[Woodcarver] Class Report (chat)

Mon Nov 15 10:04:30 EST 2004

Hi Alex!
   Glad your class went so well!  Do you have a copy of the reindeer to 
share?  It sounds cute.
   The problem with holding the knives and gouges is a tough one indeed!  I 
have 3 kids that are carving with me (1 girl now for 3 years - her cousin 
for 1 1/2 years and a new boy) and that part is the most difficult part.  
They do pick it up eventually.  My new boy is having a problem with it now 
and I keep reminding him (and myself) that it will come, be paitent!  Also 
watching my hands along with the other 2 kids while they are working helps 
to see what to do.
   I thought it would be ok to have the 3 kids because of the length of time 
they have been carving but when I added the 3rd one - wow what a difference! 
  The 2 boys get distracted and start slacking off.  But as we know kids 
will be kids. :)   It is still nice to have them all   because if I'm 
helping one they can show the other one what to do and get a different 
perspective on the idea.
   It is such a great feeling to have someone want to learn what you love 
doing and be able to share that with them!   Teaching is a great thing to 
do!  Next to carving yourself of course!
Later
Merrilee

>From: "Alex Bisso" <albisso at bresnan.net>
>Reply-To: albisso at bresnan.net,"[Woodcarver]" <woodcarver at six.pairlist.net>
>To: "[Woodcarver]" <woodcarver at six.pairlist.net>
>Subject: [Woodcarver] Class Report
>Date: Sun, 14 Nov 2004 21:07:17 -0700
>
>To make a DONATION to the Mailing List using PayPal OR regular mail, click 
>this link: http://wwwoodcarver.com/WWWList/WWWList.html
>
>Since I got so many good suggestions for teaching a 2-day one-on-one
>beginners carving class from the list, I thought you might like a brief
>report on the class.  First, I again want to say thanks for the input.
>Because of it, I have no doubt that my student enjoyed the class very much
>and really learned a lot.  After beginning with a discussion of types of
>carving tools (with demos), safety, carving woods and sharpening (with lots
>of demo/practice as she had factory beveled set of palm tools that needed 
>to
>be properly shaped and honed), we began to carve in earnest.  We did the
>following:
>1.  The 5-minute owl (ours was a bit larger than the pattern and took quite
>a bit longer than 5 minutes but it was easy and fun and she really enjoyed
>it - a great way to start.
>2.  A simple relief carved flower pattern from www.carvinpatterns.com - for
>this we actually used the instructions provided for this beginner project 
>on
>the web site which were supplemented by clarifications and demonstration.
>This was quite a learning experience but also very enjoyable.
>3.  A very easily carved Christmas tree ornament which was a reindeer that 
>I
>had cut out on the band saw, about 3/8" thick and which only needed
>additional shaping, rounding and details such as a collar, eyes, ears and
>mouth.  Some details were also burned with the wood burner.  She really 
>like
>this one and it too had some very educational elements (especially rounding
>the antlers which were curved and required closely watching the grain
>direction.
>4.  Lots of work on a study stick - first an eye and then a basic face with
>beard.  There was plenty of repetition on this and it was hard work but you
>could really see the benefit of repeating the steps.  This was great
>preparation for the final project.
>5.  Ol' Joe's spirit face key chain.  We did this in a 1" x 1" x 4" piece 
>of
>jelutong that was very easy to carve.  The previous hard work on the study
>stick really helped to make this a do-able task.
>In the end she was very pleased with the instruction and amount of
>information she had learned.  She joined the Montana Woodcarvers 
>Association
>to take advantage of our woodcarving library (here at my house since I am
>currently the librarian) and took a couple of books, a video and a study
>stick home to help her continue her carving.  We also spent quite a bit of
>time looking at carving magazines, supply catalogs and web sites and she
>made a list of contact information for later reference.
>	I think the most difficult thing to convey (might have been more difficult
>since she was left handed) was proper way to hold the work and carving 
>knife
>or tool to have control, power and safety.  Often it was necessary to make
>corrections to keep her anchored to the piece and achieve the control 
>needed
>for accurate and safe work while removing enough wood to get the job done.
>This required patience and persistence in making corrections to unsafe
>methods.  I found it to be very important to closely watch the student so
>that coaching and demonstration could be interjected when needed. It seems
>to me that this would really be hard if there were many students and I was
>glad that I had only one.
>Alex Bisso
>Billings, MT
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: woodcarver-bounces at six.pairlist.net
>[mailto:woodcarver-bounces at six.pairlist.net]On Behalf Of Alex Bisso
>Sent: Monday, October 18, 2004 10:38 AM
>To: [Woodcarver]
>Subject: [Woodcarver] need help for class
>
>
>To make a DONATION to the Mailing List using PayPal OR regular mail, click
>this link: http://wwwoodcarver.com/WWWList/WWWList.html
>
>Recently I met a lady who said she has wanted to do wood carving for many
>years and asked me to give here some starting lessons.  She will be coming
>to stay here for two days early next month and I need to plan the class for
>her.  I was thinking along the lines of:
>1.  Explain basic carving tools and types of carving
>2.  Discussion of safety
>3.  Sharpenening demonstration and practice
>4.  Beginning carving
>
>Although I know she is interested in carving spirit or other faces, I am
>thinking it might be best to start with something easier.  I have a simple
>owl pattern that I think would be good to do first to learn about grain and
>basic cutting before attempting a face in a stick, egg or bark.  I would
>like your thoughts on this and perhaps suggested outlines for the 
>discussion
>first 3 items above.  I will monitor the list for input and also welcome
>your responses directly to me at albisso at bresnan.net
>
>Thanks in advance.
>
>ALEX BISSO
>Billings, MT
>
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