
Twelve students gathered together on June 9, 2014 to begin a five day class in Whittle-Carving at Maquoketa, Iowa during the International Woodcarvers Congress competition and show. The students pictured above are (left to right – first row) Laura Reich, Don Mertz, Diane Guntzel, Charlie Arnold; (second row) Jim Hecker, Marc Featherly, Martin Linzy, Ted Lauf, Fritz Seybold, (third row) David Abler, Elmer Marting, Rodney Manthey, and David Meyer Read the rest of this entry »

Whittle Doodles are fun whimsical carvings that are carved with the prompting of imagination in a free hand manner using only a knife to create the various embellishments in a block of wood. This Whittle Doodle MAX was whittle-carved into a four inch square block of jelutong. The monochrome finish is artist oil paint Raw Sienna mixed with boiled linseed oil with a protective finish of Deft applied after the oil finish has dried. Read the rest of this entry »

Whittle Dwarfs are fun little whimsical carvings that are carved out of an inch and half tall by an inch square basswood block. A Whittle Dwarf is primarily a head carved on top of the toes of shoes, thus the “dwarf” appearance. The eyes are covered by the hat while the nose, mouth, mustache, beard, hair, teeth and ears are carved to represent the simulance of a caricature face. They are good practice carving exercises in a small package while at the same time offering a variety of facial poses that bring a smile to the viewer as well as the carver. Earlier Whittle Dwarfs postings appear in the Category of “Carving Projects.” (click on photo to enlarge)


Kathy Johns recently gifted my wife and me with her wood burning portraits. She is a very good carving friend who is a ribbon winner with her eclectic carving subjects as well as other artistic mediums. The three photos below are of Kathy, husband Don and examples of her beautiful art.

Thank you Kathy and Don for the gift of your friendship, the best gift of all.
The value of participating in a carving class is multifaceted in that one learns not only from the instructor, but also from the camaraderie of fellow students and the act of carving the project. Jim Hecker, a carving friend, recently participated in a carving class and has written a brief description of the class experience as well as photographs of his project of a Norwegian female figure. (click on each photo to enlarge.) Read the rest of this entry »