[feb]

Hey gang, I was watching a show on PBS about how the egyptions carved things out of wood and then covered them with gold. I was mondering how many of you collect carvings not just to copy or learn from but to really save like in a glass case or something like that. FEB

[Plain_Ol_Ed]

I'm not an avid collector, but I do have a few.

[Paul_Guraedy]

I, also, have a few and would probably be a more enthusiastic collector if I had the room. I was an admirer of woodcarving long before I started carving myself.

Collecting started when I was a Peace Corps Volunteer ('63-'65) in Malawi, Africa. I brought back quite a few carvings that I have always had displayed. Now, my wife, keeps most of my carvings and wants copies of some that I do for commission. She even has a couple that I had intended as models and she found in the burn bin. I also have a few modern carvings that have been given to me. With all of these, there are plenty of carvings in our home.

I am not the type to have a whole wall, case or even shelves for displaying only one thing.....well, other than books. I do have a lot of those both fiction and non-fiction.

[squbrigg]

I have a couple of glass cases, one for my ship models and one for collectables, including a beauty of a Merlin carved by Hugh. I have a custom case ordered especially for it, so we can display it clearer. I usually make glass cases for my ship models, but I'm not a good cabinetmaker, but I'm trying.

Bob

[Nancy_G]

My husband and I are avid collectors of carved decoys -- we are into the "gunner" or smooth sort of both duck and shorebirds. We do not have room for them but they keep piling up anyhow

[Mark N. Akers]

I would consider myself a avid collector,at count we have approx. 250 collectables,to include 35 CCA members and not counting 145 hand carved ornaments which 15 are Joe Wannamakers dated pre-1980.I have yet got a Andy Anderson,but I am looking,I tend to be attracted to the Caricature carvers.So yes I would consider myself a collector.

[wade clark]

Mark, Nice!
I have a collection from around the world, any carving that really caught my eye for whatever reason. Maybe 100 or so pieces. I go for realism in animals, and unusual pieces that show exceptional talent of the carver. And some whimsical or funny, but not many caracatures, though I like them. I also have archetectural remnants in my collection.
The people of the island of Bali carved beautiful floral and geometric works for window and door frames on their huts. Someone had gathered up many of them from fallen huts and put them on ebay; I ended up with a dozen or so, some 5 or 6 ft long. Great garden pieces!
I also have several mahogany Asian Deities, some of which floated in Katrina's waters for a month and survived.
If I figure out my camera and posting (sizing) I'll start posting a few on here...maybe under the heading, "I DIDN'T CARVE IT!"
Wade

[Lynn O. Doughty]

I've got carvings and small sculptures from all over the world. Having spent 17 years in Africa most of them come from there. It always amazed me what they could turn out with an old, rusty piece of metal ground to a sharp edge on a nearby stone. I remember watching a carver in Senegal who had a big piece of Ebony locked between his feet pounding away with a adze he had made from a piece of automobile leaf spring and a tree root. I've got two Ashanti King stools, one a lizard supporting the seat and the other a more traditional design. Again, carved with the crudest tools you could imagine. Amazing. A giraffe from South Africa carved from a Jacaranda tree that stands about 4 feet tall. End tables from Ghana, each composed of four elephants supporting the table top, carved from African Walnut. A Makonde carving from Tanzania of figures climbing over each over carved from ebony. Fertility dolls, Ju-Ju statues, fetish figures and masks, if it's from Africa and it's carved from wood you'll probably find it around here. I got some Ivory carvings too and a whole collection of carved soapstone animals from various parts of the continent.

Some of my most treasured moments in Africa were setting outside under a tree or on the porch haggling with the Hausa traders who were always stopping at the house. Most of the good deals were made on the day following the horse races. These guys would travel all over the continent picking up interesting things. They'd show up with it all balanced on their head each piece wrapped in cloth.

Sorry.....I'm rambling.

[Kenny_S]

Got a few carvings from other carvers known and some that are not known. Have several from places I have been, VietNam, China,Japan, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Burmuda and several from the states.
Am I an avid collector? No!
I agree with Lynn, Interesting to watch those over seas carve with not much tools at all and they seem to have a nak on sharpening their tools with just a rock or sand on a board and then strop on the palm of their hands. The vietnmese where experts on the latter.
Funny, We pay out the rear for sharpening stroping devices. HAHAHAHAHAH. me included.

[Colin_Partridge]

I started collecting decoys and have a bunch sitting around the house. Now I think I am going to get rid of them they take up too much room and only gather dust. I have a collection of santa's and misc carvings also that sit around the house that my wife keeps on threatening to burn. Along with my police hat collection that is stored in plastic totes (I think I had seventy two last I counted) I also have a police patch collection (Over 2000 last count) also stored away in a plastic tote. I guess I am a bit of a pack rat that is why I never keep any of my carvings I dont have any room.
Colin