Last week I taught a beginning woodcarving class at a school I have not taught at before – The Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in beautiful Rockport, Maine. This school has a wonderful atmosphere of creativity and the students did a great job carving acanthus leaves, camellia flowers and even a Tudor rose! And the setting is simply pristine. Here are some highlights:
I had an opportunity to escape the 100 degree temperatures with 90% humidity in Charleston, SC and actually leave the windows open at night to feel a cool breeze (what was that strange feeling?) I really can’t get enough of the Maine climate and beauty.
So… next month I will be coming back again to teach another beginning class at Lie-Nielsen August 23 & 24. Then the following week I will be filming an intermediate woodcarving DVD (the beginning carving DVD should be out soon, so keep your eyes open for that).
I also had the pleasure of finally meeting Chris Pye, who will be teaching an advanced carving class at the school for the next 2 weeks. It’s a small world out there when it comes to woodcarving, and I knew I would meet him along the teaching “circuit” somewhere. He has written several woodcarving instruction books and also has an online school. I could consider him “competition”, but ultimately if our end-goal is to teach this art that we both love, then whatever we do and however we do it will lead to sharing this wonderful art.
Hey Mary,
You must be quite a teacher because those projects turned out great!
As a fellow South Carolinian, I certainly envy the cool weather you were able to experience.
Quick question for you: if someone was looking to do a little carving to embellish their projects, what tools would you suggest that they start out with?
Thanks!
~Seth
WeWoodwork.com
Thanks Seth. A good starter set is:
6mm v-chisel
#3, 6mm
#3, 14mm
#5, 6mm
#5, 14mm
#7, 12mm
#8, 10mm
Hope this helps!
Mary
Thanks Mary!