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Blackhawk Woodcarver Blackhawk Woodcarvers at Kenrock Community Center 3218 11th Street, Rockford, IL., Volume XVIII, April 2010 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Blackhawk
Woodcarvers Carving sessions
every Wednesday 8:30-11:00 am
(Visitors always welcome) |
I must apologize for the March newsletter being published in April; and it’s entirely my fault! After printing the newsletter, including collating and stapling, (and making the appropriate number of copies), I glanced at the final result, and found that I had two page threes, and no page twos! It was too late to correct the mistake because I was getting ready to distribute the copies on the 28th of March. I decided to wait until our next wood carving session to distribute the newsletter. Late for March; it was already April!
While I’m making excuses for my newsletter being late, ,how about this one?
The beautiful blond was getting impatient, her date was over two hours late, so she gave up, changed into her comfy pj’s made herself some popcorn, poured a glass of wine, turned on the TV, and plopped down on the couch. At that instant the doorbell rang; and when she answered it, it was the guy she had a date with. He said; "I’m over two hours late, and you still aren’t ready!"
We had 42 carvers on April 7th. And we made lots of chips! One of the best things about our club is the variety of things produced - I mean produced AND in progress - rather than "in". There are carvings in the round; detailed relief, birds, character, bark and many more. One club member showed us a bark carving of a grist mill complete with a water wheel and falling water. It was
Bob Mathews, whom I primarily know as an excellent carver of birds. Actually it was some five minute epoxy! But it looked like water! His mill had a rope hoist, and he said he got the idea from another member who had a hoist in his mine - Bob Capion! In my case, I’m short of some good woodworking equipment, and when I ask for some help from various club members, they always help without any question.A woman called the help line at Dell computer to find out how to install batteries on her laptop computer. The "Techie" at Dell told her that those directions were on the first page of her operator’s manual. " I just paid $2,000 for the stupid thing, and I’m not going to read a book!" said the woman.
Actually, I read once that if there is a book of instructions, and phone next to it - the phone will win out 5 out of 6 times!. When it comes to the use of phones, my daughter is the champ!. You could make money if you bet that within five minutes of entering our home, she’s on the phone. How many times in a day do you see any conversation being interrupted by an errant phone ringing?
We have received a call for wood carvers at two different functions: at Mack Town in early May, and at the Erlander Museum on the 19th of June. We’ll have a table , but it’s not clear if we can sell some of our products.
We had a provider of wood at our club/business/carving meeting on the 21st of April. According to
Donna Wisner, our membership is now at 77 (as I recall) active members and 19 ‘others’. We had 44 attendees -that’s great attendance - keep up the good effort!Our club had an ‘in house’ carving project - a free form chip carving as opposed to the usual geometric patterns. It was the geometric designs that converted me from one of my goals (chip carving) to other forms of carving. I found that: 1. I didn’t have the patience to chip carve; 2. I was too ‘sloppy’ to produce a ‘clean chip in wood. I remember that I told several of the club members when I joined the club that one of my goals was to learn the art of chip carving. We had a class the following week, and I told the same people that I learned that I didn’t have the patience or the touch for the fine art of chip carving. Now, after a couple of years experience, I feel confident that I can produce a reasonable ‘free form chip carving’. I’ve got the patience to at least clean out the bottom of the groove - at least better than I had before - but at my age, I’ll not attempt the geometric forms again!
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We had ‘show and tell’, and there was a diversity of end products. I’ll try to submit photos of all the carvings - There was a whimsical carving of the ‘Maestro’ complete with band stand and red figured shorts around his knees, by
Lee Thomas. There was an excellent relief carving of two pelicans sitting on pilings, this presentation by Wes Englund also had a carved frame of rope relief with four different ‘sea creatures’ on the corners of the frame. Ray Olson exhibited an in the round three figured carving of Jesus and two children. A very detailed floral relief by Roger Benedict was very well done.Our president made his first request for volunteers for our pending August carving show, and this year it will be two days - Saturday and Sunday.
Our Webmaster,
Gordy, said that our web site can be assessed by Googling "carving Rockford, IL".A few ‘tricks of the trade’ for wood carvers - if you want to remove pencil marks from a carving surface, use Sanford Magic Rub Erasers
Our instructor for our free form wood chip carving told us to "use sand paper 120 or greater grit backed with flat wood to keep from rounding the cut edge! For those of you who know
Don Stansfield, that mention of sand paper without the sky falling was quite an accomplishment!Some local wood carving club information:
DeWhittlers: Meets at the DeForest Community Center, 505 N. Main Street, DeForest Open Carving Monday Mornings 9-12, and Thursdays noon to 4. (608) 846-5024 &/or (608) 848-5101 Doris Moody or Paul Anderson.
Wandering Whittlers: White Horse Middle School, 218 Schenk St. Madison, WI- Monday evenings during the school year (6:30-8:30 PM)-(608) 249-9186, Don & April Bird
More next month!
CARVING SHOWS AND CLASSES:
Corn Belt Carving Club
10th Annual Sculptures in Wood, sale and contest. $850.00 in prizes. May 22-23 Sat 9-5 and Sun 12-5. M Shirk Center, Illinois Wesleyan University Campus. 302 E. Emerson St. Bloomington, IL 61702. Admission $3.00 Children free with adult. Contact Mike Hartzler (309) 662-4276 www.cornbeltcarving.orgI saw the following in the newsletter from the Capital Area Carvers of Wisconsin: and I submit it to our club as a guide for our wood carvers forthcoming show. Committees 1. Set-up 2. Clean-up; 3. People’s choice awards; 4. Information/greeting table; 5. Raffle table & 6. Misc. Odds ‘n ends. It’s merely a suggestion; but it’s a start - maybe we already have those now.
APRIL WOODCARVER’S BUSINESS MEETING
I counted 46 members present - that’s almost 60% attendance!
John Winter’s Grandson presented our club with a unique sign for future displays at our public volunteering carving projects. It was motioned that we submit a check from the club for the sign since John’s grandson made it known that grandpas don’t pay for grandson’s work! Our sound system should be on hand in the near future.Under the weather report! I mentioned in our last newsletter that Uncle Al’s was closing. Not exactly true, he will honor orders for wood carvers. I suggest that you call to find out for sure.
Some more of Henny Youngman’s humor: I asked my wife, "Where do you want to go for our anniversary?" She said, "Somewhere where I’ve never been!" I told her, "How about the kitchen?"
Some more of his humor about his wife:
... "My wife holds a black belt in shopping!"
... "She was sick for a week, and three shops went under!"
... "We always hold hands, if I let go she shops!"
... "Someone stole all my credit cards, but I won’t be reporting it. The thief
spends a lot less than my wife did."
... " My wife and I have a secret to making a marriage last. Two times a week,
we go to a nice restaurant, a little wine, good food. She goes Tuesdays. I go
Fridays."
... "my wife is an earth sign. I’m a water sign. Together we make mud!"
A reminder that our club show is in August, and we should start accumulating items for the raffle at the show. (Remember the carving challenge this year - anything that fits into the space of a 2 inch cube!)
Membership: We have 76 active members, and 21 associate members. Our mailing lists also include some ‘friends’ of the club, prospective members, some suppliers etc. So I usually make 125 to 130 copies of the newsletter.
Website: Look up Blackhawk Wood Carvers.
WANT ADS:
none were presentedI’m still not able to print photos, and I’m still trying to learn - I’m getting closer though!!
COMING EVENTS;
The following list of coming carving events has been gleamed from various publications , and the editor strongly recommends that if interested, please contact those designated for further information- especially to see if the class is full, to locate lodgings, and to make sure the event is still being held.
(Not listed in any particular order)
Your editor has a complete list of Wood Carvers Congress Seminars, and accommodations for same. I’ll include a brief listing of the seminars to ‘whet your whistle’ if you’re interested, contact me or
Don Stansfield (815-235-0075) I’ll have the complete listing with me at our carving sessions. It also includes living accommodations for your stay.5 day classes June 14 - 18
t Carol Boyd (father Christmas);
t 2 day classes June 14, 15;
Phil & Vicki Bishop (character carving) Mike Shipley (country folk carving)t One day classes June 14 or 15 (painting your carving, and making a carving knife)
t 3 day classes June 16 - 18 (advanced chip carving, character carving, bird carving, shallow relief, hummingbird , and character carving)
t 2 day class June 14 v- 15 (scrimshaw and woodburning)
t 1 day classes June 14, 15, 16, 17, & 18 for non-carvers with classes involving pyrography, and crystal bracelet making.
AUGUST 21: ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS. BLACKHAWK WOODCARVERS’, 16th ANNUAL SHOW, COMPETITION, AND (new this year for them) A 2" CUBE CARVING CHALLENGE. Tebala Shrine Temple, 7910 Newburg Road; 11 am to 4 pm. Admission: $3.00. Contact
The information below is copied from other sources, and classes may or may not be filled. Be sure to check for yourself; there is no way of knowing any details other than that given.
April 10 - 11
Bettendorf, IA; Sara & Larry Cornwell; Gourd Carving and decorating. The Woodcraft Shop, 2734 State Street, 52722 Call 800-397-2278 for details, be sure to request motel discounts.May 22-23
Bloomington, IL. Corn Belt Carving Club’s 10th annual sculptures in wood show, sale and contest at the Shirk Center, Illinois Wesleyan University Campus, 302 E. Emerson St. Saturday 9-5, Sunday 12-5. Admission $3.00: children free with an adult. Contact Mike Hartzler (309) 662-4276; www.cornbeltcarving.org.May 29-31 (tentative)
Bettendorf, IA. Bob Guge, Habitat Making Class. The Woodcraft Shop, 2734 State Street, 52722.For information, call 800-397-2278 for more information - ask about motel discounts also.June 12 - 20,
Maquokets, IA {40 miles North of Bettendorf} The Annual International Woodcarvers Congress.It’s important enough to mention a second time:
** AUGUST 21 -
ROCKFORD, IL. BLACKHAWK Woodcarvers’ 16th annual show/competition at Tebala Shrine Temple. Cash prizes: supplies, food. 2" cube carving challenge. Don Stansfield, 1508 W. Lincoln Blvd., Freeport, IL 61032 (815) 235-0075.September 4-5:
Springfield, IL Sangamon Valley Woodcarvers’ 20th show at State Fairgrounds, Illinois Bldg. Sat. 10 - 5, Sun 10 - 4. Admission $2.00 (12 and under free) Free seminars; soap carving; door prizes. Lee or Betty Legg. 1141 W. Edwards, Springfield, IL 62704 - (217) 546-8792 or svwoodcarvers.orgOctober 23-24
Wheaton, IL 31st annual Artistry in Wood at Dupage County Fairgrounds, 2015 W. Manchester RD. Teri Pijut (847) 458-2919; woodwizzards2@!ccomcast.net. Web site www.Northsuburbancarvers.orgOur Club Web-Site (
www.blackhawkcarving.com) Gordy Moscinski, our intrepid Webmaster.Newsletter Report
: My fourth and I guess no news is good news. - Ozzie Webb.Library Report
: Our librarian has been playing ‘snowbird" for a while so it’ll take him a few meetings to get back into the swing of things. If anyone has questions on woodburning, I’d call him our resident expertCOMMUNITY SERVICE
-We have two community club carving projects May and June contact
Gary for details.Business Meetings & Special Events
May 19 - ?
June 16- ?
June ?? - Club Picnic
July 21 - Quarterly carving project
August 18 - business meeting
August 21 - Club Competition, Show, & Sale
September 15 - ?
October 20 - Quarterly carving project Select Nominating Committee
November 17 -Announce Club Member of the Year
December 15 - Christmas Breakfast Party & Swap Meet, Election of Officers
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WANT ADS
-Free service for individuals, clubs, and vendors (members and non-members ). Items MUST be related to carving. Mail your listing to Blackhawk Woodcarvers, Ozzie Webb, Editor, 1810 Midway Dr. Rockford, IL 61103, by third Wednesday of the month for the next month’s Newsletter. Better Yet!
Give your AD to the newsletter editor as a note anytime during our club meetings.CIRCULATION STATEMENT
: This issue of the Blackhawk Woodcarver is mailed to 100 members, 21 Associate members, 11 Friends of Blackhawk, and 12 other carving clubs. Total circulation = 143. We send our Newsletter USPO, First Class, for most benefit to all.An accountant won an office pool, and was asked if he would report his winnings to the IRS before he could answer, a co-worker spoke up: "He won’t even report his winnings to the MRS!"
Heard in passing! "A woman I know put this ad in the local paper. "Lost 50 pounds! Selling my fat clothes - good condition, sizes 18 - 20." She was bombarded with phone calls - but nobody wanted to buy the clothes --they all wanted to know how she had lost the 50 pounds.
