Hope you had a great week. Last week's email topic generated quite a few responses on sharing that I want to share with you! I was inspired by all of the good that's happening out there in our chip carving community. What a
blessing!👏
Jon's Carving Club Dream Comes True!
Jon's a recent CCCI graduate that shared the following exciting news!
Troy, Thanks for
your email today. I have loved giving my carvings as Christmas gifts and occasionally to others as I've been impressed to do so. It's been gratifying to see the pleased responses of the receivers.
For the past thirteen years, since moving to Southern Utah, I've missed the association I had with the Utah Valley Carving Club. I began dreaming of starting a club here so that I and others could enjoy the camaraderie of carving together and learning
from one another.
That dream came true this past week as we held the first meeting of the Washington County Carving Club in St. George, Utah. It's open to the public, and to carvers of all ages and experience. We had a great turnout, including some very experienced carvers, and a gal that had never carved before.
Sharing the joy of carving in this way is a means of giving back in appreciation for the many
friends and mentors I've had over the years who have encouraged, taught, and valued me along the way.
Thank you, Troy, for carrying on the gift Marty gave us, and thank you to all those who share their talent and projects with the rest of us!
Sincerely,
Jon
January Project
Picture frame with 3 Corner Chip pattern
Take a quick look at this months project, a 5x7 picture frame with a 3 corner chip pattern.
I liked the balance of positive and negative images.
I just ordered two 5x7 picture frames to chip carve. What finish do you recommend for them?
Judy
Here's my response:
For a finish, I
typically use a clear matte acrylic spray (Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch 2X), but they also have gloss, and satin finishes too, if you prefer. You can either spray a few coats of that on and leave it natural, or after putting a coat or two(or three) of the acrylic spray, you could apply a gel stain. If you're planning on a gel stain, you could also use a sanding sealer instead of the acrylic spray. You'll want to use either the acrylic spray or sanding sealer if you plan
on staining in order to prevent any blocthiness that would normally occur on unfinished basswood. When applying a gel stain, I'll use a small brush to help get the stain out from the carved areas so that it doesn't pool up. Note that if you are staining over coats of the acrylic spray that the more coats of acrylic = the lighter the stain will be.
If you do apply a stain, I typically come back and put another coat of acrylic spray over
the stain.
Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Lowell's Tip on Carving End Grain
Last week in response to a question on carving glued boards I mentioned carving end grain can be a bit tricky and requires a sharp knife. Well, Lowell shared a tip from his experience with carving end
grain:
I have carved end grain by spritzing it with 50/50 water/alcohol. Agreed, the sharp knife is necessary.
Thanks for the tip Lowell!
Darlene doesn't hold back when it comes to sharing about carving!
I have a carving group of 22 WOOD CARVING SENIORS that meet weekly in our local Senior Center. Been
together for 10 years now. All but 3 were new carvers. We share everything.... patterns, wood, ideas and such. We each carved a 3x3" basswood square and produced a quilt that now hangs on a wall at the center and is shared with other members. We carved ornaments from Marty's patterns and shared them with relatives and friends during the holidays. We also display at craft shows, the county Fair and even had a month-long display of our various carvings in our local City Hall, at the mayor's request. Sharing is what we do best. We think it is important to encourage folks of any age to
give it a try. Something must be working because we started with 6 and now have 22 carvers.
I belong to 3 carving groups, and we have had youngsters join us too.
I am involved with a Sons of Norway lodge and am involved with their Heritage Skill programs. Again, no matter what the skill, it needs to be shared and passed on or what we know dies with us. Dar
Way to go Darlene!👍 I shared with Darlene
that I was happy to see how she's sharing her knowledge with others and being supported and recognized by her local community and government. I also mentioned I enjoy any references to Norway since I'm 50% Norwegian. And now I'll share with you a relief carving of a Viking I did before focusing on chip carving.
What are your latest projects? I'd love to see them! Send them to me at: troy@mychipcarving.com
