Seminar Descriptions for 2015 Congress

Five Day Classes: Monday - Friday, June 15 - 19

Carole Jean Boyd – Back to Her Roots! Bad pun, eh? Cypress knees are actually the roots of a cypress tree. Cypress knees are a big part of what made Carole Jean a force in the contemporary woodcarving seminar world. The thing that solidified that dominance was the release of her book: Carving Cypress Knees. Since that time, she has been known as “The Cypress Knee Lady”. Carole Jean has been carving since 1986 and her background was in photographic art, retouching negatives and painting the portraits. Her style of painting of her carvings reflects that; “Painting with oils give a softer, almost antique look”, she says. As you can see by the picture, the projects for her class are what she has made popular. She will take you through all the steps needed to complete a beautiful work of art, to include: choosing the right knee, laying out a pattern, the carving itself,

woodburning to embellish the look, and finally the painting. Hand and/or power tools will be used. She will provide the paint, but you must bring your own brushes. The knees will be about 10" to 12" tall. Depending on how good of a carver you are, you might be able to get a couple of projects done.

John Engler: Relief Carving and Painting - Animals, Architecture and Others

John has been a professional woodcarver for over 25 years. Born into a family of artists, he began carving while attending Southwest Missouri State University. In 1983 he was awarded a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree while developing his unique style of relief woodcarving and watercolor painting. John’s class will involve instruction on the art of medium relief woodcarving. A painting class will follow on Friday. No experience is necessary. A wide variety of subject matter will be available to students. These will include animals (i.e. bears, moose, cougars,

etc.), architecture (barns, cabins, mills, etc.) and other interesting projects as well. Clear and concise instruction on relief carving techniques will be emphasized. Please go to John’s website: www.johnenglerwoodcarvings.com to view completed projects that will be available to students. Pre-stenciled blanks will run from $25 to $35. Colored pictures are available for $5.

Five Day Classes: Monday - Friday, June 15 - 19 (continued)

Leah Goddard – Realistic Animal Carving Carve a realistic animal of choice using hand tools. Starting from a rough-out blank, learn the step-by-step techniques for creating realistic carvings using proper proportion. Close attention will be paid to anatomy, detail and texturing, as well as painting and finishing to make the carving come to life. New in 2015 is a large Bull Moose. The carving will be approximately 11" long x 6" wide x 12" tall. Students may also choose from other projects available. Rough-outs range in cost from $10.00 to $60.00.

Dylan Goodson - Realistic Figures or Relief Scenes This year’s human figure project will be the Viking Warrior design shown, or any of the 20 plus variations that can be carved from its rough-out. It will be a 1/6 scale figure, or about 11" tall. Please note that the pictures are of the clay model that Dylan created during the design process. You’ll have the opportunity during this class to learn about the uses of clay models in woodcarving, as well as: human anatomy, realistic carving techniques, sharpening and efficient carving methods.

The relief carving project will be the American Farmhouse design that so many of you enjoyed seeing in the 2014 competition. It’ll be carved from a rough out that is about 17" x 12" x 2". While carving this design you’ll learn about compositional theory, perspective, compression of depth as well as layering and textures. You will also get a heavy dose of how to carve intricate details, something Dylan is known for.

More photographs are on Dylan’s website: www.oldoakenterprises.com/carvingprojects.html Students will be carving using carving stands provided by Dylan and should bring mallet-size tools and a mallet for this class. Not to worry if you don’t have many mallet-size tools, Dylan has some to loan. Other projects can be arranged with Dylan beforehand. Rough-outs will range in price from $35 to $55. Dylan can be contacted at 256-496-6797 or by email: dr_g@oldoakenterprises.com Check his website www.oldoakenterprises.com or his studio's website www.rumblingwaterstudios.com to learn more about him and to view his work.

Gift Exchange at the 2015 Annual Awards Banquet

Carve something that would take 2 to 3 hours to complete … something nice. See Board members Carol Leavy or Claire Schiebel and they will put the item in a plain paper bag. You will be given a ticket that you can use to get a carving in return for the one you carved. You must be present at the banquet to participate in the Carvers’ Secret Pal Exchange. Carve something nice to get something nice!

Five Day Classes: Monday - Friday, June 15 - 19 (continued)

Tom Gow – Cottonwood Bark Carving

No pattern needed … just bring your imagination and childhood memories to create a whimsical tree house “in-the-round” from the bark of a cottonwood tree using gouges and carving knives. We will start with two pieces of bark glued back-to-back. We will carve the outside features all the way around the bark such as roofs, walls, doors, and windows. We will break the two halves apart and hollow out the inside. Not to worry, we will glue the two halves back together and finish all the detail work including opening-up the glass portion of the windows to the hollow inside. To get up to the tree house, we will create a rope ladder.

All levels welcome, but some carving experience would be an advantage. Since bark is bought and sold by the pound, the cost of the two glued-up pieces of bark will range from $30.00 to $40.00. You can view more of Tom’s carvings at: http://www.tomgow.com

Josh Guge - Carving and Painting a Realistic American Robin

Students will create a detailed full-size or miniature project progressing step-by-step throughout the week. All students start with a wood cutout. Josh will do a series of demonstrations that will teach students

every aspect of carving and painting a realistic bird. Josh instructs with power tools. Students are welcome to use knives or other tools if that is what they are comfortable with. The class generally runs from 8:30 to 5 daily. There is a possibility that some carving time will be available in the evening. A study cast will also be provided to use throughout the class and can be purchased if desired. Students who do not have time to finish their piece will be able to paint the cast.

Tool list for the class can be found here! http://www.gugeinstitute.com/classes/ There will be a $15 material fee which will include: a wood cutout, eyes, paint, a pattern and reference materials. Please make your payment to Josh at the beginning of class. If you have any questions about the class, please call Josh at 224-629-0581 or e-mail him at josh@gugeinstitute.com.

Five Day Classes: Monday - Friday, June 15 - 19 (continued)

Don Mertz – The ABC’s of Face Carving with a Knife

Donald K. Mertz, the WOOD BEE CARVER, teaches a Whittle-Carving Class on the “ABC’s of Face Carving” using the slice and roll cut of a carving knife. Day One of a 5 day class begins with learning the basic slicing cuts to carve a face from a square block of basswood using a few exercises to follow the Rule of Three of Facial Proportions. Day Two will apply what was learned in Day One by carving a face into an Egg Noggin in a basswood egg. Day Three builds upon what was learned in the first two days by carving a bust in an 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" x 3" tall block of basswood. Day Four and Five continue the Whittle-Carving journey by carving a full figure out of 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" x 6" tall block of basswood. Each carving project has

several carved and partially carved go-by models to use as reference. All printed materials and wood for the various projects are included in the registration fee. Students are encourage to visit www.woodbeecarver.com in preparation for the class to get a feel for the approach of the WOOD BEE CARVER who teaches the method and how to while each student carves their own style while applying what is being learned. Read especially the postings located in “Tutorials” entitled “Soft Whittling”, “Carving Eyes”, “Carving Ears” and “A Plane Face.” Also, study the items in the box entitled “BEE HIVE” which are printable. The WOOD BEE CARVER, has been carving primarily with a knife for over forty years, has taught in many different venues and is secretary of the Caricature Carvers of America.

Greg Wirtz - Intaglio Relief Carving Intaglio relief is when you carve the image into the wood surface leaving the outside perimeter to actually frame the carving. It is a form of relief carving that has become very popular in recent years due in large part to Greg’s teaching efforts. He has taught the art of intaglio relief all over his home state of Wisconsin as well as Iowa, Minnesota, South Carolina, Nebraska, Texas and many other locations. His focus on this form of carving for the last few years has led him to develop more and more patterns in order to please the needs of students who have taken his class a number of times. Greg has numerous Santa patterns, mostly full-figure, that would please the

most ardent Santa carver. St. Patty, pictured here, is one of his religious subjects. He also has a vast array of patterns covering subjects such as: Floral, Western, Realistic Humans, Dragons, etc. You will be carving on bark-edged basswood boards measuring about 1" x 12" x 14". He will be supplying paints and finishes, but you need to bring your own brushes. If you want to try something a bit different than “normal” relief carving, let Greg show you how it’s done.