; Don Mertz (WOOD BEE CARVER) [second row –  left to right] Tim Johnson; Tom Kreylin; Jim Pinkerton; Ron Gumm; Fred Doern; Hugh Babcock and Marc Featherly. Read the rest of this entry »

On Saturday, November 22, 2014, eleven students gathered at the Woodcraft Store in Centerville, OH for a one day carving class on the subject of carving a Santa Ornament. Students who survived the Whittle-Carving class were: Aaron Davies, Lane Andrianoff, James Canfield, Richard Achor, Joshua Grimes, Doug Schneider, Jason Gordon, Michael Sheils, Karen Terry, Max Litke and Teresa Balsbaugh. The two photos above are of teachable moments as the students were intent in learning from the various exercises leading up to carving a Santa ornament from instructor Don Mertz, the WOOD BEE CARVER. Read the rest of this entry »

Twelve students gathered together on June 20, 2014 to begin a three day class in Whittle-Carving at Leiper’s Fork, TN in the carving studio of Vic Hood. The students pictured above are (left to right – first row) Ray Rost, Vic Hood, Don Burgdorf, Tim Wright (second row)Gene Graham, Don Dunlap, Clem Kirsch, Rick Hardin, Clark Kirsch, Sandie Burgdorf, Buzz Friedli and Carson Salyer. Read the rest of this entry »