[Woodcarver] Carvers Conference?

[Mike Bloomquist]

Vic,
I ran into Dennis at his store later in the day Friday( the first day of the
conference).  I've heard that he is normally very energetic but that
afternoon he was absolutely lit up. Come Sunday (the last day of the event)
he still looked like he'd glow in the dark, and he had very good reasons...
the Conference was absolutely fantastic!

Personally, I have only had a few woodcarving experiences that were as
enjoyable and exhausting as the weekend Dennis and his crew just put on.  So
many workshops, so much information, so many wonderful personalities, so
many new friends and so many old friends.  There was a reoccurring phrase
from the Chipping Away staff... "You can't do it all", which they would say
with a grin.  I'm sure I heard it from Dennis first... sounded like a theme
song.  "You can't do it all".  Very, very true, but I soaked up as much as I
could handle.  A couple times I sat through work shops, so I would not loose
my seat for the next workshop that I REALLY wanted to attend.  Without
exception, the class I was just waiting through turned out to be just as
worth while as the one I was waiting for.

My highlights (Yes, very self centered, but you're supposed to write and
carve what you know):

Both workshops by Ivan Whilloch.  Ivan the Great... NOT the Ivan the
Terrible like the one heading for Florida.  He felt he had to make that
distinction.  Yes Ivan, all those proportions are in your various books and
magazine articles, but it's not the same as getting it from the source.

Breakfast the first morning with Sally and David Nye.  And Sally, I KNOW
you're still laughing about me and the fig leaf!  Oh! and thank you very,
very much for the Indonesian Flute.

Seeing Pete Ortel again.  Pete and I actually attended a couple workshops
together... now there's an experience! <and one good anecdote when we sat in
on Ivan's class... but we'll save that for another time>

Breakfast with Ivan and his son Chris.

A class on sharpening with Phil Orchard.

A side trip to A&M Lumber in nearby Cambridge, ON where I found "shorts"
large enough for flute blanks (Spanish cedar, alder, colored poplar, and
jatoba).  This was thanks to a hot tip and a quick map sketch from two local
carvers we meet.  Thanks folks!

A relief carving workshop with David Bennet.

A "Carving the Human Face" workshop with Neil Cox.  No proportion formulae
this time, but a wonderful discussion of careful "seeing".  "A majority of
what we see happens after the optic nerve"... that might not be an accurate
quote word-for-word, but the essence is there.

A couple great workshops with Marv Kaisersatt.  Plot-the-Dot, drawing faces
by grids, scaling proportionally, locating pattern points by triangulation
with a compass... Come on Marv!  How could we NOT know that "Math teacher"
was your former profession? <G>

Three absolutely breath taking carvings by Fred Zavadil.  Haven't heard the
name?  You will.

A "Tips for Beginners" workshop by Eldon Humphrey's.  No, I'm not <a
beginner>, but I love teaching them.  Eldon had some really good stuff for
me to add to my classes.

"Bark Carving to the Max" with Mary Ann Jack-Bleach

Seeing Hugh <Skincarp> Thompson again.

The Woodcarving Competition display.

... there were many others, but I'm still recovering from the weekend and
need to wrap this up.

There were a couple large disappointments this weekend though... Saturday I
missed Woodbutcher and Thea... and Marnie could not make it to the
conference...  but hey! There's going to be next year... for sure!

Keep on Carvin'
-Mike Bloomquist->

Wooden Dreams Woodcarving
http://www.borg.com/~bloomqum





----- Original Message -----
From: "Dennis Moor" <Dennis at chippingaway.com>
To: "[Woodcarver]" <woodcarver at six.pairlist.net>
Sent: Monday, September 13, 2004 5:36 PM
Subject: RE: [Woodcarver] Carvers Conference?


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this link: http://wwwoodcarver.com/WWWList/WWWList.html

Vic:  Carver's Conference was great, thanks for asking!

The carving personalities that gave of their time were unbelievable.  I
think I will leave it to others on the list to make comments so I don't
sound too biased!  :)

Don't get me wrong, we still lost a few $'s, but had intended the event
to be a non-profit one this time around anyway.  I believe we
accomplished our objectives of promoting woodcarving.

The Make A Wish Foundation received a check in the amount of $2100 and
that makes us happy.

Marnie's Auction is still to be tallied.  Just about all the 68 pieces
were sold, but unfortunately many of them went at the minimum bid or
just slightly higher.  I will have details up on the website within a
couple of days or so, including those pieces still left for you and
others to bid on through email.

We have already started on the 2005 Conference (actually started about 3
months ago) and hope to make it even better and bigger.  The comments we
received certainly encourages us to spend the time and effort to sponsor
it again and again.  Mark it on your calendar now ~ September 9, 10, 11,
2005.

BTW ...we had visitors from 18 states and 8 provinces, as well as New
Zealand, Bahamas, Serbia, and Turkey.

Cheers,
Dennis

Dennis Moor
Chipping Away ... We Deliver Fun!
www.chippingaway.com


-----Original Message-----
From: Victor Hamburger [mailto:VHamburg at bellatlantic.net]
Sent: September 13, 2004 8:14 PM
To: [Woodcarver]
Subject: Re: [Woodcarver] Carvers Conference?


To make a DONATION to the Mailing List using PayPal OR regular mail,
click this link: http://wwwoodcarver.com/WWWList/WWWList.html

Dennis Moor wrote:

> Chipping Away ... We Deliver Fun!

Dennis,

How was the Carvers Conference?  And in particular, how sucessful was
the fund
raiser for Marnie?  You had a great collection of carvings for it, did
they all
sell this weekend?  Inquiring minds want to know!

Cheers! Vic H




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