The Blackhawk Woodcarver
FYI: I’m Jerome Mais, President of the Blackhawk Woodcarvers
Club 2017. I was born and raised in Wausau Wisconsin and grew up near the
base of the ski area on Rib Mountain (the ski area is now known as Granite
Peak). Graduated from Wausau High School in 1962 and continued my education
at the Wausau Technical Institute, graduated in 1964. There I received an
Associate Degree in Electronics Technology. Note, this was the age of the
vacuum tubes, transistors, and the introduction of the integrated circuit.
There was a lot of talk about the wave of Digital Electronics. Boy, we have
come a long way since then.
I got my first and only job here in Rockford, Il. at the
Barber Colman Co. I have enjoyed working there for over 39 years.
After retiring I joined the Rock Valley College CLR (Center
for Learning in Retirement) Program. There, for fun, I took some classes
with Gordy
Moscinski
and Don
Stansfield
on woodcarving for beginners and finally joining the club
in 2009. And the rest is history.
Speaking of history, I would like to have our club members
start bringing in along with regular SHOW and TELL items, some of your
carvings that you have treasured from the past. We all have carving packed
away or setting on a shelf that no one has seen for years except our
spouses. I will have an extra table set up so we can show our favorites on
the Wednesdays that we have our meetings!
So---- Let the chip fly and see you at the club!
Jerome Mais
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 Activity Schedule
April 5
open carving
April 12
open carving
April 19
open carving and meeting
April 26
open carving
May 3
open carving
May 10
open carving
May 17
open carving and meeting
May 24
open carving
May 31
open carving
June 7
open carving
June 14
annual picnic (see article
right below)
June 21
open carving and meeting
June 28
open carving
July 5
open carving
July 12
open carving
July 19
open carving and meeting
July 26
open carving
August 2
open carving
August 9
open carving
August 16
open carving and meeting
August 23
open carving
August 30
open carving
The Blackhawk Woodcarvers annual picnic
The picnic will be held on Wednesday, 14 June 2017, from 3:00pm until dusk at Baum Park in Cherry Valley, IL. We will be at the pavilion by the tennis courts. No grills will be provided other than the ones at the pavilion, if anyone wants to use them please contact Tony DaVita and he will provide charcoal and starter. The club will provide soft drinks and water.
submitted by; Gary Lundquist
The Woodcraft Shop, Bettendorf, Iowa
Denny Neubauer,
sharpening class and carving miniatures. Saturday and Sunday: April 8 and 9,
2017 - $95.00.
John Engler,
medium relief woodcarving. Friday to Sunday: May 26, 27, and 28, 2017 -
$185.00.
Josh Guge,
realistic bird carving and painting.
Friday to Monday: September 15, 16, 17 and 18, 2017 –
$270.00 + a $20.00 material fee.
For more information call toll-free 800-397-2278 or go to
www.thewoodcraftshop.com
Musky Area Wood Carvers Workshop
August 15-18, 2017 in Boulder Junction, Wisconsin. Teachers include: Wes
Spadgenske, Dan Haack, Bob Harris, Echo Keller, Sophie Kubisiak, David
Kublank, Gordy Moscinski, Denny Neubauer, Elaine & Fred Stenman, Greg Wirtz,
James Thalacker, Dorthy Huse and Lee Belanger.
For the full layout go to muskyareawoodcarvers.com
Wednesday Coffee
Dona Wisner does a fine job of providing coffee and treats for the club
members each week. Please
continue to support the coffee fund by contributing a donation each week if
you participate.
Thank you Dona for a job well done.
Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you throw a
revolver at him?
Pelican by Bob Matthews
I have always enjoyed woodworking and wildlife. I have carved many other
types of birds; however, this time I decided to try my hand at carving a
pelican. I referenced a copy of
National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America
and settled on the West Coast Brown Pelican in breeding colors. The field
guide was full of information about size, feather and eye color, and range.
My next step was to surf the web to find additional photos that showed
side/back profiles, contours, and feather details. After gathering the
images, I was able to begin developing my pattern. Basswood was
selected for the project because it is tight grained, resists splitting, and
carves easily. The head and body are carved separately and then joined
together. This enabled me to conserve wood and the pieces were easier to
handle during carving. I used both power and hand carving tools and
sandpaper to round the wood, develop contours, and relieve the major feather
groups. The head and body were textured with a Detail Master wood burner and
a Gesswein high-speed grinder. The bird was finished with a Gesso base
and airbrushed with acrylic paint. The paint was applied with a Testors
Aztek 470 airbrush, with a fine nozzle, to finish the bird. I find it was
easy to use, light in weight, and sensitive to the touch. Final touch-up was
done by paintbrush. A clear satin Krylon finish was used to protect the
paint and add a little shine.
https://www.wildfowl-carving.com/Demonstrations/West-Coast-Brown-Pelican-Carving
Bob Matthews
My name is Bob Matthews. I am retired and live with my wife Karen in
Belvidere Illinois. We moved here in the spring of 2000 after having lived
in Roselle Illinois for 24 years. I retired from United Airlines in 1998
after 40 years of service. My wife and I have two children, five
grandchildren, and one great grandchild.
I have always enjoyed woodworking and wildlife. I started carving waterfowl
in the fall of 1979 and I haven't stopped. My first carving was developed
from a kit, it is crude, however, I still have it and it is signed and
numbered. Early on I attended several seminars with master carvers to
improve my skills and understanding of the craft. Today after 30 some years
I am still learning and striving to improve my work. If you study one of my
finished pieces, you will notice that I do not attempt to improve on Mother
Nature! My goal for each carving is that it should represent the species in
attitude, shape, and coloring.
Over the years I have expanded my artistic skills to include Song Birds,
Birds of Prey, Relief Carvings and Cottonwood Bark Carvings. The carving of
a piece of Cottonwood Bark is just fun and that there is little rhyme or
reason to it. I call them whimsical. As
for my Relief carving, I am just getting started and use birds for subject
matter.
To see additional examples of my work, visit my website at
www.featherwoodcarvings.com.
Roger
Benedict
Show and Tell pictures by Larry Clark and comments by
Steve Terrill
Carrie Lay
brought in 4 wonderful woodburned plaques of a fantasy house, flower and
barn and a colorized Butterfly
Frank Lay
brought in a snake carving/woodburning of a snake with 723 scales.
It looks very realistic.
It is displayed on driftwood.
Jim Foster
brought in two relief carvings, the first from Roger’s class and the second,
a flower that he did after the class with what he learned from the class.
Chuck Drewes
brought in an Owl pin he carved for a friend out of Mahogany.
Louie Jurisch
brought in his leaf/plum carving from Roger’s class.
Phyllis Hogberg
did a very good job wood burning this horse .
Club
Officers
(815 area code)
President - Jerome Mais, 398-7904
Vice Pres. -
Treasurer - John Skaggs, 547-6951
Secretary -
Photographer - Larry Clark, 262-9982
Membership - Chuck Drewes,
985-8575
Newsletter Publisher, Gary Johnson 399-1697
Historian - Elaine Terrell 765-2886
Programs - Bob Matthews 544-2359 &
Denny Neubauer 515-508-9524
Picnic -
Soap Carving –Gary Lundquis
Deadline for the news for the next newsletter is May 3, 2017.
Blackhawk Carving Club Minutes March 2017
Minutes of the
regular monthly business of Blackhawk Woodcarvers; held on March 15, 2017 at
3218 Eleventh Street, Rockford, Illinois.
Jerome Mais
opened the meeting at 9:04.
Welcome back Jerome!
Jerome gave a
mini recap of Bob Matthews’s wife’s stroke and miraculous recovery with
immediate surgery at UW Madison which reversed all signs of the stroke.
Jerome Mais
then related his experience with his wife’s mother’s stroke in early
February and her subsequent passing later in February and their involvement
in details of her estate.
Jerome is now
ready to go!
Steve Terrill
read the Minutes of the previous meeting.
The minutes were approved.
John Skaggs
thinks we are solvent and quoted some numbers.
He did write a check to Bob Hallstrom for money he put into the club
when it was insolvent that has not yet been paid back.
Dona Wisner
reported on Petty Cash and we are still solvent.
Chuck Drewes
reported that we have a couple of new members.
Nancy Mayfield joined but has not come back.
New member Ray Pederson was introduced to the group.
We have removed 20 people from the membership roles who have not paid
since 2014.
Old Business:
Roger Benedict had a suggestion for the show.
What if we still have a carving show for friends and family and it
would be like a show and tell and have it at the club room.
There was also
a suggestion from Jerome that we have a Christmas Show and Tell so our
spouses who come can see what we do.
Jerome has been
thinking about Show and Tell and thinks we should bring in past carvings to
display at a separate table.
Roger Benedict
welcomed Gary Curl back. His
surgery was fine but he threw a pulmonary embolism.
They say it will take 6 months until he is really healed.
New Business:
Tod asked if we have a committee and chair for the Christmas Party.
Not yet. Jerome said that
we also need a committee to replace the Vice President.
June 14 will be
the Picnic and the building has been rented.
The meeting was
closed at 9:32.
Respectfully Submitted
Steve Terrill
Secretary
April Birthdays
(that we know
about)
9
Larry Clark
10 Franklin Johnson
19 John Skaggs
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
