New England Woodcarvers, Inc.

Past NEWC Meetings

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2011

Date

Guest Speaker / Topic

June 5

Special Guest Speaker: June Noll, Sculptor/Artist

June lives in Brewseter in the heart of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Surronunded by an abundance of sea life, bird life and animal life, June creates wildlife art of a wid variety of animals and birds. having an avid interest in wildlife since early childhood and combiningg it with a natural talent for painting and schulpture has given her fuel for the creation of works with personality.

June is basically a self-taught wildlife artist, drawing on a background of studio arts and art history in college. Her techniques for carving, texturing and painting have evolved ofer a life-long endeavor of the creative process.

June has exhibited her work locally and nationally and has received many national awards.

April 3

Special Guest Speaker: Bob Anderson

Check out his carvings on these websites: http://www.gotonetvision.com/RobertAnderson/woodcarvings.html

http://www.gotonetvision.com/RobertAnderson/artistinfo.html

February 6

No Speaker

Due to snow storm, guest speaker Kai Mayberger could not attend. Kai makes drums, flutes and a special long instrument used by the aborigines of Australia, called a didjeridoo. You have to see and hear this thing to believe it. Check out his website: http://www.whiteravendrums.com/

2010

Date

Guest Speaker / Topic

December 5

Wayne Smith
Wood Sculptor

Guest speaker for this meeting was Wayne Smith. A Connecticut carver, Wayne has exhibited at many places including our Spirit of Wood Show. Wayne's work is extensive. He not only carves in almost every kind of carving activity (animals, human, shorebirds, spoons, walking sticks, caricatures, realistic, bark, chainsaw, etc.) but carvs a lot of stuff. It is not difficult to determine what he likes to carve most. Based on the abundance of kinds of animals he has done, that must be it. Check out his website www.thegrizzlywoodsmith.com

October 3

No speaker

June 6

Helli Mayr
Wood Sculptor

In 1965 Helli Mayr was born into a family of wood carvers in Innsbruck, Austria. At a very early age Helli Mayr showed a keen interest in the family tradition. At the age of 14, Helli Mayr entered the fine art school of Hoehere Technische Lehr und Versuchsanstalt Fuer Holz und Steinbildhauerei (HTL). His studies included instructions in stone and wood carving, learning the basics in stucco, clay, and metal working, and anatomy and perspective drawing. After completing five years he obtained his degree as a master carver.

From 1989 to 1992 Helli Mayr was employed by the government (Bauamt der Bayerischen Verwaltung der Staatlichen Schlosesser, Gaerten und Seen) to work restoring a number of their castles. Some of which were Residenz Muenchen, Schloss Nymphenburg, Amalienburg, Schloss Linderhof and Schloss Neuschwanstein.

In 1993 Helli Mayr expanded his artistic vision to include guilding and painting on wood carved sculptures. In 1996 Helli Mayr published an instructional book for miniature wood carving called Krippenfiguren Schnitzen. By 1997 Helli Mayr was teaching carving classes in Europe and in the United States. He has enjoyed many years of interesting commissions.

April 18

Roy Gilbert
Wood Sculptor

February 7

Mike O'Neil
Whirligigs

2009

Date

Guest Speaker / Topic

December 6

Robert Jones
Wood Sculptor

If you attended the Spirit of wood show in October, perhaps you saw the amazing work created by this gentleman. Robert has created actual functioning instruments carved from wood. His work wowed visitors to the show, especially when the instruments were played! Robert received the People’s Choice award from the SOW Show in October for his French Horn.

In his presentation, Robert showed how he created awesome works of art using ordinary tools and supplies.

Visit Robert's website: http://robjonesart.com/about.html

Robert also recommended visiting the Ernest "Mooney" Warther Museum in Dover, Ohio http://www.warthers.com/

October 4

Thomas Matsuda
Wood Sculptor

Thomas is an associate professor of art at Mount Wachusett Community College, Gardner, MA. He has been inspired by Japanese Buddhist carvings and went to Japan to study under master carvers there for two years, learning traditional and technical aspects of Buddhist sculpture.

He brought back to this country that knowledge and now he tries to synthesize eastern and western philosophies in his work. He carves sculpture for home altars as well as large commissions for public
viewing. Of interest to me is the style of Japanese tools. Traditionally, they are with long wooden handles and short steel. Compared to western traditional carving which have long steel and shorter wooden handles. The technique of carving is also interesting as a workbench is not a necessity. It should be an interesting program.
website: www.tmatsuda.com

June 7

Membership and Awards Meeting

Rona Balco and Bob Landry presented to the club information about the Wildlife Habitat Display to be installed at the Doyle Conservation Center.
Members are encouraged to help carve and create items for the diarama.
More information about the diaroma to follow in future newsletters as well.

April 5

Marcia Berkall
Wood Sculptor

Marcia comes from  Maine.  Her carvings reflect the nautical work of coastal Maine carving.

An Adult Education drawing class, a love of wood, a carving demonstration, and a family history of love for the arts.  Those are the things that led to Marcia’s obsession with carving. As owner of Whittlins ‘n Wood for nearly 20 years, Marcia has witnessed her own transformation from “only wanting to carve Santas” to welcoming the variety and challenges of commission work. “Once you experience the growth that results from stepping outside of your comfort zone, each new challenge met makes carving even more exciting...and motivating!”

Recently, Marcia’s “Carving From the Heart” series of articles were featured in Carving Magazine. Marcia incorporates this philosophy into her teaching, encouraging students to carve “from the heart”, reflecting their own personalities and visions.  “As a teacher, I find the hardest part is finding the balance between insisting on the use of proper techniques and allowing the students the freedom to experiment and find their own artistic expression.”  Marcia includes “Right Brain Drawing” as part of her carving curriculum, but now also teaches the course through local Adult Education. “You can’t carve what you can’t see, and drawing enables seeing.”

Visit Marcia's website: http://whittlinsnwood.com/gallery.html

February 1

Sumner Misenheimer
Wood Sculptor
Participating and Jurried Member:
League of New Hampshire Craftsmen
Wildlife Artisans Association
For examples of his work, visit: http://carvedwoodsculptures.com/

2008

Date

Guest Speaker / Topic

December 7

Jeffery Cooper
Wood Sculptor
Visit Jeffrey's website : http://www.cooperwoodsculptor.com/

October 5

Floyd Truitt
Master carver

 

June 1

Frank Russell
Popular New England / Florida Carver
Power Carving Techniques

Frank Russell has written many books on power carving techniques using the foredom. Subjects vary from faces, canes, walking sticks, folk figures, animals, wildfowl and animals.
Examples of Frank's books can be found on Amazon.com
Carving Wildfowl Canes And Walking Sticks With Power (Paperback)
Frank Russell's Power Carving Fur, Feathers, & Fins: How to Carve with Foredom Power Tools and Accessories (DVD)
Carving Animal Canes & Walking Sticks (Paperback)
Carving Patterns by Frank C. Russell: From the Stonegate Woodcarving School (Paperback)
Carving Folk Figures With Power (Paperback)
Carving Realistic Faces with Power (Paperback)
Carving Realistic Animals with Power (Paperback)

April 6

Stan Neptune
Master Carver of the Penobscot Nation
Wabanaki Root Clubs

To many people, the grey birch is considered of little value, but the Penobscots in Maine have dug up its roots and made decorative clubs for centuries, although originally root clubs were used as weapons. Stan Neptune is a member of the Penobscot Nation and a carver of ceremonial root clubs, a traditional Wabanaki sign of authority carried by leaders in ceremony or council.

Penobscot carvers collect the root burl of the grey birch tree and remove the bark. The roots are shaped into points and decorated with spiritual, human, and animal faces. By the middle of the 19th century, Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, and other Wabanaki carvers began selling clubs to tourists. Carvings in the burl changed from spirit faces to human ones and carvers added color. By the end of the 19th century, Stan observed, braids, facepaint, feathers and even the Plains Indian headdress were added to conform to tourists’ stereotypical view of American Indians.

Stan is one of only a few carvers carrying on the tradition, which he is also teaching to his son Joe. He learned the craft from master Penobscot carver Senabeh Francis, who showed him how to “find his tree” and shape the birch. “Carving a completed war club averages about 40 to 60 hours,” says Stan. “Each club requires patience and time to reveal itself to the carver.”

Stan has been part of the Southern New England Folk and Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program administered by the Institute for Community Research in Connecticut. as well as the Maine Arts Commission’s Apprenticeship Program. He has demonstrated his work at the Children’s Museum in Boston, and at other venues throughout the region.

See Wabanaki Root Club carving article in the Bangor Metro website.

February 3

Mike McCarthy
Shorebird Carving

Once again we were fortunate to have Mike, from Mattapoisett, MA, share his expertise in carving shore birds. For his presentation, he took us through the steps in creating a shorebird from the initial stage of a blank to the finished product. He showed the bird in different poses. He disclosed his technique in preparing the wood, making the blank and carving it. His method of finishing with eyes, feet and colors was also disclosed in depth.

Visit Mike's website: http://www.mattbirdworks.com/Misc/bio.htm


2007

Date

Guest Speaker / Topic

December 2

Grigory Likhter
Traditional Chisel and Gouge Carving

Grigory Likhter was born in Moscow, Russia in 1962. At seven years of age, Grigory studied the art of painting in a local art school. When he was fourteen, he discovered his passion for wood, and ultimately became a carver. Before leaving Russia, Grigory was involved in a Moscow Intenational Group Exhibition. In 1979, Grigory left Russia as a political refugee, and, with his mother, settled in to N.Y.C. In 1980, Grigory got his first big commission in Claremont, New Hampshire, to renovate the Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church. After completing this job, Grigory came back to N.Y.C., where he later studied interior design in the Parson's School of Design. He graduated in 1985 as an interior designer. Grigory lives in Sunapee, NH. In the summer of 2006, Grigory rejoined the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen (was a member from 1980 - 1982). He also became a recipient of a grant award from the State of NH Department of Cultural Resources Division of the Arts. Most of the carving that he does is interior decoration (for churches, etc.) in the traditional chisel and gouge technique yet has done other things such as chip carving.

http://pierce.state.nh.us/nharts/artsandartists/tradroster/tradartistinfo.asp?ArtistID=359

October 7

Jane Layton
Songbird Carving

Jane is a professional artist whose bird carvings have won regional and world competition awards. A naturalist at heart, her knowledge of ornithology and extensive study of birds in their natural habitats, guide her eye and her hand. Each unique bird is carved in basswood, textured with a burning pen, and painted with acrylics. A perfectionist to the core, she has a remarkable ability to capture the essence of the living bird. Jane's birds are found in collections worldwide

View Jane's Gallery: www.alcasoft.com/janelayton/index.html
Commissions Welcome.

Bird Carving Classes with Jane Layton
Tuesday and Wednesday evenings in Concord, MA
Wednesday mornings in Lexington, MA
Contact Jane at 781-259-9036 or e-mail: jlbirdcarver@yahoo.com

June 3

Pete Leclair
Caricature Carving

http://www.cca-carvers.org/leclair.html

Pete has written several books on the topic of caricatures. The humor and personality of caricatures has universal appeal among wood carvers. While they appear simple to the untrained eye, they demand the same skill and sense of proportion that realistic figures do. This is particularly true of carving heads.

April 1

Jim Sheehan
Celtic and Claddagh Designs

Jim Sheehan is a member of the Mystic Carvers club and has been guest speaker at various organizations. Jim, a foremost expert on Celtic (pronounced Keltic) art, showed and talked about his work which included Celtic and Claddagh designs.

February 4

Mike McCarthy
Shorebird Carving

Mike, from Mattapoisett, MA, has been featured carver at past shows for NEWC and the Maine Woodcarvers club. His expertise is in carving shore birds. For his presentation, he took us through the steps in creating a yellow-legs shorebird.

Visit Mike's website: http://www.mattbirdworks.com/Misc/bio.htm


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