(p) The Blackhawk Woodcarver
                     Volume XXII, Issue 5,  May 2015

Presidents Corner

Friends,

A member of Roger Benedict's recent “Self Portrait” relief carving class said she thought there was no way she could do that class successfully. But, she decided to take the class anyway, and found that she loved it.

An amazing thing about the Blackhawk Carvers is not just the talented people, but the willingness of so many to help others. Roger spent nine weeks sharing his talent so others could possibly find something they loved to do.

There are many others just like Roger in the club. Bob Matthews has helped people find a very special kind of duck in a piece of wood. Denny Neubauer has taught people how to sharpen a blade and then shown them how to carve little people with that blade. Gordy Moscinski is now teaching a “Woodburning Intro” class at CLR, as is Roger now teaching one on “Abstract Relief Carving” there. Bob Hallstrom & Don Stansfield have conducted many “Beginning Woodcarving” classes at CLR as has Gordy.

Gary Lundquist, and his many volunteers in the club, lead soap carving classes for Scouts and other youth groups as a community service of the club. Jerry Mais showed us how to make a “Blackhawk Club Name Pendent”. He even published a booklet on the subject, if you missed that meeting. Bob Coleman explained for us how to carve faces in books, but wisely didn't do a live demonstration. A bit messy, he said.

If you would like to learn how to do something, ask around. Someone will tell you how, show you how or perhaps set up a class. There's a good chance in this club that you can learn to do something you always thought you could never do.

A big “Thank You” to those named above and to all who are doing, and have done, so much for others over the years.         

Gary Curl

Blackhawk Carving Club
P. O. Box 8285 Rockford, IL 61126
Open Carving every Wednesday (8:30-11am).  Ken Rock Community Center (Sacred Heart Academy, Multi-purpose room) 3218 Eleventh St, Rockford, IL 61109
Business Meeting; third Wednesday of the month. Friends and spouses of carvers are especially welcome to come to meet and visit. Carvers bring in finished carvings for “Show & Tell.”

CLUB OFFICERS       (815 area code)
President - Gary Curl  - 895-5016
Vice Pres. - Frank Lay, 677-1190
Treasurer - John Skaggs, 547-6951
Secretary - Martha Fitch, 399-2453

COMMITTEES   (815 area code)
Librarian - Dawn Rozanas—229-8996
Show Co-Chairmen - Gary Curl  895-5016,  Elaine Terrell 765-2886
Webmaster - Gordy Moscinski, 874-7978
Membership  - Chuck Drewes, 316-0398
Newsletter Publisher, Gary Johnson 399-1697
Newsletter Editor, Gordy Moscinski, 874-7978
Photographer - Larry Clark, 262-9982
Historian - Elaine Terrell 765-2886
Programs—Bob Matthews 544-2359 & Denny Neubauer 515-508-9524
Petty Cash—Dona Wisner
Christmas Party - Rosalie Wesley
Picnic - Tony Devita
Soap Carving –Gary Lundquist

Club Activity Schedule

April 1 - open carving
April 8 - open carving
April 15 - business meeting
Rick Ferrell and Bill Minton, chainsaw carving
April 22 - open carving
April 29 - open carving

May 6 - open carving
May 13 - A presentation by 'The Northern Raptor Center
May 20 - business meeting
May 27 - open carving

June 3 - open carving
June 10 - open carving
June 17 - business meeting
June 23 - Club Picnic at Bauman Park In Cherry Valley
June 24 - open carving

July 1    open carving
July 8   open carving
August 15  Blackhawk Carving Show

May Birthdays   (that we know about)

1 Rosalie Wesley
2  Roger Benedict
8 Lloyd Duerst
14 Wes Englund
21 Bob Matthews
21 Colin Bystrom
22 John Hartwig
22 Steve Terrell
25 Larry Christensen
26 Charles Drewes
28 Art Valley

Club Minutes for Meeting of April 15, 2015

The Meeting of the Blackhawk Woodcarvers Club was called to order at 9:00 am by President Gary Curl.  Welcome to Rick Ferrell and Bill Minton, who were visiting to talk about chainsaw carving.

REPORTS
Membership chairman Chuck Drewes reported no new members since last month.  Most dues have been paid.
Secretary Martha Fitch read the minutes from the meeting held March 18, 2015.  No additions or corrections noted.
Treasurer John Skaggs reported on current funds.  Also reported that he has reviewed all entries and is missing $23.26 per the banks balances.  He has not found this sum and asks if anyone has knowledge of this amount, please let him know.  Report accepted.
Refreshment chairman Dona Wisner reported on petty cash funds.  Report accepted.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bob Matthews reported that purchase of the video equipment has been completed. Bob spent a total of $933.06 which included extended warrantees for both the video camera and the TV.  Bob has put together a “how to” binder that anyone will be able to use, but will also take the time to teach a number of members how to set up the system.  This equipment has been set up and during a regular club meeting with excellent results.
Don Stansfield was not in attendance but everyone is reminded of the challenge issued by Don last month.

NEW BUSINESS
Bob Halstrom has information of a power carving unit someone is selling.  Please see him for more information.
Louis Cowan presented information regarding the MDA “Make a Muscle Walk” taking place on May 2, 2015.  Louis is soliciting funds to support his participation, and also asked everyone to sign the giant card so he can show the names during this event.
Elaine Terrell reported that the Rock River Valley Carvers of Wisconsin is holding a carving show and sale on September 12, 2015.  Members of the Blackhawk Woodcarvers Club are invited to participate and attend this event.  Flyers are available to anyone who wishes more information.
Motion to adjourn was received and accepted at 9:19 am.

SHOW AND TELL
Bob Matthews  --  Red Fox  --basswood, carved and painted.  Also the bas was carved and painted during a class.
Bernie Budzinski  --  2 baskets made from gourds, decorated by wood burning and then finished.
Dave Meyer  --  Wood spirit, carved from a cypress knee.
Bob Coleman  --  cameo of self, carved in recent class.  Carved from basswood.
Bunny Nordheim  --  5 completed projects from her recent CLR class.  Wood burned on birch plywood and bark wood, colored with water color pencils, and then finished.
Louis Cowan  --  3 canes he found or carved.
Larry Stenzel   --  fish-shaped dish carved from butternut.
Gordy Moscinski  --  Lumberjack carved in basswood
John Skaggs  --  Chip carved plate, carved in basswood

BREAK
Raffle of carvings
Presentation by Rick Farrell and Bill Minton regarding equipment used and several examples of their work was on display.

Martha Fitch, Recording Secretary

       

   pictures by Larry clark

Soap Carving

Camp McCormick was the latest destination for soap carving.  Forty-five Girl Scouts ages 5-10 chose to participate.  Thanks to Chuck Drewes, Dawn Rozanas and son, Carl, Louis Jurisch, Gordy Moscinski, and Larry Stenzel for helping with this project. 

Chuck Drewes is going to be looking into new patterns that fit the smaller bars of soap.  Talk to him if you have ideas.

   

  

   pictures by Chuck Drewes

Leaf Relief Challenge

Don Stansfield issued a challenge for Club members.  This is a leaf relief, with at least 1 human face also in the carving.  There will be prizes and he hopes to have many entries.  Don handed out copies of the rules and also pieces of wood cut to the contest size requirement.  Ideas can be found at www.carruthstudio.com.  No copying allowed.
The Rules
1 The relief carving must be 4-1/2” x 6-1/2” in total size.
2 Al least one human face must be carved into the leaf’s surface.
3 The face or faces must be given an appropriate name.
4 The carving must be one piece, no add-ons.
5 The finished carving can be painted or of natural finish.

The finished carvings are to be presented at the Blackhawk Woodcarver’s meeting on May 20, 2015.
You can contact Don with any questions.  

Don Stansfield

Carving Shows/Classes
Shows within 3 to 4 hours one-way drive time of Rockford will be listed as they become known.

April 18, 2015 - Sheboygan, WI
25th Kettle Karvers Show at (new Location) Lakers Ice Center, 1202 South Wildwood Avenue.
www.ketttlekarvers.org

August 15, 2015 - Rockford, IL
The Blackhawk Wood Carvers will hold its 20th annual carving show at the Tebala Shrine Temple, 7910 Newburg Rd in Rockford, Illinois, 61108. The show is open to the public starting at 10:30 AM until 4:00 PM.
Classes at The Woodcraft Shop
Advanced Pyrography with Sharon Bechtold
Fri. eve. - Sun: April 17, 18 and 19, 2015 - $210.00
Knife Making and Carving Miniatures with Denny Neubauer
Thurs. - Fri: April 23 and 24, 2015 - $95.00    Sat. - Sun: April 25 and 26, 2015 - $95.00

Musky Area Wood Carvers Workshop
August 18-21, 2015 in Boulder Junction Wisconsin
Look on the Blackhawk Carvers Website under Events for a complete list of all the classes and pictures of the project. At www.blackhawkcarving.com

Carving Raffle

Marilyn Thorsen, Franklin Johnson’s sister-in-law, and the widow of Tony Thorsen, has most kindly given these carvings to our Club. Tony Thorsen was an enthusiastic wood carver, and through the years he collected fine examples of the art done by other carvers.  Several of these carvings were done by Canadian carvers.  Others in the collection have no prof of origin.

Although Tony and Marilyn Thorsen lived in Dwight, Illinois, they came to our Carving Show every year.  Tony even had a membership in our Club.  When Tony passed away in June of 2010, he left Marilyn with a “boat load” of carving stuff.  Perhaps readers will recall that she has had a sales table at our Club Carving Show a couple of times to sell some of Tony’s carving things: tools, wood, books, etc.

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. The first one on March 4^th went well with four happy winners, thanks to Mike Petty bringing some nice things.   Gary Curl

CLR Art Showcase  April 29, 2015 1:00pm to 4:30pm Rock Valley College Bell School Road Center.

Programs by Denny Neubauer & Bob Matthews

We have scheduled 'The Northern Raptor Center' of Loves Park to give us another presentation in May13th of this year. The last time we did this was in the spring of 2013 and we have had several requests from members to do it again and addition- ally we have a number of new members. As you can see this is not on the meeting date due to the amount of time required to present their presentation.

We are open to all ideas for presentations after our business meetings each month. The talent of this club is above average compared to many other clubs and I'm sure that any member in our club has something to share that would be beneficial to all of us. If you’re not too bashful and would like to share your knowledge with the club call Denny @ 515-508-9524 or contact me at the meeting.

 Thanks, Denny

Carving Show August 15, 2015

Hello Blackhawk Carver. This note is to keep you informed of changes that are taking place. Two inch cube will be replaced with a SPOON category. Spoons can be large and small. Entry fee will be the same as two inch cube. Chairpersons at this time will be Gary Curl and Elaine Terrell with Bunny Nordheim and Martha Fitch as under studies. We need carvers to step up to the plate and help with our show. There are some jobs that need someone to take charge of them. As time gets closer to our show a sign up sheet will be handed out on Wednesday morning. Also, you may be asked to handle a task. This will help our show run with out a hitch. Thank you for you cooperation  Gary Curl and The ladies

Carl Hicks

Our hearts go out to the family of member Carl Hicks.  Carl will be remembered for his custom cane work.  He loved to be outdoors fishing and hunting.  He once said his favorite competition was the one piece 4 in. sphere with a bird carved inside a cage.

Power Hone For Sale
Heavy-duty, Bi-directional tool-sharpening machine, includes one leather stropping plate and one 600-grit industrial diamond plate.  Special magnetic quick-change system holds plates without any lever or screw or nut…  just slip one off and slip the other one on.  Heavy-duty 3-position, positive-click rocker switch controls rotation direction.  New 2005. (see pictures below)
GRS Tools, Inc. Power Hone.  Model 502B, Sn HB-05699, 115v, 1.5 amp. New $498. Sale price $220 (negotiable).
Call club member Jim Griparis, 815-654-2395.

       

New Membership Directory

A new, 2015 Edition of the Club Membership Directory is fresh from the printer.   The book is in a new pocket-size format: about 3"x9".   Personal history write-ups have been discontinued.  In the new format, besides your photo we list your address and phone number.  Where we have the info, we also include your spouse, cell phone and email address.

Copies were passed out at a recent Wednesday carving session.  According to sign-up sheets, there are still several members who have not received their free copy.  The photo here shows the pile of books waiting for their owners to claim them.

If you are one of those who has missed out, there are two ways for you to get your copy:   One - You can simply drop in to the Wednesday morning carving session and pick up your copy.  It’s already in an envelope with your name on it.  Or, Two - we can mail your copy to you.  However, it costs us almost a buck to mail it, so we need you to pay the postage.  The Directory is FREE.  All we ask is that you send one dollar (US) to the Club at Post Office Box 8285, Rockford, Illinois, 61126.  Your copy is already in an envelope with your name and address on it.  All we need is your dollar (US) to pay the mailing expense.

THE BOOK IS FREE TO ALL (paid-up) MEMBERS.

Cameo carving class

Personally this caving class was the most stimulating to conduct due to observing each student’s face features and then see their likeness emerge out of the wood.  Carving one’s self portrait was challenging to say the least.   However the students accepted the challenge and worked hard to achieve a carved likeness.  I was thoroughly involved to observe everyone’s face features and appreciated their patience as we worked together to achieve the carving details.  Accepting this challenge and taking a risk with such a difficult project is well applauded, because these carvers were introduced to many facial aspects of carving; and hopefully a new awareness of carving techniques was achieved. 

Roger Benedict

 Show and Tell pictures by Larry Clark, comments by Martha Fitch

     

Bernie Budzinski  --  2 baskets made from gourds, decorated by wood burning and then finished..

Bob Coleman  --  cameo of self, carved in recent class.  Carved from basswood.

Bob Matthews  --  Red Fox  --basswood, carved and painted.  Also the bas was carved and painted during a class.

Larry Stenzel   --  fish-shaped dish carved from butternut.

  
Dave Meyer  --  Wood spirit, carved from a cypress knee.

     
Gordy Moscinski  --  Lumberjack carved in basswood

Bunny Nordheim  --  5 completed projects from her recent CLR class.  Wood burned on birch plywood and bark wood, colored with water color pencils, and then finished.

   

  

John Skaggs  --  Chip carved plate, carved in basswood

 

Louis Cowan  --  3 canes he found or carved.