NEWS ROUND-UP

Members report our Club show was great.. Much enthusiasm. Everyone is pleased with the venue, the food service, the judging setup, the display tables, atmosphere - everything. Much thanks to John Wacker for obtaining the Tebala Shrine Center for us. Attendance was 217 paid visitors. Down from our last year show, just as it has been reported down at other carving shows this year. Even so, the operation was financially successful. Don’t forget that the Show next year will be at the same place, on August 15 ... for our 15^th Anniversary Show.

Madison Carving Club Show- Sunday, October 26, was very impressive. Especially the way it was organized and operated. Excellent "Welcome Table" with three club members passing out literature, answering questions, and explaining things. The Raffle Tables had three members working there. Of special interest was the way it was operated. Raffle tickets which sold for were $1 each or 6 for $5, allowed you to choose which piece of art you wanted to gamble on. All pieces were displayed on the nicely-draped raffle tables, with a half-gallon paper "cup" beside each one. Put your raffle ticket(s) in the cup beside the piece you wanted most. You didn’t have to be present to win.

The show area was laid out with rectangular tables which defined the traffic flow quite well. The club had a sales booth with three members working. Items (mostly holiday style and "gifty" carvings) were donated by club members. A large banner sign told you this was "Ye Olde Holiday Shoppe." All proceeds went to the club treasury. Then, there was the "Resale Table." Again, there were three members working there. Merchandise included everything imaginable that had anything to do with carving, These things were all surplus items that club members wanted to sell. This money went to the member who owned the item. Commercial vendors included two tool sellers and one wood supplier. The wood supplier had a handsome spot with merchandise displayed on tables all across the back of the room., Kitchen facility was for Show people, not visitors ... there was no food concession.

2009 Membership Dues are now being accepted. See Dona Wisner, or mail to Club Post Office Box listed in Club facts section at end of this Newsletter. This is just an early "heads up" to let you know. Memberships expire on the 31^st day of December. You can pay now and help your Membership Chairman avoid the year-end rush. Low $20 price is being held at the same level as last year.

Attention SNOW BIRDS! - If your Winter Mail Address is different from the rest of the year, you can still get your Newsletter on time. Just be sure the Newsletter Editor has the correct address, and we will see that it goes directly to you.

World-Renown Chip Carver, Wayne Barton, put on an excellent presentation on Swiss-style chip carving, Friday evening, October 11^th at The Turner Hall in Monroe, Wisconsin. This program was one in Monroe’s 2008 Swiss Heritage Series. The Series is sponsored by the Turner Hall Swiss Heritage & Community Center; chaired by Deborah Krauss Smith; and features different experts in fields related to the Swiss culture of Monroe. Blackhawk Woodcarvers attending the chip carving affair were Judy & Don Stansfield, John & Mrs. Skaggs, and Dona & Tod Wisner.

With a slide show of his different works, Mr. Barton described how the elements of a good chip carving must follow the same precepts as any other form of two-dimensional art ... balance, point of interest, "movement", to mention just a few. Besides the extensive slide show, Barton had several actual pieces of his chip carving on display for our close personal examination. It was interesting that he welcomed questions at any point in his presentation. The exchange between speaker and audience made for a lively program.

For your interest, Barton buys his materials for carving, such as basswood plates, slabs, and boxes from Gottfried Brandlii in Monroe, Wisconsin. Brandlii, as you may suspect, although known mostly for Swiss cabinetry, is also personally involved in Swiss-style chip carving. There is a chip-carving class at Brandlii’s shop in Monroe on Wednesday evenings. For those of you who do not know, Gottfried Brandlii is a member of the Blackhawk Woodcarvers, and exhibits regularly at our Show. This year, he showed chip-carved furniture in the competition.

Many thanks to Mrs. Sandy (Phyllis) Schmidt for donating a whole bunch of wooden pins ... some carved, some blank. Also two 3" x 5" basswood flats. All of these things went to Don Stansfield to be used in the gift program for children in hospitals.

Carving together - That’s why we have the Club. As most members know, carving instruction is always available right within the Blackhawk Woodcarving Club. Sometimes in a formal class, and sometimes on an individual basis. Look at the Indian Flute class Gordy Moscinski taught last Spring, and the Santa class Ray Olson has been teaching this Fall. Sometimes, a member will even take you on in a one-on-one teaching situation for a whole project. For example, one of our members (who shall remain nameless for this article) is teaching your Editor how to carve a Mallard Drake duck. Full-size. And that’s a wonderful opportunity! Other instances like this happen regularly. Don’t be bashful, just ask. As it was written long ago, "Ask and ye shall receive. Knock, and it shall be opened onto you>"

Norma Boehm, of Byron, contacted our Club to see if the Club would be interested in some basswood, plus some books and many patterns that had belonged to her late husband, Jim Boehm. Bob Matthews and Tony DeVita went down to Byron. Bob invested $60 of his own money to bring these materials into the club. The wood and books are for sale, and the patterns are going into the Club Library. While much was sold at the business meeting on October 15, there is still a considerable amount left. Bob says that after he recoups his $60, all the rest of the cash goes into the Club treasury. Thanks for the good work, guys!

Phyllis Schmidt gave Tony DeVita several of her late husband Sandy’s knives for sale to Club members. Tony has already sold some, but there a re still a few left. If you could use another knife, check these out. These are genuine, original Sandy Schmidt carving knives, and the prices are very economical.

PERSONALS

Ozzie Webb and his wife celebrated their 56^th wedding anniversary a couple of weeks ago. They drove to Rock Island to visit a grandson who is studying in Augustana University there. Saw him in a play, all went out to dinner, and had a really fun week-end.

COMMUNITY SERVICE

Jack-O-Lantern pins for kids (carved by Club members) - Bob Hallstrom and Don Stansfield went on Thursday, October 23, and distributed 144 pins among children in the three Rockford hospitals.

Christmas pins & ornaments have been carved already, and will be distributed to hospitalized kids just before Christmas.

Now, Rockford Hospital has contacted Bob Hallstrom to see if we might be willing to carve some angel pins for members of the Loss Support Group. These are people who have lost a loved one from death, and gather for mutual comfort and support (See Minutes of the Meeting)

Heart-shaped roughouts, all made by Don Stansfield, will be valentine gifts to kids in hospitals in our Pins For Kids program.

SICK BAY REPORT

Tom Backer is back in Rockford. As of this writing, he’s at Provena St. Anne’s for re-hab and therapy. While he still doesn’t have all his strength back, the most serious problem right now is that his epiglottis doesn’t work well. The epiglottis flap closes the air pipe when you swallow food or drink. Tom is getting help from the Speech Therapist to bring the epiglottis back into proper function. He’s in fine spirits, Room B-13, and visitors are welcome. Check first to see if he’s out of his room for a treatment session.

Paula Christianson, Roger Benedict’s wife, went back to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, for more foot surgery. (Major bone and structure rework.) This will likely mean an extended and tedious recovery period.

John Hartwig is fighting neuropathy in his left leg. He says he hardly gets "healed" from one session of therapy before he has to go in two days later for another session.

What disease did the cured ham actually have?

NEW MEMBERS

Hughling Meier got into carving by taking Don Stansfield and Bob Hallstrom’s flat plane crêche class at Rock Valley CLR.

Lisa Hanus. from Belvidere, likes to see the grain in her carvings. No paint. She uses wood left over from her husband’s rustic furniture making, because it has more grain than basswood. .

Kyle Pierce, nephew of Lisa Hanus, and also from Belvidere. Kyle is in carving at the suggestion of his Aunt Lisa Hanus ... He is an avid cartoon artist, and Aunt Lisa encouraged him to expand his artistic horizons. I saw your work the other day, Kyle - you’re doing OK.

BUSINESS MEETING

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Gary Lundquist, Secretary

¬ Meeting was called to order be President Bob Hallstrom at 9:00 am. Then he introduced the three new members.
¬ Secretary’s Report was read and approved as read.
¬ Treasurer’s Report was read and approved as read.
¬ Membership Chairman reported because new members have joined, an updated membership list is available.
¬ Newsletter Editor passed out some extra "How to sharpen a carving knife" sheets left over from earlier Newsletter.
¬ Librarian Marshall Field, Jr. reported that new, updated library lists are available for everyone. Just ask.

Sign-up sheets for club shirts, name tags, and aprons were passed around.

¬ NEW BUSINESS ¬

Center for Sight & Hearing carved quilt project was re-opened and discussed. There were different suggestions for carving subjects, with pictures, we need pictures of seeing eye dogs IN HARNESS. Wood panels were passed out to interested carvers. Actual work on this project is expected to be completed sometime in the early part of next year. There are still a few Quilt Squares that need someone to carve them. There is loads of talent in the Club, and no one should feel bashful or overly modest! Just see Bob or Don, and pick up a Square.

Walt Gipe informed the Club that the Pecatonica Fairgrounds Association wants to put up a plaque recognizing the Blackhawk Woodcarving Club and the members who were involved in the actual carving. Motion was made and carried to have a bronze plaque.

Christmas Party & Swap Meet Committee volunteers are Bernie Budzinski, John Skaggs, and John Wacker. Active discussion followed on what sort of eats, what beverages, and should spouses be included. Pizza seems a bit out of place in the morning, but someone suggested "breakfast pizza." Ted Faber and John Skaggs are bringing 30-cup coffee makers. Regular and de-caf? Sounds OK. The Club can buy coffee and juice instead of pop, and the potluck food might be cookies, sweet rolls, doughnuts, or...? The Committee will make the decisions and report at the November business meeting. Unless there is some strenuous objection, there will be no need for any lengthy discussions.

Election of Officers will be handled quickly at the December meeting, before the eating and swapping. A volunteer nominating committee of Ted Faber, Bob Matthews, & Tod Wisner will report back with their selections at the November Business Meeting. This gives everyone a whole month to consider whether or not they wish to nominate any alternatives to the Committee’s suggestions.

We were admonished to bring "one old and one new" of our carvings to show. It was an amazing show of so many different kinds and types of subjects. We often see the carvings as work in progress, so it’s great fun to see the finished work. Here are some of the pieces.

Dave Meyer’s Santa Claus from Ray Olson’s class.

                    Jayne Pheiffer’s Santa Claus from Ray Olson’s class

Larry Christensen’s bark house is just his latest bark carving

                            Original Club logo relief carving by Gale Terrell

Elaine Terrell’s chip-carved plate earned her a Blue Ribbon in 2000

This carving of the "Watch dog" had interesting texture of grain (Carver not identified)

This blue morning glory was Gale Terrell’s first carving and what looked like worm holes.

We missed getting pictures of Ozzie Webb’s Wood Spirit he had carved from a small forked branch of "found wood." We also missed Dave Meyer first carving - a shelf mouse; as well as the bark carving Lois Mensching did while attending the Gathering Of Woodcarvers in Sandwich, Illinois this September..

"Bring some sharp tools" were the instructions for this meeting Also, bring your imagination. We will be carving Valentine pins for kids in hospital wards. Stansfield provided an ample supply of rough-outs in several different kinds of hearts. Thanks, Don. It would never happen if we had to make our own rough-outs. We were admonished to take only one heart cut-out at a time - - - then, you can take another only after that first has been finished.

CLUB SCHEDULE

Business Meetings & Special Events -

ð November 19 - John Winter will present a program on "Logging & Logging Tools"
     Nomination of officers
ð December 17 - Election of Officers, Christmas Party & Swap Meet

NEXT YEAR - 2009

ð January 21, 2009 - Plan 2009 programs
ð February 18 -
ð March 16 -
ð April 15 -
ð May 20 -
ð June 17 -
ð July 15 -
ð August 15 - 15^th Anniversary Show & Competition at Tebala Shrine
ð August 19 -
ð September - Club Picnic
ð September 16 -
ð October 21 -
ð November 19 - Recognize Carver/Member of the Year, Nomination of officers
ð December 16 - Election of Officers, Christmas Party & Swap Meet

CARVING CLASSES

November 14, 15, 16, Bettendorf, Iowa - Phil & Vicki Bishop bring championship caricature carving lessons to The Woodcraft Shop, 2724 State Street, Bettendorf. $185, plus roughouts of your choice ($10 to $45). Carol & Larry Yudis, 563-359-9684, www.thewoodcraftshop.com.

December 5, 6,& 7, Bettendorf, Iowa - Rick Harbey will teach Deep Relief Carving of a fireman bust into a block 12 ½" x 10" x 4" thick. Now that’s deep! $225 including roughout. The Woodcraft Shop., 2724 State Street, Bettendorf. Carol & Larry Yudis, 563-359-9684, www.thewoodcraftshop.com.

January, 2009 - No classes known in our immediate area.

CARVING SHOWS

November, December, & January 2009 - no shows known in our immediate area.

WANT ADS

Basswood blanks & walnut rounds (bark-on) - The Club has a modest supply of good carving wood for sale. And it’s cheap!!! See Bob Matthews. First come, first served! It’s cheap enough to afford to have in your stock to wait for a carving project.

Carving knives - Tools previously owned by the late Sandy Schmidt. Priced to sell fast. See Tony DeVita.

Duck Carving Book - with life-size patterns and some comments. From the estate of the late Jim Boehm who loved to carve birds and animals. Only $10. See Bob Matthews.

Assistant Editor position open on this Newsletter. Looking for someone with enthusiastic interest in Club Members’ activities. Will work with talented Staff Photographer; maybe write a special story from time-to-time. Back-up Newsletter production in case regular Editor wants to go on an extended vacation trip. Salary is negotiable up to 150% of regular Editor’s pay. Great opportunity for free self-expression. OTJ training - full pay while you learn!

CIRCULATION STATEMENT: this issue of the Blackhawk Woodcarver is mailed to 58 members; 17 prospective members; ten Friends of Blackhawk Carving Club, 22 professional carvers, and 17 tool vendors Total circulation = 124. We send all copies of our Newsletter out by USPO in order to assure the greatest possible benefit to all.