Hello, buckle up! 🤠

Published: Sat, 12/11/21

Hey there, !

I've got a lot to share with you today so Buckle Up! Here we go!

If you've been reading recent emails from me, you'll recall I've talked about failures and joys while chip carving. This week brought more of the same.

This past Tuesday I went to the jail to speak to Shelley's class that she teaches with some of the inmates. She's taught this class for quite awhile and each new class she invites me to talk to them about starting a business.

There were 3 guys in Tuesday's class and each of the men were engaged and very interested in art. One is interested in drawing and writing, another in graffiti art and one is into clothing design. It was a JOY to talk with them, get acquainted and maybe light a spark in them to desire to make changes in their lives when they get out.

During the jail class, Shelley pulled up the website that had my Art Walk Sculpture so they could see a large scale work of mine.

While clicking around the site, she opened up the 2021 Award Winners. I'd not seen this before and was waiting to hear from the Art Walk Committee to see if I'd won the People's Choice Award.

I was surprised and disappointed to see that my sculpture had not won the award this year. I know you're a loyal follower and that it's very likely many of you voted for my work so I really couldn't believe someone else got more votes. Also, it's a nice $check$ so that stung a bit too. After class I contacted the Art Walk office to find out how many votes I received, I really had my doubts it was right. The number was really low.

And then more disappointing information to top it off. My 2022 Sculpture proposal was not accepted. I proposed a large Bellamy Eagle sculpture, titled Freedom. I explained a bit more about my interpretation of the Eagle and how I was going to carve it. I have a hunch as to why it was rejected. My guess is it had nothing to do with my artistic ability because they'd seen my work for two years. But rather, I think they didn't want to display this message of Freedom in today's culture of mandates and control.

So, my past week contained joy and double disappointment for me.

To help deal with it, I thought of a book I'd shared with the guys in jail titled, The Creativity Cure. This book helped me when I was dealing with some dark days of depression. The back cover says...

(the authors) "have become strong proponents of creativity for the transformation of relationships. The same is true for personal transformation: creativity is often the missing piece, the absence of which has been sending distress signals in the form of anxiety and depression."

Creativity in the form of chip carving helps me stay positive and allows me to let go of the discouragement and disappointment that found me this past week. I'm okay with it and will move forward.

Has creativity been a missing piece in your life?

Has the absence of creativity sent you distress signals?

If so and you'd like to share with me, I'd be glad to hear from you. Email me

Before we look at some items I heard from you about, take a look at this!

EZboard Clearance, bulk pricing per pound

Finally, I organized my EZboard cut-offs by thickness. It was a mess for way too long.

They're separated by thickness and available to you at a

20% discount per pound.

CLICK HERE to select thickness and how many pounds you'd like.

When they're gone, they're gone!

Hexagon Holders are ready!

There are 3 patterns to choose from. Select one pattern for all 6 sides OR have all 3 patterns applied to one Hexagon Holder!

CLICK HERE to order

CLICK HERE to order

Creativity on Display (and for sale) 😀

Look what Carolyn Anderson did with these Basswood Plates!

More info at her website: https://www.thimblewhim.com/shop/p/christmas-2021-cookie-plates-for-santa

Recovering from Mistakes

Ted shared this with me.

"Greetings Marty,

I have come to really appreciate your recent posts about recovering from mistakes and finding joy in chip carving!

Since I had already decided to change the pattern on the sleighs, I did not watch the entire "how to" video, viewing just the snowflake carving part. It wasn't until I had finished all nine that I watched the part of the video about assembling the sleighs. It was then that I saw my mistake: I had assumed that the angled edges butted up against each other but realized this was not the case as I watched the end of the video! I tried to assemble one as shown in the video but soon saw that part of the carving on the larger end piece would be cut off if I did it the correct way.

My first impulse was to consign all nine to the kindling bucket, but my wife (being the wise woman that she is) pointed out that they still looked good when put together and that none of the recipients would know that my method of assembly was incorrect. I've since put them all together and applied the finish and agree with her - they look good and I am certain will be appreciated when received as gifts to family.

This adventure reminded me of a quote from Dr. Jeremy Faust I have on a piece of paper on my carving desk: "We can't let the perfect be the enemy of the good."

As for the topic of joy, another quote I have in front of me: "Comparison is the thief of joy." (source unknown)."

First Time Carving End Grain

Tom emailed me with questions about carving end grain. I replied with a picture of the Oval Box that has chip carving on the end grain and said, "With a scary sharp knife it's not as hard as it looks." That's all it took for Tom to complete this carving.

and his reply, "It wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be but the grain changed lot towards the center."

Way to go, Tom!

The hardest chip is usually the first one!

Carving Christmas Sleighs with JOY!

"Carving your Sleigh kit for my grandchildren brings me joy. It's been interesting, because I've made several break out mistakes. Some could be repaired, some not. Yet I look at the overall project and know they will be excited, not critical, so I kept on going with joy. I added grooves to the top of runner struts to make painting easier - spray red, then brush the runners silver. The real joy will be watching the video of them opening the package!! I know exactly what you mean about celebrating your work as an expression of Soul's creativity, rather than feeling vain." Carl