Blackhawk Carving ClubThe Blackhawk Woodcarver
Volume XXVII, Issue 5
We meet every Wednesday at 9:00 am
until 12:00 noon at Ken Rock’s new facility at 625 Adams Street, Rockford,
IL. KenRock is located in the area of Rural and North 2nd
St.
Presidents Report May
2022
A note from Gordy:
Be sure to take a trip to Cherry
Valley Library to see the display of our carvings. A big Thank You to Bob
Matthews for setting this up. It looks great, Bob. While in
Cherry Valley you might check out Cattle and Cream on N. Cherry Street for
an ice cream treat! So many members have stepped up to revitalize the club
after a 2 year slow period. Larry Stenzel will be leading a
Woodburning and Painting class on May 25 and June 1, the last scheduled
class in this series. We are always looking for others to share their
talents with the club. If you are willing to take the leap, see
Richard Dunphey or Denny Neubauer for guidance.
Mini
Lesson May 25, 2022 Woodburning
And June 1, 2022 paint the woodburning
Bring
your woodburner May 25th to do woodburning and on June 1st we will be
painting the burning. The burning will be similar to this one pictured.
Larry Stenzel
Secretary Report April 2022
Minutes of the regular monthly
business meeting of Blackhawk Woodcarvers; held on, April 20, 2022 at Ken
Rock Community Center, 625 Adams Street, Rockford, Illinois 61107.
President Denny Neubauer opened the
meeting at 9:25 am.
Secretary, Steve Terrill read the
minutes of the February meeting. There were no
corrections.
Treasurer: We continue to be solvent
and are bringing in money. See Denny or Larry if you want specifics.
Old Business: AWC is going to be
June 11-18th. Denny has information if you are
interested. It tells you what the AWC is all about.
There are some classes that are still open. Denny
has a one day forging class that is full.
This Friday from 5-9 and Saturday
from 4-9, Rockford Maker Space will be open. He will be
demonstrating Forging. If you would like to come down and
join us pound a knife out of a Drill Bit you are free to join them.
There is no cost. It is in the alley between
Mulberry and Jefferson. Tony says that there used to be a
pool hall across the street.
Bob Matthews updated us about
displaying carvings in the Cherry Valley Library. We will
have the display case for the month of May. He will set
up on Sunday, May 1st anyone interested in helping is welcome.
Bring in pieces you wish to display for the April business meeting
and Bob will pack them and carefully install them on May 1st.
Arne reported that Phyllis is back
at the club. She was in Don’s CLR class and was talked
into coming back to the club.
Gordy has brought some old Dewalt
drills They are in perfect shape but the batteries are shot.
They are free. They take 9.6 volt or 12 volt
rechargeable batteries. They actually work for about 5
minutes before the batteries give out.
There was no other business.
We are still interested in scheduling mini classes, and hopefully
with some other people.
Respectfully submitted; Steve
Terrill, Club Secretary.
Denny closed the meeting with a
little demonstration of sharpening on the machine for anyone interested.
John Skaggs brought in cookies left
over from his 82nd birthday celebration. (not 105)
Library
Display
The members carvings are on display
in the case at Cherry Valley Library for the month of May.
Bob Matthews
Newsletter deadline
Keep sending your pictures and
stories by the June 1, 2022 deadline.
My
Brother Anthony
For many, they call him Mr.
Rockford. Tony, a family man with a strong positive attitude, is known for
his generosity, humor and storytelling. However, there
lies a unique side of Tony about his carved Santas and Brother Anthony’s.
From a Santa image it is not necessary to question its origination,
but Brother Anthony----where did this originate?
It began with Tony’s daughter,
Elizabeth DeVita, headed for Ireland where she was instructed to return with
a small leprechaun statue. Her trip to Ireland in 1996
rewarded Tony with a small plastic statue of a monk instead of a leprechaun,
because (believe it or not) while in Ireland a small leprechaun was not
found. Ironically this monk, previously never planned
for, became a carving signature of Tony in later years.
There is more to this story after
Tony attended a formal carving class in the 1990’s, and then joined the
Blackhawk Woodcarvers where he met Dave Lothian a fellow carver.
The true beginning of Brother Anthony began with Lothian’s
encouragement for Tony to carve Brother Anthony’s----Lothian wrote an
article in 1997 “Chip Chats” giving the credit to Tony Devita for the
discovery of this carving. From this point on 100’s and
100’s of Brother Anthony’s were carved by Tony and given to families,
friends, professionals, and, people in need.
The final story is through his
sensitive generosity; anyone with a health problem has received a Tony
DeVita carved Brother Anthony. Even my family in time of
need has received a Brother Anthony. Having the skills to
carve this image is part of his journey, but the real story is how Tony
continues to offer his thoughtfulness to other folks.
So be it, from a simple carving to making someone happy.
In closing from his daughter’s pen, she writes:
Brother Anthony Sees all, Hears all
He keeps your secrets
He is received and not judgmental
He is reminded that-
People who care about you,
Are praying for you
By Roger Benedict
January 10, 2022
Class on
carving Ginko leaves.
Scott Grey leads
club class on carving Ginko leaves.
Display
in Cherry Valley Library
The display at the Cherry Valley
Library is all set up. It will be there until the end of
the month. The Library is located 755 E. State Street in
Cherry Valley. They are open Monday - Thursday 9am—8 pm and Friday and
Saturday 9—5 pm.
Bob Matthews
Door
Prizes
Don't forget the Door Prize drawing
on First Wednesdays. Bring something you don't need or want
anymore, but know someone would be thrilled to win at the drawing.
Carvers
wanted
Sometimes I get calls from people
wanting to have a carving done (for money). If you are interested in
any of these contacts, let me know and what kind of carvings you are
interested in doing for people. Don Stansfield
dchip1508@comcast.net
Want to
buy or sell
If you have anything that you would
like to buy or sell send me an email and I will put it in the newsletter.
Gordy
June Birthdays (that we Know of)
2 Dave Meyer
10 Gary Johnson
18 Jerry Robey
President, Denny
Neubauer, 238-5296
Vice Pres, Richard Dunphey, 633-9003
Treasurer, Larry Stenzel, 389-4714
Secretary, Steve Terrill, 708-0471
Committees
Programs, Richard Dunphey, 633-9003
Webmaster & Newsletter Editor Gordy Moscinski 874-7978
Photographer Steve Terrill
Picnic Tony Devita
Upcoming
Shows in 2022
The International Woodcarvers
Congress will be held from June 11 thru June 19, 2022 at the Jackson County
Fairgrounds, 1212 East Quarry Street, Maquoketa, IA. This will be their 54th
annual event, the oldest competitively judged woodcarving art show in the
USA. More information @ http://woodcarverscongress.org.
The 2022 Evart Woodcarvers Roundup
will be held at the Osceola Fair Grounds in Evart, MI from June 15 to 18,
2022. Contact Floyd Rhadigan @ rhads134@comcast.net or( 734-649-3259) for
more information.
Floyd Fest will be held June 20 –
24, 2022 in Evart, MI. There will be (9) instructors. Contact Floyd Rhadigan
@ rhads134@comcast.net or (734-649-3259) for more information.
The Creede Woodcarving Rendezvous
will be held from July 9 thru July 15, 2022 in Creede, CO. More information
@ www.creedewoodcarvers.com.
The Mid-America Woodcarvers will
hold Doane Experience 2022 at Doane College in Crete, NE from July 24 to
July 30, 2022. More information on website
midamericawoodcarvers.com/Doane_Experience.html.
The Rock River Valley Woodcarvers of
Wisconsin will be having their annual show on Saturday September 10, 2022 at
the Rock County Fairgrounds “Craig Center” 131 Craig Ave. Janesville, WI.
Hours are 9;00 AM to 4:00 PM. More information on website:
www.wisconsinriverwoodcarvers.org.
“Carvin The Rockies CCA” will be
held September 24 & 25, 2022 in Colorado Springs, CO. More information @
www.cca-carvers.org.
The Northeast Wisconsin Woodworkers
Guild will be having a woodcarving show in Denmark, WI on Saturday & Sunday
October 8 & 9, 2022. More information as soon as we get it.
The Waupaca Area Woodcarvers will be
having their first woodcarving show on November 6, 2022 @ 407 School Street,
Waupaca, WI. More information available from Harold Mohr (715-281-4923) or
Kathy Brehm (920-740-1986).
Show and
Tell
I think I can paint them now.
When I paint them I feel like I ruin
them with the exception of brother Anthony. Rich Talbot
Joel Taylor brought
in a hedgehog that he carved a ferocious mouth and added eyes and spiky
toothpicks to make horns and legs. He painted it blue and
Yellow with a red mouth. He indicated that Tony sat for
it as a model.
Colin Bystrom
brought a duck of Redwood with wood burning and eyes from Joann Fabric.
He also had a stylized comfort bird and a Viking from Gordy’s class.
These carvings are from the Spring
issue of Woodcarving illustrated. By the time you print these, we
should be back in Rockford for the Summer. We had a great Winter here
in Ocala, Florida. See you soon.
Jerry Robey
Steve Terrill
showed his Welcome Plaque from Don’s CLR class.
Jerome Mais brought
in a picture of Santa in his workshop painting a toy train.
It was on the cover of Woodcarving Illustrated around Christmas time
and it proved to be a real challenge.
Tony DaVita brought
in a shark that he saw on TV, stopped the TV, took a picture and carved.
He also carved another Brother Anthony and a Sea Horse on a stand.
Tyrone Johnsen
brought in a stylized swan out of Catalpa which was originally was going to
be a pelican but it had different ideas. He also brought
his little guy “Larry the fisherman” that has a fishing pole that
interchanges with a stick of dynamite.
Larry the fisherman using dynamite
by night. And his fly rod by day.
Gordy Moscinski
brought in a pair of trees made out of different woods which is called
intarsia. They were impeccably sanded and finished
natural. He also brought in a bird he carved in wormy
butternut and mounted on a piece of driftwood.
Bob Capion with his
in process panel carving.
Larry Stenzel
brought in a wood burning of a Railroad Water Tower that he did at the club.
