Doane Experience

[dryheat]

Anyone attending the Doane Experience?
Anyone here going to Crete, Nebraska for the seminars at Doane College the first week in August?
My wife and I are heading there by way of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon toward the end of this month.
I lucked out, I think, and got my first choice, Acanthus Shelf and Green Man with Izo Becic. We will do a 24’ x 6’ x 6’ decorative shelf and an 11’ round face with leaves, both from Butternut.
Wife will be doing Woodburned Ukrainian Eggs with Debbie Perry and Decorative Gourds with Sara and Larry Corwell.
I have wanted to try the Acanthus style for a while and this looks to be a good opportunity. Beth saw the classes she is taking 2 years ago, and thought see would like to give them a try.
I hope I will get some pictures to post.

Ed

[DiamondWillow]

Ed
You will enjoy the class with Izo, he is extremely knowledgeable in Acanthus carving. I have taken several classes with him and enjoyed them all. I am going to do a greenman with him within the next year. He pretty much knows all there is to know about carving. Also my wife and I have taken the Gourd class with the Cornwell's and she will enjoy that as well, they all are fine people.
If you can recall, tell Izo, Gene from Parkers Prairie, Minnesota said hello. I did just see him at the funeral of a local carver two weeks ago.
I have always wanted to do Doane, I am jealous for sure.....

Enjoy
Gene

[woody01]

dryheat,
I'll be there taking a class with Pete LeClair. Should have a good time, and hope to learn a great deal.
woody01

[Warren in CT Valley]

You might want to look into the other school preceding Doane, that's Burke's
Western Art & Wildlife Workshop. It's held at the same place. Biggest difference is the cost is more, but the classes are much smaller and the number of people who attend are much less. You receive much more attention from top instructors and no lines to wait in. I've gone for many years and thoroughly enjoy it. Doane College facilities are very nice to stay in.

[dryheat]

Packing up tomorrow and Wednesday, we're on our way. Two nights at the North Rim of Grand Canyon then on to Pagosa Springs and Crete, Nebraska for the Doane Experience Carving Seminar.
Gene, I printed your post and I will ask Izo about you.
Woody, hope we can meet sometime during the week.
After the seminar we are going to Walnut Iowa, supposed to be big time antiquing,

Ed

[DiamondWillow]

Ed
Do have a wonderful time and please let us know about your experiences when you get home. I do want to go down there sometime for the EXPERIENCE....

Gene

[DiamondWillow]

Ed

How was the Doane Experience?? I assume you are back

Gene

[dryheat]

We got back from Crete, NB on Monday. We had a real good trip and what a nice drive, the Midwest is gorgeous what with all the rain. I have not seen it look so lush in many years. Looks like there will be a great harvest this fall. We visited the North Rim of the Grand Canyon for 2 days before we took off for Crete and if you have never been you should try to see it. I’ve hiked Rim to Rim and made the hike down the South side several times and took the 8 day raft trip in 1981. It truly is an awesome sight and if you don’t believe in a supreme being, a visit might just change your mind.

I carved 4 days with Izo Becic, what a person. He has quite a history and loves to talk. I’ll try to post some pictures here. I found it hard to carve and take pictures too. The only complaint I have is they didn’t tell us that we would be working on regular tables so only Izo and one student who had been there before had risers to bring the work up to a comfortable height to work on. A couple of students managed to put one together but the rest had to tough it out. My back let me know about it. We carved a small shelf and a Green Man. This was my first experience in Acanthus carving. Quite different from caricature carving. The Doane experience is exactly that “an experience”. I believe there were 390 participants. My wife took a gourd class and made two painted eggs in that class. When I have some pictures, I will post those too. The MAWC club does a great job of conducting the event. The food is OK for a College Cafeteria “a lot better than when I was in school” and there is plenty of it. I got to meet and visit with many great people and hope to attend again.
Gene, I talked with Izo and he remembered you. I don’t think he understood that I knew you through this forum and had not actually seen or talked to you in person. He ask several questions that I had no clue about and maybe he finally understood but I’m not sure. Some of the instructors and vendors give things to be auctioned off or drawn for in the raffel. One of the pictures, I think, is a Santa the Michele Carville Stetson donated, it went for, I believe, $500. The other pix are of the class and one from the chow hall.
Ed

[dryheat]

For whatever reason the pictures didn't fly. Second try.

[DiamondWillow]

Hi Ed,

Sounds like you had a good time and I hope you enjoyed the Acanthus work with Izo. Yes, he is very interesting and his history from Boznia and on is great, I have heard some of it over the 4 classes I have taken with him. He is going to be doing another class down this way within the next 6 months or so. I think I am going to do the Greenman. Thanks for sharing your info on Doane. I am going to have to try Doane or the Burke one the next year or so.

Gene