Wood Carving Illustrated - Issue #13 - Holiday 2000

Open House 2000
A review of the annual event gives it highest marks. Prepare for Open House 2001

Carver of the Year Award
Watch Harold Enlow Grandpa of the Caricature Carvers receive the 1st annual award

The Screech Owl
Art Shoemaker offers an ideal beginner's project

Carving a Christmas Ornament or Wall Switch
Light up the holidays with a colorful relief carving

Pipes of Whimsy
James Margroum turns pipe dreams into an art form

Brush Basics-Part I
Lori Corbett takes the guesswork out of a hirsute subject

Confessions of a Woodcarving Collector
Managing Editor Roger Schroeder writes about a 20-year search for a special woodcarving

Chessmen with Mettle
Robin Hood and other characters of Sherwood Forest come alive

More of the Masters-Part II
No fooling-the carving of a tipsy Victorian really whistles

Olde World Santa
Joel Hull looks back in time to carve St. Nick

Introduction to Chip-Carved Decorations
Barry McKenzie decks the halls with novel chip carvings

Tormek® Put to the Test
Grinding and honing with Tormek® has never been easier or more precise

Wood Review: Apple
Take a shine to a wood that offers sterling qualities for the carver

Santa Head Finishing Techniques
Carole Jean Boyd demonstrates that good finishing is in the flow

Regular Columns
Editor's Corner
Letters to the Editor
Events Calendar
On the Road
Classifieds
Advertisers' Index

I started carving in 1982 when a course on relief carving was offered through a local community college. Prior to this course, I attended basic drawing classes, decorative art and landscape painting seminars, searching for an art form that truly captured my interest. That first relief course did spark a glimmer of interest, attracting me enough to attend a second quarter and a third.

Soon I was engrossed, attending every carving seminar available. Realistic songbirds, shorebirds, ducks, fish and caricatures have given me more experience. I continue to attend workshops on a regular basis, learning new things, enjoying the fellowship, seeing old friends, making new friends and, above all, sharing knowledge.

Ron Ransom sneaked into my life and introduced me to carving Santas. Soon I was designing and with time have developed a style of my own. Santas became my best seller in the co-op art gallery in which I displayed song birds and relief carvings. After six years of producing Santas for the gallery and other gift shops, I said enough! It was time to attend more wood carving shows and experiment with new designs.

Roger Schroeders success as a writer began when he gave up trying to write the great American novel. Instead, he turned to writing about his hobby: woodworking. Sharpening his skills and his photography and expanding his interests, he went on to author 16 books and nearly 200 magazine articles. Ranging in scope from woodcarving to house building, the books include such titles as How to Carve Wildfowl, Carving Signs, Making Toys, and Timber Frame Construction, which has over 77,000 copies in print. Founding editor of Wood Carving Illustrated, Roger is past president of the Long Island Woodcarvers Association and active in the Long Island Wood Workers club. He is a retired English teacher who specialized in teaching writing and research, Roger currently lectures on topics such as how to make wood into furniture, houses and sculpture. In the remaining time, he is an amateur cabinetmaker who enjoys constructing Victorian reproductions, and is an amateur carver who has won a number of blue ribbons for his natural wood sculptures.

Lori Corbett is an award-winning bird carver and a carving instructor. She is a contributor to Wood Carving Illustrated. She lives in St. Anthony, Idaho.

A self-taught artist and avid woodcarver, Jack Kochan has been carving nearly twenty years. Though primarily a wildfowl carver, he is adept at many styles of carving from relief, to caricature, to realistic and covers a broad range of subject matter. Born and raised in the rolling hills of Berks County, Pennsylvania, he grew up with a deep appreciation of wildlife and nature. Much of his work reflects the adversity, tranquillity, and sometimes the comedy of nature itself. A thorough understanding of anatomical structure helps create his many lifelike pieces. He also illustrates for Woodcarving Illustrated Magazine and has been a contributor to several articles. Jack resides in Leesport, Pennsylvania with his wife, June.

Carole Jean Boyd is an award-winning carver who specializes in carving cypress knees, spirit faces, and human hair. She lives in Millbrook, Alabama.