Merry Christmas

 Merry Christmas everyone. I did another No Seeum Santa. I painted him with acrylics and antiqued him with Griffin Bark Brown Shoe Polish, Thanks for looking.

Arizona Stick Santa

This is my version of the Arizona Stick Santa from Woodcarving Illustrated Holiday 2010 magazine Issue 53. The tutorial is by Dave Stetson and he is from 1" x 1" x 3 1/2" basswood painted, varnished and antiqued all with acrylics. I use acrylics because there is no odour and I work in my basement. Boiled linseed oil and sprays are very flammable and have strong odours. Any comments are welcome.

                       

I apologize.

I have to apologize for not posting anything for so long. I just had a hard time getting back into carving since my wife passed away. I know it was almost a year ago but I  started a lot of carvings but could not finish anything. Our woodcarving club started back up in September and all the Santa projects in the carving magazines got me enthused again. The photo shows some of the Santacarvings on my bench to finish. I will be posting them as they are finished. I have a couple already finished and will post soon. A few are in the slideshow at left.

Photos and video of 2010 Niagara Woodcarvers Show

Here is a link to some photos of show.  There are over 120 photos of all types of Carving, Woodburning and Intarsia.

Here is a link to some video of the show taken by Arleen from the Carverswoodshop.

While you are there check out her great carving tutorials.

Thanks Arleen

Niagara Woodcarvers 31st Annual Show & Competition

The 31st annual Niagara Woodcarvers Association Show and Competition is fast approaching. (March 27th & 28th) The link has times, directions and Competition Page. Hope to see you there. I am not displaying this year but will be there both days.                                                                

Kitchener-Waterloo Woodworking Show

The 22nd annual Kitchener-Waterloo Woodworking Show featuring The Canadian National Wildfowl Carving Championships is coming up March 12 - 14, 2010. If you are in the area be sure to attend.
Kitchener-Waterloo Woodworking Show

Golf Ball Carving

If anybody out there has never carved a golf ball I suggest giving it a try. You have no grain to worry about and most makes of golf balls carve nicely and they make a perfect gift for a golfer. If you want to see an excellent tutorial go to Chris Morgans Blog called The Missouri Woodcarver 
This is my first attempt at the tutorial and I will try a few more to try and improve.


Gene Messer has a good video on You Tube called Carving A Face On A Golf Ball  Give it a try also.

These were done following Genes video.

Photos From Hamilton Woodshow

I attended the Hamilton Woodshow on Friday Jan. 29/10 and spent over 3 hours looking around and making a few purchases. There was a vendor selling back issues of Woodcarving Illustrated and Carving Magazine for $10.75 so I picked up 3. I also bought a Flexcut V-tool and a small #11 gouge. There were 3 main vendors for woodcarving and  all types of woodworking equipment and seminars every hour. I have added a link to a few photos that I took of the carving competition and a few of the old airplanes. The Lancaster Bomber was so huge I could not get the whole plane in the shot.
Enjoy
http://picasaweb.google.ca/dougie8158/HamiltonWoodshowJanuary2010?feat=directlink

The 21st Annual Hamilton Woodworking Show

The Hamilton Woodworking Show and The Canadian Woodcarving Championships takes place on January 29, 30 and 31, 2010. Lots of tools, seminars, demonstrations and free admission to the Canadian Warplane Museum.

Here is the link to the Show:
Hamilton Woodworking Show & Carving Championship

My Wife & Best Friend

Happy New Year

A lot of people ask me what kind of wood I use for carving and I answer Basswood most of the time but I have tried Pine and Butternut. Pine here in Ontario is not too good for carving but I have done some carving in Butternut which is becoming scarce. It carves nice and the grain is beautiful.
I am having some problems arranging the photos  so bear with me. The carvings are Chicadees, a Free Form Goose and a Free Form Dove all in Butternut.. Any comments are very welcome.