Whittling Away

They came from Canada, Florida, Kansas, Michigan, California and all points betwixt. They rode in on the March winds carrying weapons of mess destruction, knives, gouges, and the sharp implements of their trade. They brought power tools and grinders. They were big shavers and little shavers, men and women carving their way into history. They were RVers and they were woodcarvers. They were having a great time.

Drawn together by their common interest, the woodcarvers had assembled at North Ranch near Congress, Arizona.

Swigging Snapple and purified water, they bent to their work, a few requiring slip-on magnifiers for glasses or magnifiers fastened around their heads like something out of Star Wars. Others crowded around, watching in deep concentration as instructors whittled and carved, miraculously bringing caricatures and creatures to life.

As with anything, you need the right tools to create. Bench knives, V-tools, and various blades that lounged among the shavings by day were placed back into a variety of partitioned toolboxes or custom-made cases.

At the end of the room, a caller shouted the luck of the draw. Winners visited a table filled with wood blocks of various sizes. The wood didn’t electrify me, but these creators already envisioned something more exciting. Basswood was popular, but they also used cottonwood for bark carvings and cypress knees for weird wizards and other exaggerations.

Members of the group taught classes on chip, bark, and relief carving; wood-burning, and coloring, with resulting birds, animals, faces and freeform projects. Most carvers used patterns but others utilized only their imagination. Oil pencils and acrylics added color to their artistic efforts. They brought finished artwork for display throughout the week, anything from comic cowboys and crazy caricatures to ducks and grizzlies.

Varied Backgrounds
Phillip Saunsaucie and his wife, Carmi, who are full-time RVers from Whidbey Island, Washington, have attended this rally for the three years that he has been into woodcarving. His carving began as a rough-cut basswood block. Using a pattern as a guide, his imagination, expertise and tools would bring a buffalo into being.

Judy Carroll is a single RVer and a first time attendee. She moved from Seattle to Moab, Utah, last year and started woodcarving through a local instructor. During this workshop, she tried her hand at bark and face carving, and wood-burning.

Alan Clark from Colorado Springs is in his second year of carving. Wife Sandy paints his carvings and spent time at this event working with beaders. Alan commented, “We develop such camaraderie and relationships here. Everyone is friendly and willing to share information. It is nice for first timers because designs are chosen that can be completed with an inexpensive knife in a couple of days, and they walk away with a nice project.”

I never thought of carving as recycling, but I found a very good example of it. Roger Post from Painesville, Ohio, was carving old golf balls! He and wife, June, have been full-time RVing for eight years. This was Roger’s second workshop and his third year carving. He uses a tool to cut around the golf ball, and then pops the hard rubber out. He carves with a small detail knife. He doesn’t use a pattern but marks the ball with a pencil so he can see where he is cutting. “It is easier to carve on the hard rubber than wood because it has no grain. I try to find balls with logos or a company name.”

Workshop Grew
Dick Smith, who heads this group of woodcarvers, met with Larry Smith (no relation) eight years ago. Larry mentioned starting a woodcarving group and Dick replied, “Here’s my $5.” The gathering has grown into a huge annual workshop. This year brought 82 participants, about 75 percent men and 25 percent women, with 15 percent of them newcomers. Sometimes both husband and wife carve. This year for the first time, women who don’t carve joined together in the same meeting room for beading. Activity, conversation and laughter mixed together for a time of camaraderie and accomplishment.

Marylane Clark, whose husband, Fred, is a woodcarver, joined the women’s beading group. “It is wonderful. I was so bored the last year. I thought the highlight of my week would be doing the laundry but instead I learned how to bead. Our ‘Bead Boss’ is an inspiration and very good with total beginners.” The Clarks are extended-time RVers with RV lots in Casa Grande, Arizona, and in Ohio near the grandkids. (Someone also mentioned that if the wives are kept busy with interesting projects, the guys are more apt to get to come! Good point.)

There are three essentials to woodcarving—design, material, and technique—but Dick Smith, who has been carving for 16 years, says, “Anybody can do it. You just carve away what doesn’t belong there.” Dick does scrimshaw bone carving as well as emu and ostrich egg carving.

Daily Meetings
For the last five years, the workshop has been held in the Activity Center at North Ranch near Congress, Arizona. “Of the places we’ve met previously, this is by far the most perfect in size and lighting for this type of gathering,” Dick said.

Having a full-hookup campground within walking distance isn’t all bad either. This is an Escapees membership park, but those who are not Escapees are willing to pay the slight added cost for the convenience. The Woodcarvers Birds of a Feather group sponsors the workshop.

The workshop was held from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. They had a potluck or two through the week but no planned activities otherwise. They did fit in dulcimer jam sessions at least three times. In 2007, the workshop will begin on March 24 with a limit of 80 participants.

After Saturday breakfast, everything was packed and the evidence of mess destruction was erased. Goodbyes and hugs were exchanged. They climbed into their rigs and scattered to parts unknown. Perhaps the March winds will blow them in again next year. God Bless
For more information about woodcarving, see the National Wood Carvers Association website at www.chipchats.org and the organization’s magazine, Chip Chats. Dick Smith can be reached at skp35485@Juno.com.

Autographed copies of Revised RVing Alaska and Canada ($16.95); Adventures with the Silver Gypsy ($14.95); Full-Time RVing: How to Make it Happen $14.95); In Pursuit of a Dream ($8), and Freedom Unlimited, The Fun and Facts of Full-timing ($9) are available through author Sharlene Minshall, Box 1040, Congress, AZ 85332-1040, www.full-time-rver.com or Amazon.com. Postage and handling are $4 for one book and $1 for each additional book.