Russell Scott
Newsletter Editor
1238 Edmund Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55104
651-917-2125 rscott56@netzero.com
VIKING Woodcarvers
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Vol. 32 No. 5
PRESIDENT
* Dennis Schuster
VICE PRESIDENTS
* Jim Ayers
* Myron Asper
SECRETARY
* Lynne Medgaarden
TREASURER
* Leo Mielke
PROGRAM COMMITTEE
* Jim Ayers
* Myron Asper
COFFEE COMMITTEE
* Leonard Kampa
SHOW CHAIR
* Russell Scott
Viking Web Site -
http://www.russscott.com/~rscott/vwca/
* Meeting Location – Knights of
Columbus, 1114 W 79th St., Bloomington
* 4th Monday – May 22 – Meeting Time –
7:00 PM
-----------------------------------------------------
May Presentation: Tom Severson
will present on "Norwegian Woodcarving."
Tom began his woodcarving hobby by
taking a Rochester Community
Education class sponsored by the Rochester Woodcarvers. After learning
the basics through that class, he has explored a variety of carving
styles with most of his efforts being in chip carved gifts. Some of you
already know Tom as the Rochester Woodcarvers “web guy” and the “photo
guy” supporting many of the club activities. Being interested in the
crafts and skills of his Scandinavian ancestors, Tom began visiting the
Vesterheim Museum in Decorah, IA where he learned of the Norwegian
Folk-Art Study tours lead by museum staff local folk art museums,
plenty of sightseeing and eight days of woodcarving class. Mary, always
interested in trying new things, also enrolled in the woodcarving class
just to see what it was all about. Together, they had a great time
seeing Norway and carving.
Meeting
Minutes of Viking Woodcarver’s Meeting
April 24, 2006
By Lynne Medgaarden
President, Don Groen has resigned as
President due to health issues.
Jim Forrey stepped in to fill the presidential role for the April
meeting. There were 38 members present and no guests. It was an
extremely busy night at the KC Hall as a bowling banquet and bingo were
both being held upstairs. Parking was difficult.
Treasury/Meeting Minutes: Leo
Mielke reported a treasury balance of $3,985. Leo reported that we did
make some money on the spring carving show. He also reported that we
have 160 names on the membership roster, 105 were paid up by the April
meeting, 22 were 2 years delinquent with dues, 31 were 1 year
delinquent. He received some non-sufficient funds checks from people
who paid dues or show registration.
The club needs someone to audit the
accounting books. This should be
done yearly. Jim Abicht audited the books last time. If anyone would
like to volunteer for that job please contact Leo. Jim Abicht has been
ill and unable to attend meetings. Give him a call if you like at home.
Meeting Minutes and Treasurer’s report
as printed in the previous
newsletter were approved and seconded.
Newsletter Editor Report:
Contact Russ if you have any problems with your newsletter.
Show Report by Russell Scott: The show
went fairly well. We had 54
tables and spaces reserved. Some people sold carvings, some didn't. The
turnout was lower due to the beautiful April weather. Russ thanked
everyone for helping set up and take down, especially Dennis Schuster
and his son, Tony, who came and worked on Sunday during take down. Take
down was hampered by the fact that people had to search for the table
cart. We should look into making sure that cart is available for the
Fall Show. Russ reminded participants that if you have a table at the
show you should stay to help take down the tables and also help others
load their stuff if they need help.
The Fall Viking Carving Show is
scheduled for October 28-29. Russ has
moved the Spring Show for next year up to an earlier date: March 10-11,
2007.
We discussed the possibility of moving
the show to a location closer to
Bloomington. Some members reported the carving shows have been held at
Southtown Mall and the Armory in past years.
Har Mar Mall is going to charge more
for rental. We discussed raising
the price of table and space rental from the current $20 to $22. We
decided to raise the price to $22.
For the Fall Show it was suggested
that we contact Channel 9 News and
see if we can be featured on M.A. Rosco's morning show. We could
feature one or two carvers. It was suggested that we could focus on
Viking carvings such as those carved by Lynn Johnston or Iver Anderson.
Old Business
President: Jim Forrey called for
nominations for President since Done
Groen has resigned. Swede Bengtson nominated Dennis Schuster. The
nomination was seconded. Dennis agreed to be nominated. All present at
the meeting voted unanimously to elect Dennis Schuster as President.
Vice President Report: Jim Ayers will
finish as Vice President after
the next meeting. He encouraged people to volunteer for the Vice
President position. The Vice President contacts presenters for
meetings. Jim has a long list of past speakers and members also provide
suggestions. He also indicated that being Vice President is a great way
to meet people. Speakers are given a $50 stipend (double if they have
to travel a long distance) for giving presentations at our meetings.
June meeting: We discussed meeting in
June then voted not to meet.
August meeting: We discussed meeting
in August then voted to meet in
August. We will meet on August 28.
Vendors
* George Effrem had a new selection of
books and tools.
* Bob Spagenberg had some diamond
willow walking sticks for sale for
$3-$5.
* Bernie Enright had a selection of
carving tools and wood for sale as
he is moving.
* Russell Scott had a selection of
cottonwood bark for sale.
* Jupe Houman had cut outs for
shorebirds, ducks and some vices for
sale.
* Swede Bengtson has some steel
shelving and cabinets for sale – give
him a call.
Program for April
Cecelia Schiller, a mask carver, gave
a presentation on Balinese masks.
Cecilia has been carving since the early 1990's in the European relief
carving style. She spent 3 months in Bali with her two daughters, 8 and
11, learning how to carve masks. She is a performer so she went to Bali
to study mask making with people who are also performers.
Many people in Bali carve – she
reported seeing carvings everywhere.
They use masks for many different ceremonies and parades.
Her teacher could carve masks quickly.
He made 26 masks in 10 days for
an order. The masks are painted with traditional pigments – deer and
pig bones are burned and ground. Then they are separated out by color –
darker bone matter for blacks, lighter for whites. They also use ground
stone for different colors. The bone and stone is mixed with glue,
rawhide and water. Paint is applied in layers – 70-80 layers. The paint
must be completely dry before you can apply the next coat. But the
layers are thin and can dry in about 15 minutes on a sunny day. The
masks are finished with an acrylic glaze.
The inside of the mask is not painted
or finished which helps if people
sweat while wearing them in performances or parades.
Masks are carved in green wood. The
wood is fine grain, light weight
and easy to carve. They use axes and crude chisels and knives (break
easily as they are not well tempered) to carve the masks. She learned
how to carve the masks using only 5 different tools. They hold the wood
with their feet to give them free use of their hands. Cecelia learned
how to do this as well.
It took her a week to carve the first
mask. The masks are sanded using
glass paper (3 different grits) to make them very smooth.
When she cut herself the teacher
rubbed her blood into the mask
reporting that it gave the mask power.
Cecelia uses her masks for
performances at libraries, the Walker Arts
Center, and in puppet shows for Heart of the Beast. She performs folk
tales using the masks.
Traditionally female masks have the
mouth closed while male masks have
a moveable mouth. Some of the Balinese mask use mother-of-pearl for the
teeth.
Cecelia reported that her teacher and
some of the other carvers have a
laid back attitude where mistakes in carving are "no problem."
When she makes custom masks she makes
a plaster cast of the person's
face and then a plaster positive to get the correct positioning for
features and breathing holes.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blue Earth Woodcarving and Quilt
Expo
2006
The Blue Earth Woodcarving Show and
Quilt Expo will be on August 18, 19
and 20, 2006. The show is a display and juried show, so get those
entries ready. Also don’t forget the ‘Peoples Choice $250.00 Santa
Purchase Award.’ The carving must measure at least 8” including the
base. No entry fee required for this category. All entries can be
mailed or carried in. Nationally known caricature carver and CCA member
Gerald Sears and his wife Barb will conduct this year’s seminar. Gerald
is one of the best caricature-carving teachers around. Barb will teach
you how to paint your finished piece so you can go home with a very
attractive carving. Seminars will run all day Fri., Sat. and ½
Sunday. They have over 30 rough-outs to choose from. Gerald added some
realistic cowboy
busts with a stained finish. Check out
their web-site at
www.gnbsearswoodcarving.com Contact the Blue Earth Chamber at
chamber@bevcomm.net for more information and sign up. You are invited
to enter the competition, sign up for a display table, take a seminar
or just come and have fun. See you there.
Article submitted by Midge Schmitgen
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LAST CALL FOR 2006 DUES
If you have not paid your dues, please
send them to me or pay them at
the May meeting. For those that do not pay by the end of May, this will
be your last newsletter.
Leo Mielke
10223 Johnson Circle
Bloomington, MN 55437
Annual dues are $15 (make checks
payable to Viking Woodcarvers).
VENDORS
Woodcarvers Store and School
3056 Excelsior Blvd., Minneapolis, MN
55416-0127 (612) 927-7491
(www.woodcarversstore.com)
Jim Abicht, Fine woodworking
Specializing in bases for carving
projects
(651) 451-7217
Ivan Whillock Studio
122 NE 1st Avenue, Faribault, MN 55021
(507) 334-8306
(www.whillock.com)
Krantz Wood Sales - Carving &
Specialty Woods
16748 Stanford St., Forest Lake, MN
55025 (651) 464-5632 (Evenings)
David Lindroth, Custom Cut Woods for
Woodcarvers & Artists
8150 – 137th St. W. Apple Valley, Mn
55124 (952) 432-7066
Nelson-Johnson Wood Products, Inc.
3910 Bryant Ave No., Mpls., MN 55412
(612) 529-2978 - cell phone (612)
644-4567
Gen Jansen, Carver and Instructor,
(320) 252-3966
Brad Oren Sculpture Supply
Complete source for stone, wood, clay,
abrasives & tools.
Rockler Stores:
Maplewood, MN (651) 773-5285;
Minneapolis, MN (612) 822-3338;
Burnsville, MN (952) 892-7999;
Minnetonka, MN (952) 542-0111
Woodcraft Supply
9741 Lyndale Ave S, Bloomington, MN
(952) 884-3634
Gregg McCabe, Stubai tool distributor
425 Madison St NE, Minneapolis, MN
(612) 379-9342
Garry N. Kolb - Woodcarving Supplies
2528 24 Ave NW, Rochester, Mn. 55901
(507) 289-9138
Copperhead Road Logging and Lumber
Joe Jewett – 54852 Great River Rd.
Palisade, Mn. 56469 (218) 845-2832
VIKING MAGNUM OPUS (SHOW AND
TELL) – April, 2006
NAME
CARVING
WOOD
FINISH
COMMENTS
Nancy
Dardis
Wood
Burning
Basswood
Water Color Wax
David
Rausch
‘Feed My Sheep'
Relief
Basswood
Polyurethane
Leo
Bock
Procession
Cross
Walnut
Oil
Chuck
Reisinger
Wood
Duck
Basswood
Acrylics
Duane
Edwards
Deer Wood
Burning
Basswood
Unfinished
Walt
Grittner
Chip Carved
Plate
Basswood
Polyurethane
50th Anniversary Plate
Russell
Scott
Civil War
Soldier
Basswood
Acrylics
Al
Sheppard
Doc
Basswood
Acrylics/Poly
Swede
Bengtson
Intarsia
Mix
Polyurethane
Jupe
Houman
Shore
Bird
Basswood
Acrylics
150 yr old square nail for bill
Lew
Forsmark
Shelf
Elf
Basswood
Acrylics
Lew
Forsmark
Tompte with
Lantern
Basswood
Acrylics
Bill
Pederson
Ecuador
?
?
Received from an Estate
Jim
Kueppers
Relief
Basswood
Acrylics/Poly
Len
Kampa
Bunny Washing
Face
Mahogany
Acrylics
Pattern from ‘Carving Critters’
Jim
Forrey
Mexican
Mask
?
Unfinished