[Woodcarver] Question of the day.

[Chris Howard]

>

> 1) How many of us try to generate a steady flow of income from your 

> carving and carving related activities? This would include everything from 

> a few dollars up. Yes or no is ok but expand your answer if you like.


            All my living comes from carving, its a great way to make a 
living and also a hard one for me, hunger is a wonderful creative tool. 
Making a living carving limits the big pieces I want to do. I have to carve 
for the market I have, living in a tourist town helps. I spend 8 to 10 hours 
a day carving. Teaching is also a big part of income but it does come with a 
sacrifice always on the road sometimes for 6 weeks in row.Joe I have camped 
in your parking lot more than once on my way thru.Fixed my car in Ivans 
parking lot. Teaching helps me as much as my students it is very fulfilling 
all the different ideas. I enjoy when they bring pieces back to class they 
have finished, and for some I break them out of their comfort zone. I have 
worked in many different places and with carving its the best quaility bunch 
of people I have ever been around. The hardest for me is being my own 
marketing agent, book keeper, schedule keeper,bus driver CEO and janitor.

>

> 2) Next question, related to our struggling economy, do you put that money 

> generated from carving back into caving related purchases or use it to 

> live on?

            Both, the big joke from my friends that cave for a living is " 
Make enough money to buy more wood" A quote I read somewhere>" When a group 
of Bankers have lunch they talk about ART when group of artist have lunch 
they talk about Money"

   Chris Howard



> Joe Dillett

> The Carving Shop

> 645 E. LaSalle St. Suite 3

> Somonauk, IL. 60552

>

> (815) 498-9290 phone

> (815) 498-9249 fax

> http://www.thecarvingshop.net [business web site]

> http://www.carvingmagazine.com ['Ask Joe' column]

> http://community.webshots.com/user/joe_dillett

> ******************************************************************

> ----- Original Message ----- 

> From: "Donna Menke" <donpbk at yahoo.com>

> To: "[Woodcarver]" <woodcarver at carverscompanion.com>

> Sent: Friday, March 13, 2009 8:00 AM

> Subject: Re: [Woodcarver] Even at this unnatural hour ...

>

>

>> Friends in Carving: Please support our List - visit the Carvers' 

>> Campanion Shop at http://cafepress.com/woodcarving

>>

>>

>>

>> Marcia-

>> Looking at your Maine Coon cat blog was interesting- reminded me of my 

>> Emily dachshund blog. I added another blog to my little collection- the 

>> portrait one. These things are addictive- like you mentioned that you may 

>> do another one too. It seems strange to carve without documentation any 

>> more.

>> I've taken another step in that direction in that now I am doing videos. 

>> Hubby and I have been working for months to accumulate the equipment and 

>> knowledge so that I can make process videos to sell at shows and 

>> seminars. It has been a struggle but we finally got it all together and 

>> finished a trial- my trips of last year for the kids and myself. One more 

>> bug to work out-menus- and then I'll do the big hummingbird video. Did a 

>> trial intro and discovered all the things I shouldn't do- like roll my 

>> eyes- not funny.

>> I also completed yesterday the 7-page booklet for carving the Peeking 

>> Mouse for my classes and blanks. It is also planned for an upcoming issue 

>> of Carving Magazine.

>>

>> And- I'm sanding on a 3" Celtic Triad in figured maple- talk about a 

>> trial. It will be gorgeous- but the sanding is tedious in the extreme. 

>> Kinda like texturing a cat- eh!

>> Donna Menke

>> http://www.woodworks-by-donna.com

>> Author: The Ultimate Band Saw Box Book

>>

>>

>>

>> ----- Original Message ----

>>> From: Marcia Berkall <whitwood at fairpoint.net>

>>> To: [Woodcarver] <woodcarver at carverscompanion.com>

>>> Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2009 11:11:50 AM

>>> Subject: Re: [Woodcarver] Even at this unnatural hour ...

>>>

>>> Friends in Carving: Please support our List - visit the Carvers' 

>>> Campanion Shop

>>> at http://cafepress.com/woodcarving

>>>

>>>

>>> LOL  I just have to chuckle when "fearless leader" hits

>>> the wrong button :)  There are times when I might have caught you on

>>> the other end of the day...carving into the wee hours of the

>>> morning.

>>>

>>> I'm up to my eyeballs in work.  I'm still working on the life size

>>> Maine Coon Cat carving.  This has been a real stretch for me.

>>> (I love commissions for that reason.)  Never have I done so much

>>> texturing!  I hope to have that finished in the next few days, then

>>> turn my attention to painting it.   I got side tracked from

>>> this carving for a while due to my husband's surgery back in October and

>>> then the holiday stuff.  Fortunately this client has a

>>> "whenever it's ready" mentality about it, for which I am

>>> eternally grateful!  I set up a blog for her to watch the progress,

>>> slow as it is.

>>> http://cahvah.wordpress.com/home/maine-coon-cat-carvingin-progress/ I'll

>>> probably be uploading a new picture in the next day or

>>> two.

>>>

>>> I have also completed another veteran's cane and am working on a wood

>>> spirit with a 250-year-old slab of wood that was raised from the bottom

>>> of the Penobscot River.  It's part of a wood recovery program and

>>> this carving will become part of the heritage foundation

>>> collection.  The theme has to be either Native American or logging

>>> related.  I'm discovering some solutions for working with this old

>>> brittle wood and am documenting the progress for,hopefully,a future

>>> Carving Magazine Article.

>>>

>>> I'm also about to start teaching another Adult Ed 6-week Right Brain

>>> Drawing class next week.

>>>

>>> As for strop compounds, I haven't tried the green compound. I've pretty

>>> much stuck with the silicon carbide in oil suspension that one of my

>>> favorite knife makers uses.  I guess I'm of the opinion that

>>> whatever works for you is the best one.  That one doesn't work well

>>> on the buffing wheel, so I might give the green compound a try for

>>> that.

>>>

>>> Thanks, Matt, for getting this started!

>>>

>>> Marcia (aka Mush)

>>> South China, Maine

>>>

>>> See Marcia's wood carvings

>>> at:

>>>

>>> http://whittlinsnwood.com

>>> Blog: http://cahvah.wordpress.com/

>>> *****

>>> Affordable Web Page

>>> Design:

>>> http://artwebmaine.com

>>> *****

>>>

>>> Get 20% Off CoffeeCup Web Design Software

>>> Use this code when you checkout: 226STS

>>> www.getcoffeecup.com

>>

>>

>>

>>

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