War Eagle Seminar Photos

[Paul_Guraedy]

Yesterday I visited the (new) War Eagle Seminar and took photos of the activity. It is being held on the shores of Beaver Lake in the Ozark Mountains.

I talked to Steve Brown (who organized the seminar) and he said that this first session is considered a success by the carvers and by the campground owner. They have agreed to continue next year with roughly the same dates.

[Paul_Guraedy]

Several members of the WCI family were there and some of the photos are their projects. But, I will let them post pictures and talk about their carvings.

[Paul_Guraedy]

A closed room was provided for the pyrographers so that the temperature of the pens could be well controlled.

[Paul_Guraedy]

The primary carving area was a large pavillion. In addition to the daytime classes there were nightitme carving activities which included a whittling contest, a sphere carving contest and a chip throwing contest. A potluck, hot dog roast and other gatherings brought the non-carvers into the fun.

Although I missed this year's session.........I intend to be there next year.

[Dileon]

Wow Paul thanks for posting the pics. Looks like it was fun place to be.

[LBlake]

Sounds like a great time! Thanks for posting the pictures.

[Tom-H]

Thanks Paul, I enjoyed the photos. Can you post up a link to more information about this event. Looks like some might like to participate.

Thanks again.

Tom H

[draft51@aol.com]

Thank you Paul for posting the pics, it looked like everyone was busy and having a good time. fred k

[Paul_Guraedy]

Tom here is the additional information:

• War Eagle Seminar www.sbrownwoodcarving.com
• Campgrond www.beaverlakehideaway.com

The Seminar is held at a remote area of Beaver Lake. The campground has a dock and a long stretch of shoreline. There are several public launch ramps in the immediate vicinity and at least one (U.S. Army Corps) other campground should the Hideaway fill. They have about 10 rooms available and there are additional rooms at other lodges nearby. Rogers is about 12 miles away with all of the facilities of any major city.

Should the pavilion become too small for the seminar there is a nearby (Church I think) area that can be used for more classes. There is also room for tents such as were put up at the old War Eagle Seminar. I plan on recommending to Steve that he find a stick carving, fish, and maybe a "found wood" (never saw this offered before) instructor (lot of interest here on the Forum in these). I am sure that Steve is open to suggestions from us. Of course, inclusion will depend on interest. So if you are interested in attending and would like one of these.....contact him the more interest the more likely it is to happen.

Many of the carvers, I talked to, had attended the original War Eagle Seminars. They would like to see this one grow into the two week session that was offered originally. Classes were small (don't think any filled) due primarily to the fact that the seminar was organized so rapidly (planning in the spring seminar in Sept.). There were a lot of visitors from OK. AR, and MO. Most were not RV'ers and were cautious about accommodations. Many expressed an interest in attending next year……me too!

Hope to see more WCI folks there.

[Donna_T]

Paul,
It was so good to see you at the New War Eagle workshops. It was my first experience with War Eagle--never could get away when it was in June originally. I've done carving rendezvous, roundups, Congress, and SDC and I'd put this right up there with the best of them.

I had the benefit of being in Charles Wolfe's power bird carving class. He was so organized and had very helpful material already organized for us...copies of all the materials he uses, colors, etc. As you know, I've been trying to learn more about bird carving and it's so beneficial to be able to carve with other folks with the same interest. I always learn from fellow participants, as well as from the instructors.

We carved from 8-12, 1-4:30, and again, if we wished, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. All the instructors were available for the extra two hours each evening. In our class of six, two of us completed our birds and got them painted. This included the base and mounting. Charles had lots of both of these for us to select from--depending on the look we wanted our bird to have. I don't camp with an RV, so I stayed at the nearby (a mile or so from the campground) Tanglewood. It was a bit basic, but had a frig, micro, toaster, sink, and stovetop. There's a closer motel that looked more modern--and I was told by fellow carvers that the rate was comparable. Cheaper rates were available from chain motels in Rogers, but I didn't want to spend extra time on the road each day.

Steve had a cookout/potluck on Sunday night for a get acquainted gathering. Since I wasn't an "oldtimer", it was a great way to get to know some of the other carvers--same for the potluck dinner on Thurs night. I had a bit of car battery trouble as I was getting ready to pack up and leave Friday, and another carver jumped in to resolve the problem (bad battery cable connection.) But, I've always found fellow carvers ready to lend a hand with every need. There appeared to be ample camper sites to accommodate growth in the number of participants.

Typical mid-western weather--sun, rain, cool, warm, but it made a great week to get away and carve. It appeared that most everyone got finished with at least one carving project--several had multiple projects. I heard that there might be a power flower carving session next year.

It was a great week--time to go back to work! But I'd encourage others to put it on their calendar for next year.

Donna_T