As I predicted, I was probably the youngest person there by about 20-30 years, but everyone was pretty nice. One of them made the remark that I couldn't be an official member until I grew some grey hair, which they all thought was pretty funny. There were maybe 15 people there in total, which made me sad. This is mostly because it is another reminder that woodcarving is slowly turning into a dying art. I've spoken with many on the subject, and they all agree that the younger generation isn't as interested as it was 20 years ago. You could easily blame this with the onset of smartphones or other types of portable media/technology, but I'd rather not. I'm as big of a nerd as anyone, but I still enjoy woodcarving more than a lot of things that I do with my computer. Either way, I feel like this is another reason why I should continue woodcarving, to do my part to keep the art alive.
While these two are impressive, his were above and beyond these two by far. They were so intricate that I dared not touch one because I thought it would break. The space that he had cleared from them was incredible.
Hearing him talk about the process and what goes into his turnings really made me consider doing it myself. I had always stayed away from the lathe in High School, mostly because I didn't want to lose a finger to it, but a smaller desktop lathe may be on my shopping list after this meeting. All in all I was very impressed at the members and their show and tell pieces that everyone is invited to bring. I will definitely be attending the next meeting in August (they break for July), and bring something of my own to show off as well.
Hello Scott....
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed your post from last June. Also your comment about woodcarving as a dying art... this seems to be true about other activities which also require solo time, concentration and a willingness to invest patient hours to achieve a final product.
Anyway, I found your site while searching for wood carvers in Portland. I am a retired Internet tech (yup, another gray-haired guy), but am now pursuing my passion which is music. Just finishing up on a CD. I have a solid-body guitar on which I'm in interested in having some relief carving done. I have no idea of the complexities or time involved, nor of the cost. Would you be willing to communicate a few basic ideas about the process? No commitment requested for the work, I just don't have any knowledge on this. I would appreciate it. Thanks and have a great day.
Thanks for the comment! Also for having an appreciating for woodcarving. Everything that I know about chip carving I learned from other carvers in the area, so more or less word of mouth. If you'd be interested in doing it yourself, this book: http://www.treelineusa.com/books/chip-carving-books/chip-carver-s-workbook.html is great for starters or people just looking for some different patterns.
ReplyDeleteIf you're looking for someone to do the carving for you, I don't know what the cost would be because that really varies from person to person. When it comes to chip carving, the layout/drafting takes a good amount of time, so that would be the bulk of the time from the carver. Not saying that the carving doesn't go by like a breeze, but when I've done it, I've spent a significant amount of time drafting.
I hope that somewhat answers your question, let me know if I can answer anything else for you!