The Blackhawk Woodcarver
Volume XXVI, Issue 3
As I write this, our winter weather
has become very mild; and we have a big melt in progress. I have begun
thinking about the resumption of our carving in the park. Realistically it
is much too soon. Then again, maybe we can consider a carving session in the
park in the next month or two. Winter is not over and the cold weather is
not gone for this season. Outdoor carving sessions are still an option for
our club until there is sufficient vaccinations and COVID-19 abatement.
Fortunately I am hearing that more and more of our members are being
vaccinated. I am not one of those; but waiting. I do hope that Peterson
Meadows is also completing vaccinations. I feel our primary interest is the
safe return to our indoor carving sessions at Peterson Meadows.
In last month’s newsletter, our
editor Gordy displayed a pattern which Don Stansfield had sent him. Gordy
also showed his carving utilizing that pattern. So this month I will share
my carving.
I like decorating these figures with
the Norwegian flag colors. I also decided to try a young girl’s face on one
side.
I hope you are all staying healthy
and safe; and are carving! Please share pictures of your carvings. We all
enjoy seeing them!
Tyrone Johnsen
Blackhawk Carving Club Minutes February 2021
A meeting was not held, therefore no
minutes.
How you
got started as a woodcarver
Here is an opportunity to present
your background of becoming a woodcarver. The following questions are
your guide to start the juices flowing for your responses Jot some ideas
down and send them to me. I’m willing to help put them in
a form for the newsletter.
What was your life style or
situation that encouraged you to wood carve?
Who influenced you in your carving career and why?
Assuming you developed a niche, why did you choose it?
Over the years what have you gained from this experience?
Roger Benedict - rjbetti@comcast.net
Background by Tony De Vita
I started carving in 1967. The sign
company I was working for struck. I was walking the
picket line and I was bored so I went to the library and got a magazine on
carving. With my pocket knife, I started to carve a piece
of wood.
The reason we struck this company was because I had
worked there 17 years, got one week vacation and no paid holidays.
We asked for a 15 cent raise, they wouldn’t give it to us and we went
on strike Then I got another job and worked for another sign company.
I would carve every morning that I arrived early before the crew
arrived.
This was back in the ‘50’s and I would
give my widowed mother $50 a week. I worked a lot of
overtime and she was able to get her first TV. I was able
to live on the rest of my paycheck.
When I got married, my wife saw an ad in the newspaper
for a carving class at East High School. I went there and
just sat in on the class until the instructor saw I was using my pocket
knife. He said I was doing it wrong so I left.
Then my wife saw an ad for a carving class at Ken Rock and I joined
taking a class from instructor Gordy Moscinski.
I also made a couple carving knives from different knives
that I had. The local shoe company I had worked for as a
youth used knives to cut leather. When those knives wore
down and were used no longer, I took them, reshaped them and made carving
knives out of them. I used them until I was able to buy
knives and tools from Gordy. I have been carving ever
since.
An
interview with Steve Terrill
--What was your life style or situation that encouraged
you to become a woodcarver?
As a young Boy Scout I got a gift of a totem pole with 4
triangular blocks that were to be carved into neckerchief slides and slid
over a pole. My mother insisted on showing me how to carve safely and
showed me carving away from myself with an Exacto knife. The knife
blade broke and flipped back cutting her seriously enough to have stitches.
It soured me on carving for a long while.
As I retired, I made a pledge to myself that I would
focus on the right side of my brain, the intuitive, artsy, three-dimensional
side. Woodcarving fit right in with that goal.
I knew Gordy Moscinski as we both had children who had
been in school together since kindergarten. We met again at a party
around 2010 and we talked about carving and he encouraged me to take his
class which was on days that I was working part time so I could not attend,
but he encouraged me to come to Blackhawk Woodcarvers. I did and
enjoyed the fellowship and the carving. There were many carvers happy
to get me started and answer my questions.
--Who influenced you in your carving journey, and why?
Besides Gordy who gave me some of his stages of carving
models that he used in classes, a number of our woodcarvers influenced me.
I took classes from Don Stansfield and Bob Hallstrom at CLR, Roger Benedict
at CLR and Blackhawk Woodcarvers, Denny Neubauer at Blackhawk and his
garage, Ray Olson at Blackhawk, Bob Matthews at Blackhawk. Others have
been a great support as John Skaggs who was in many of the classes I took.
One of the things that I have said repeatedly about the Blackhawk
Woodcarvers is that everyone is willing to help you and if you have a
concern, each one has some kind of expertise that they are willing to share,
whether painting, woodburning or carving a certain figure or bird or relief.
--Assuming you developed a niche, why did you choose it?
I have tried to remain a generalist, carving a little bit
of everything. I have done birds, caricatures, geometric forms, ball
in cages, reliefs, flowers, Santa’s, etc.
--Over the years what have you gained from this
experience?
I have met a great group of guys and gals, entertained
myself for hours, pleased many people with gift carvings that they would
enjoy because of their interests. I have gained a new identity and
answer the question of “What are you doing in retirement?” with the
statement that “I have redefined myself as a woodcarver”. And, I may
not be the best woodcarver out there, but there are a number of things that
I have carved that I am proud of.
Let’s
get creative
We would like to challenge all
members of the club to share some Chip Carving for the April newsletter.
It can be some that you have already finished a while ago. We have
great diversity in our club, we wish to showcase this talent. Send them in
by April 7th, 2021.
Carving
tools and supplies for sale
Darlene Ketman’s husband died and
she is selling all his carving equipment. Carving tools,
wood, paint, cabinets, lights, table saw, and woodburning supplies.
Darlene Ketman
16449 West 140th Place
Lockport, IL 60441
815-409-1719 cell phone and 815-838-2216 land line
Thank You
A big thank you to all who
contributed pictures and commentary for this newsletter.
Great job! Keep the knives sharp!
Keep sending your pictures by the
April 7, 2021 deadline.
Carving
woods for sale
Del Lohr of Cedar Ridge Hardwoods
called me to ask if we would let the club members know that he has a large
inventory of carving woods, including basswood, butternut (both clear and
wormy), catalpa, pine, cherry, etc. He can provide all widths,
thicknesses and lengths. Del used to sell his wood at our annual
shows. His phone number is 815-938-2263.
Don Stansfield
Carvers
wanted
Sometimes I get calls from people wanting to have a carving done (for money). If you are interested in any of these contacts, let me know and what kind of carvings you are interested in doing for people. Don Stansfield, woodchip1508@comcast.net.
April
Birthdays (that we Know of)
10 Franklin Johnson
19 John Skaggs
21 Bunny Nordheim
25 Marjorie Simonds
Vice Present
Treasurer Larry Stenzel
389-4714
Secretary Steve Terrill
708-0471
Committees
Programs, Richard Dunphey, 633-9003
Webmaster & Newsletter Editor Gordy Moscinski 874-7978
Membership Chuck Drewes 985-8575
Photographer Steve Terrill
Picnic Tony Devita
Our academy offers many hours of learning from the best
woodcarvers out there. Our teachers have a combined hundreds of years of
knowledge they would love to share with you. By joining, you will be able to
watch as many wood carving lessons as you’d like. New content will be
added as teacher make more videos.
In order for you to be able to view the great woodcarving videos,
you’ll need to sign up to one of our paid subscriptions. We offer monthly,
quarterly or annual plans. The longer the period the less the monthly cost.
November 13, 2020 Update – Our website is live! Choose from the subscription below to sign up.
Free level
allowing to tour our website and watch the sample videos and sample content
and receive email updates as new content becomes available.
Monthly Memberships with unlimited access to all
the lessons offered. Subscription will renew every month. $19.95
Quarterly Memberships with unlimited access to
all the lessons offered. Subscription will renew every 3 months.
$49.95 Save $9.99
Annual Memberships with unlimited access to all
the lessons offered. Subscription will renew every year. $139.95 Save
$100.00
Wisconsin River Woodcarvers
20th
Annual Woodcarving Show, Competition and Sale
The Largest Woodcarving Show in Wisconsin
Featured Carvers:
Vic Hood and Gregg Thompson
Also Featured:
We are also featuring supplies from
Hummel Carving Company, Beloit, WI, and Moore Wood and Roughouts.
Free demonstrations throughout both days
New for 2021 Carving Contest on Sunday morning from 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM.
We have an awesome RAFFLE!
When:
September 18, 2021 – 9am to 5pm
September 19, 2021 – 9am to 4pm
Event Schedule-TBD
Where:
The Holiday Inn
1001 Amber Avenue
Stevens Point, Wisconsin 54482
Admission Prices:
Admission is $5.00.
(Attendees 12 and under are free)
Questions?
For more information, contact:
Ron O’Kray 715-341-2214 or
715-570-2534(cell)
Greg Wirtz 715-423-0471 or
715-323-2035(cell)
Steps for The Base for the Gold Finch by Bob Matthews
#1 Three Gold Finch cut-outs.
#2 The Parts, Bark, twig. Copper
sheet for leaves, flower Bowl.
#3 Leaf cut-outs from Copper Sheet.
#4 Clean leaves and apply Gesso.
#5 Leaves painted with pine green
and yellow green.
#6 To make the flower the long strip
is painted then strip is cut with small strips on one side, the rolled
#7 The flower roll is completed and
the bowl has been painted.
#8 Take the stem and glue the flower
roll and it company leaves half way into the bowl.
#9 Using one of
my pointed sticks start to spread pedals of the flower.
#10 Continue the spreading until all
of the pedals you are done and the flower is complete.
#11 Flower complete and glued to the
Stem.
#12 Glue the stem into the cotton
wood base, for interest I glued some green moss into cracks and the joint
where the stem is glued into base.
#13 After deciding where I want the
leaves, I cut a small slot on the stem then start gluing the leaves into the
slots.
#14 Continue the
process until complete. You can bend the leaves but do it
very carefully.
#15 The base is now complete.
Presented by Bob Matthews
A look
behind closed doors
The carving is based on a painting
by Shonto Begay, where I used only this image. I plan to give it to
him showing how one can go from two into three wood carved dimensional
relief. I discovered that he has fame regarding art of the southwest,
and which he is from Arizona. Roger
Benedict
Thought I would share several of my
early attempts. Both were done when I first began carving. The male trout
was done in 1992, while the Trout spearing decoy was done in 1993.
Craig Sorensen
Gordy Moscinski
Old steam locomotives
Larry Stenzel
My all-time favorite car, the AC
Cobra.
Larry Stenzel
Gordy Moscinski
