FEATURES

John Burke Woodcarver of the Year
Popular author and instructor honored for his contributions to woodcarving

A Carved Tribute to the Edmund Fitzgerald
Patrick Pointer's detailed relief carvings immortalize this famous Great Lakes freighter

First Cuts
Shawn Cipa and Rick Jensen provide valuable tips for carvers and share their first carvings

PROJECTS

Making Colorful Leaf Tiles
By Cyndi Joslyn
Easy relief carvings have a variety of uses

Whittling a 5-minute Owl
By Jan Oegema
Easy beginner project is ideal for teaching and demonstrations

Carving a Cherry Leaf Bowl
By Brian Bailey
Showcase wood's natural beauty with this simple and functional design

Making an Elegant Book Stand
By Marty Leenhouts
Hand carve this ingenious folding stand from a single piece of wood

Hand Carve a Majestic Buck
By Desiree Hajny
Capture the graceful beauty of a whitetail deer in wood

Carve a Gift-bearing Santa
By Don Dearolf
Easy-to-carve holiday icon is a clever way to present a cash gift

Carving a Caricature Colt
By Floyd Rhadigan
Simple stylized horse is easy to carve

Carving a Flying Witch
By Dave and Michele Stetson
Create your own humorous Halloween display

Osprey
Pattern by Gordon and Marsha Stiller

TECHNIQUES

Choosing Power Carving Bits
By Chuck Solomon and Dave Hamilton
Make smart purchases with a basic understanding of the cutters available

DEPARTMENTS
Editor's Column
From Our Mailbag
News and Notes
Tips and Techniques
Reader Gallery
Product Review
Relief Column
Calendar of Events
Coming Features
Ad Directory & Classifieds
Woodchips

Cyndi Joslyn began woodcarving in 1990 with a special interest in carved Santas. She owns an extensive collection of carved Santas and currently teaches classes to both novice and experienced carvers. She is also the author of Carving Santas from Around the World. She lives in Missoula, Montana.

Jan Oegema lives in Bowmanville, Ont., Canada. For more of his work, visit www.janscarvingstudio.com.

Brian Bailey retired after working for the state of New York for almost 30 years. For the past 25 years, he has been sawing and drying his own lumber. He started carving as a youngster and has been carving off and on since then. For more of his work, visit www.baileyswoodworking.com.

Marty Leenhouts is a trained teacher with more than 25 years of classroom and online teaching experience. He owns and operates www.MyChipCarving.com and produces free patterns and video lessons. He and his wife, Shelley, host quilting, scrapbooking, and chip carving retreats in Garden City, Minn. Visit their website at www.RedBarnRetreats.com.

Desiree Hajny is the winner of many national and international awards for her carvings (13 "Best of" shows and 90 first-place honors), has been the featured artist for Sculpture Forum and Wildlife Art News, and is a contributing editor of Wood Carving Illustrated magazine. She lives in Eckert, Colorado.

Don Dearolf painted for several years before taking up carving in 1994. He was introduced to carving when his brother Dave took him to the Lancaster County Woodcarvers Show. Don loves to carve and share patterns, blanks, and rough outs with others. Don lives in Lancaster, Pa. with his wife, Sue, and daughter, Kate.

Floyd Rhadigan of Saline, Mich., is a nationally known carver and member of the Caricature Carvers of America. For more of his work or to see his schedule of seminars, visit his website at www.FantasyCarving.com.

Dave presently resides in Scottsdale, Arizona, and has been a full-time woodcarving instructor, artist and show judge since 1996. He has won countless awards for his carvings across the country. He is available to teach seminars and has created a number of original design wood roughouts and casted study aids, which are available for sale.

Gordon and Marsha Stiller have been in the pattern business for more than 24 years. To request a free catalog, contact them at 920-685-2938, or visit their website at www.stillerpatterns.com.

Chuck Solomon is a terrestrial ecologist and works primarily with endangered species in the Central Valley of California. He has been teaching carving classes and participating in carving competitions for over 15 years. He has won more than 100 ribbons at shows in Colorado, California, Alaska and Canada, including Best of Show and Best of Division. Chuck has also judged several shows in Colorado. His work consists primarily of songbirds, waterfowl and mammals, both realistic and interpretive.

Chuck currently lives in the Sacramento, California, area where he works, carves, teaches classes and is an active member of the Capital Woodcarvers Association and California Carvers Guild.

Dave Hamilton is an ecologist by profession, working primarily in the area of wetland ecology. He has been carving and competing in shows for almost 20 years. While Dave enjoys carving a variety of bird species, he specializes in hummingbirds and in the wading birds common to the wetlands he works on professionally. He also enjoys carving stylized pieces and reproductions of antique decoys. Dave lives in Fort Collins, Colorado, where he carves, teaches classes, and is a member of the Northern Colorado Woodcarvers.

Lora Irish is an artist who runs an internet carving studio with her husband at www.carvingpatterns.com. She is a frequent contributor to Scroll Saw Woodworking & Crafts and Wood Carving Illustrated and the author of Great Book of Dragon Patterns, Great Book of Fairy Patterns, Great Book of Tattoo Designs, Great Book of Woodburning, and Wood Spirits and Green Men. She lives in Mt. Airy, Maryland.