Capital City Carvers

Saturday Workshop:
Carving a Deer

On Saturday, April 22, Barbara Mann will teach how to carve a deer. You have your choice of a doe or a buck to work on that day. Patterns and cutouts of both will be available for purchase. This workshop will be held in the picnic shelter at Lake Ella from 9 a.m. to about 4 p.m.

This club supported program will cost each participant $10 plus the cutouts. Barbara will be available at the club meetings for the next month so you can finish the carvings. These Saturday workshops are easy-going and a lot of fun. Sign-ups in advance are appreciated. The $10 fee can be paid before or the day of the workshop.

Items for Door Prizes

The three items available each month as door prizes are supplied by members. We are very much in need of donations for door prizes for 2006. Wood, cutouts, material for bases, paint, brushes, books, tools, or even small $5 gift certificates to Michaels or Wal-Mart, places where we can find brushes and paints, are appreciated. If every member would contribute one item, we would have enough door prizes on hand for all of 2006. If you need additional ideas for items to contribute, call Lance or Barbara and they will be glad to make other suggestions.

Tips & Techniques
by Barbara Mann

Just a few reminders for this newsletter. Our homes tend to be very dry in the winter months, and any cutouts we leave sitting around dry out very quickly and become hard to carve. There are two good ways to rehydrate them. One method is to place the carvings in a scalable plastic bag along with two drops of water and put in tne refridgerator ovenight. Some people dampen a piece of paper towel and place it in the bag with the carvings as a source of moisture. The refridgerator treatment really works well. If you don't have room in the fridge or are in a hurry, you can make a mixture of half isopropryl alcohol and half water in a spray bottle, and spray the portion of the carving you are working on. It just takes a few minutes for the mixture to make the wood workable.

Many of us were in a carving frenzy preparing holiday gifts. It becomes very easy to start making small mistakes and then just keep carving the mistakes over and over. Put your carving down every half hour and walk away from it for ten minutes. Then put it at eye level (like on a mantle) and look at it from a distance. You should see anything that is out of proportion or doesn't look right. It works even better to walk away from it overnight. Or bring your carvings to the club meetings and ask someone to tell you what they see in the carving. Their fresh eyes will help.

Florida Woodcarving Roundup

The second annual Suwanee River Woodcarvers Roundup in Florida will be held Wednesday, March 29 through Sunday, April 2. Carving classes will be held each day 9-5, making it possible to take five different classes. Attendees may participate for one day or all five days. The only instructional cost is for materials for the workshops plus a $5 registration fee or each class. The materials are purchased from the instructor and the $5 fee paid to the instructor at the beginning of each class. Non-carving visitors are welcome at anytime during the Roundup.

So far, the instructors include: Chris or Mark Whillock (beginning relief carving); "Or Don" Burgdorf (caricatures with expression); Tony Erickson (whimsical house in cottonwood bark); Jim O'Dea (human face carving-create your own study sticks); Chris Howard (realistic face); Patrick O'Dea (beginner power carving); Peter Benson (relief carving exercises); Lowell Gorrell (spoons); Barbara Mann (cypress knee figures and golf ball faces); Claus Tiesman (power carving a mouse or chickadee); Ken Fowler (manatee, comical bass, cigar store Indian, flower); and Cecil Walley (power carving a fox). Other instructors will be added -- just visit the website. You can read more about the Roundup and instructors and classes at http://www.geocities.com/podea_2000.

The Roundup is held at Manatee Springs State Park outside Chiefland, FL. The park has 96 campsites for RVs and tents. Motels are available in the Chiefland area. Reservations must be made in advance for the park campsites. Non-campers must pay the daily park fee of $4 to enter, unless you have a season Florida State Parks pass. Park hours are 8 to 6:30. Chiefland is 100 miles from Tallahassee, about 2 and 1/2 hours driving at the speed limit.

Carving clubs are invited to display their work. Carvings by club members may be entered for competitive awards. There will be four awards given -- first, second, and third best of show awards for specific carvings and an award for best club display. The carvings for competitive awards can only be entered as part of the club display; individual attendees whose club does not have a display may not enter carvings. Instructors will judge those carvings designated by the clubs on Friday, March 31. Carving clubs are asked to provide and designate small carvings for door prizes at their display. People entering the roundup will draw a number when entering and then search for the matching number attached to a designated door prize carving. Carving clubs are to bring their own 10x10 tent and displays. There is no cost for a club to set up a display and participate. Barbara has a tent, tables, and display shelves we can use. Let's do it!

The Roundup is an instructional event -- a wonderful way to take short classes from well-known instructors at a low cost. Just ask Robert, Tana, or Craig about it. It's worth going, even if just for a day. We don't get a chance like this often.