Carving Out Their Niche
Artists Vary Technique, Results In Single Medium
Last updated Tuesday, September 30, 2008 6:28 PM CDT in Our Town
By Debbie Miller
THE MORNING NEWS
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ROGERS -- Kathy Morey leaned over the table, poised to chip away extraneous bits of a pale wood and carve out petunia blossoms.
Others could have seen just another piece of milled timber. Morey saw the potential for a decorative wall hanging. The Rogers woman was a model of focus last week as she worked with special gouging tools to produce the piece, which she hoped to have ready for an upcoming show of the Woodcarvers of Northwest Arkansas.
Throughout the room, her fellow woodcarvers practiced their handiwork, too, all demonstrating a similar level of concentration.
Thelbert "Sodie" Soden carved on a cane that will go to a Korean War veteran.
Margaret Claywell of Cassville, Mo., prepared to use a woodburning tool to etch in shadows on a work that will resemble a photograph of a tree-covered path.
Nancy Albin of Rogers worked to pick away pieces of cottonwood bark on her art. Nearby the current work, she displayed some finished woodcrafts in a style her father, Charles Birmingham, has taught her. It's called intarsia and is a form of inlaying in which small sections of wood are placed together to create an overall image. "Like a wood mosaic," she explained.
The Foxfire community building, in which the group meets, has a wall lined with the end result of the craft.
There's an American Indian in profile, painted images of flowers, and designs burned into wood that appear almost like delicate lace.
Who knew one medium could take so many different forms?
In spite of the varied approaches, group members are able to draw a lot of support from each other.
"Everyone here is very friendly and very helpful," Albin said of the twice-a-week carving sessions. If someone has a problem, three to five other carvers will offer good suggestions for remedies.
A visitor to a Sunday session immediately was offered a cup of coffee and a cookie to snack on. Both concessions seem to be routine offerings.
The group's current president, Charles Wolfe, quipped that they drink a lot of coffee, eat a lot of cookies, swap a lot of stories and manage to do a little carving.
Wolfe said the club has approximately 30 paid members. A few pieces of his handiwork dot the living room of his Springdale home. A child with pigtails flying takes a turn on a swing. A set of dolphins jump up out of the water.
He took a woodcarving class at the Jones Center for Families in Springdale approximately nine years ago, and he was hooked.
"I didn't think I could do it," he said. The class encouraged him. He's since taken additional instruction.
He echoes the thoughts of other club members in touting the art form's benefits.
Isn't all that detail work a little stressful? asked a noncarver.
Woodburning for something like creating a bird's feathers is indeed tedious, he confessed. But with some other tasks, he can carry on a conversation while attending to the work.
In general, it's relaxing, he said.
And there's no delayed response."You can see the immediate result of what you're doing," he said.
Go & Do
Woodcarvers of Northwest Arkansas Show
Event: 31st annual competition, show and sale
Times, dates: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 11; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 12
Venue: Bentonville High School commons area, "J" Street in Bentonville
Offerings: Woodcarving and wood burning demonstrations are planned. Andy Hilton will demonstrate wood turning throughout the show. Door prizes will be given.
Admission: free
Additional information: www.woodcarversnwark.com
Source: Staff Report
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