I am settling in again after a great weekend in Cincinnati with the Woodworking in America Show. I think it was a very successful show. It seemed that the amount of people for the conference part was very similar to the show in Pasadena, but the number of people attending the vendor area seemed much larger. There were definitely more vendors participating also.
I did the same demos as I did in Pasadena – carving the ball and claw foot and the acanthus leaf on the knee of a cabriole leg. During the times that I was not speaking for the WIA, I spent time at the SAPFM (Society of American Period Furniture Makers) booth and did a little demonstrating on carving the Newport shell. So it seemed like I didn’t really have as much time to sneak into other talks until Sunday, when all of my responsibilities for the weekend were over. Special thanks to Charles Murray who was a great help in keeping me organized and also was a great salesman in the DVD department. Thanks!
I sat in on Robert Lang’s demonstration of SketchUp, which was really fascinating. I think in my spare time, I’ll try to learn that. Then I sat in on some of Ron Hermann’s talk on saw sharpening – all very interesting and things I know nothing about – until now. I really wanted to see Glen Huey’s talk on finishing and I’m glad I had the time for this. I admit that I am absolutely terrified of putting a finish on my work – simply because I have not learned the correct technique. His talk was really informative and he is a great teacher in making the process possible for even the novice (me). It is much less scarey now. I have been pretty spoiled in a lot of my work because most of the time I get to hand off my completed carving to the furniture maker and they usually have to deal with the finishing part.
I also got to spend some time speaking with Frank Klausz, a fascinating and talented man who has some amazing stories to tell. He should write a book on his life. I also spent some time with Chuck Bender who has an online video school that has a variety of very informative woodworking videos. Don Williams was another highly skilled woodworker I had an opportunity to meet, but was not able to see his demo.
I met so many amazing and talented people over the weekend – it was a very humbling experience being in the presence of so many greats in the woodworking world. All of them are so down-to-earth and very real people.
Mary, I was able to attend your Acanthus Leaf carving class and it was very well done. You have definitely increased my interest in learning to carve. Although I do blame you for seeing acanthus leaves everywhere now. 🙂
Ryan, those pesky little acanthus leaves will never leave you alone!