Attn: WOMEN WOODCARVERS!

[Keoma]

I am ever so curious-how many of us are there?! I would love it if you could give me a holler! I am putting together a list of women woodworkers and their links of interest and adding it to my myspace and etsy site. Also working on a blog about us as well. I would love to hear from you! So-starting with me...ha...thats one! Who's next? I am so glad to be a small part of a wonderful whole!

[doris]

here is me...i dont know what holler is, but sure i like give it to you if you want have it :-) ... my interests.... hmmm, well i am insanely curious to everything :-) ...lol... though that is not specific, it describes me best ...

[tucker1931]

Hey Keoma, I'm a cross dresser, do you want me, I'm so cute in a dress.
Cliff

[kitaye]

Female here. Interests include carving, woodworking, birdwatching and feeding, painting, gardening, cooking from scratch, baking fromscratch, and homesteading. My blog has a few links to websites and other blogs I find interesting.

[Keoma]

way cool! off to a rip-snortin start! Sure Cliff! I'm a cross dresser too-I look pretty fine in my ultra fem buffalo plaid flannel and my carharts! HA!
Doris- a holler-"holler at me" or "yell at me"

[Donna_T]

Hello Keoma,
I've been carving for about 18 years--more or less--meaning some years I carve more than others. I carved quite a bit the first 15 years--then went back to work full time with a couple of moonlighting gigs on the side and don't get to carve (or post here) as much for the past couple of years.

I live in the country in SW Missouri so I know what a "holler" is..."Hey, yall!"

I started carving when my youngest finished playing basketball in her senior year of high school. Figured that I was finally going to have time to pursue something I was interested in instead of being on the road following kids to ballgames of every type year around. I enjoy carving santas, animals, and more recently, have been trying to master birds. I've done some relief (don't care as much for it), chip (doesn't appeal to me--too symetrical), stylized (eek), flowers (like it but am not very good at it), and fish (liked it when I did it often enough to get comfortable with power tools and air brushing.)

I try to get away to 3-4 carving workshops each year just to have time away from work to "just" carve and visit with carvers. Have been fortunate enough to make carving friends from those workshops and area shows and this website. I don't know lots and lots about the technical side of carving and painting, but will share what I've learned the hard way. I've got a sizable stash of patterns and reference material that I've accumulated over the years and try to help carvers when they are looking for something specific.

One more note: when I started carving, I could count on one hand the number of women carvers in my part of the country. I just returned from the KAW Valley carvers 4-day workshop at Baker University in Kansas and 1/3 of my class was women--that probably was consistent with all the workshops--close to have the workshops were taught by women. I've been to Silver Dollar City and the Rendezvous in Branson and that's about the average there, too. I've also been to Congress in Davenport, Iowa and to the Yudis shop there for workshops and that ratio is about the same there.

Donna T

[susieq]

Greetings Keoma,
I am a second generation carver. My mom took up carving when she was about 40. She was self taught as in many of her artistic ventures. She doesn't carve much anymore but if it wasn't for her, I might never have picked up a tool.... She graduated from wood carving to stone carving and did quite a lot of things in soapstone.

I started at about the same age as mom did, been carving since 1993.
Before that, years of stained glass, custom leather tooling belts, wallets, etc, and growing bonsai. Also breeding and showing dogs, also raising exotic birds. More than a few years of keeping aquariums...... Not enough time in the day to do all that so have pared it down to just the carving, bonsai and occasional stained glass work. Mostly carving though.

Actually, I just retired from my part time job this past Friday, June 20th, to carve full time. I have been dreaming of that for a while.

Cliff, please post pics. We would all love to see.....

[Thor]

Hi, I'm a girl too. Love carving relief mostly. Working on way too many things at once right now.
Thor

[Keoma]

I am so excited! I have been designing a tshirt for women and it's had me thinking...I know your there...where? This is great! Yes Cliff, Please post pics!

[Alice in Wonderland]

Hi Keoma, another woman here ,I have been carving for about 12 years, and belong to the below group, it really was rare then to have a woman sculpt, at one competition I was shunned by the male carvers and won ribbons too lol "we have come a long way Baby"
Alice

Women with Knives Oma