[chuckt]

Is anyone here on the WCI board going to the NorthEast Woodcarvers Roundup in Honesdale PA this Sunday? If so it'd be nice to meet some of you fine folks in person, so maybe we could arrange to meet.

Let me know!
ChuckT

[mikeg]

I'd love to but it's way too far south!! Being from northern Vermont, I get a chuckle out of the name since, to me, PA may be east but it's certainly not north!

Have a fun time. Sounds like a great gathering.

mikeg

[chuckt]

Heh heh - yeah, I hear ya. Of course I guess its all relative. It does fall in the Northeast quadrant of the country though. I am lucky - its not even 2 hours from my house, so I am quite happy with the location. Sorry you won't be able to make it. I DO highly recommend going out of your way to make it one year though. Plan a vacation around it.

!
ChuckT

[pallin]

Yes, ChuckT, I'll be at the Northeast Woodcarvers Roundup with my granddaughter Emily. I'll have a few of my Escher-based reliefs to display. Also I'll be working on the "Waterfall."

Phil Allin

[chuckt]

Excellent! I look forward to meeting you Phil, and to seeing some of your awesome Eshcer's up close.

ChuckT

[chuckt]

Wow! I guess out of all the folks on this boards its only Phil & I. Either that or others had already left and never saw this. Well, for the rest of you, if you're in striking distance - I highly recommend it. Great workshops - nice folks - and wonderful musicians like . . . ME! ;-)

I'll post a report and maybe some pics when I'm back next week.

!
ChuckT

[chuckt]

Well, I am lying here in bed in my tent Sunday evening after registering for our workshops, and writing this first report of what promises to be another fantastic NEWR. Man - ya gotta love Wifi access and laptop PC's when your out "roughing it" at a carving event. LOL!

Well, we (my wife & daughter and I) got here this afternoon about 3:15. Got registered for our campsite with the Cherry Ridge folks in about 20 mins and went to our site. We are near Honesdale PA which is in the NE corner of the state, and only about a 100 min drive from my home in NY. There are ton's of RVs here, but we are some of the few "roughing it" in a tent.

Went to the main hall about a 200' walk from our site and got registered for the event. Then went and set up our tent and got quickly settled. Took a quick drive to Wally mart about 10 mi away to grab some forgotten necessities, and then hit a Chinese Buffet for dinner. YUM! Got back to the site and ran down to the main hall just in time to hear all the instructors give their spiel about their classes. Then got signed up. Taking a 1 day relief carving workshop with Dave Andreychek, a 1 day bark/stick woodspirit class with Mike Bloomquist, and a 1/2 Adirondak Hermit and 1/2 day creating your own patterns both also with Mike.

Then we hung out to watch Mile give a demo and talk on making Native American flutes. Really cool and nicely demo's showing all the steps in the process. I can't wait to try this - but LOML (love of my life) reminded me about a certain unfinnished ed Dulcimer kit that she bought me when we were first married (20+ yrs ago). <sheepish grin> So I have to complete it BEFORE she'll let me attempt any flutes.

Well, I guess I better hit the hay. Tomorrow will come fast. Looking forward to some jamming (we brought our guitars) with Mike, John Dunkel, Tony Erickson, and others tomorrow night after a full day of carving fun. Yippie!!!

!
ChuckT

[chuckt]

Here is report #2. A much tired-er soggy-er report today. We were rudely awoken at 4:30am by some kids (20yo or so) who are apparently renting the motorhome next to our site and they must have been just coming in (not for the roundup - just camping I presume) from being out partying all night. <grrrrr> Didn't even make an effor to be quiet. I finally fell back to sleep only to be awoken by their laughter, yelling, and cursing. I think at least 50% of their vocabulary consisted of the F bomb. <grrrrrrrr> So I laid there trying to get back to sleep . . . doing a slow burn, until I finally gave ap around 7am.

Went, took a shower and came back to find things relatively quiet and my wife & daughter still sleeping. Decided to eat my cereal and relax only to discover that I'd forgotten to pack spoons. <grrrrr> At a couple handfuls of blueberries sans cereal and milk. <sigh>

Woke my wife and daughter up at 8:10am to get ready for our class at 9am sharp. Today - relief carving with Dave Andreychek. Went to the cafe and had a bowl of oatmeal and some hot tea while waiting for wife & daughter. Finally went over to the other building for the class and got our seats a materials ready. We would be working on a simple barn and silo scene (pattern by our own Lora Irish - THANKS!!!) in 6x6x3/4 bass. Dave explained about how to analyze the pattern for different levels and sub-levels, about using perspective to create depth, and showed us how to trace the pattern onto the wood using carbon paper. Then we spent the rest of the time before lunch lowering the background (deepest level). My back was killing me from bending over the tables while standing (I'm 6'4") so I was ready for lunch come 12pm.

That's when we discovered it was raining. New this was a possibility so I had the foresight to clear all of my and my wife's & daughter's stuff out of the tent and into the back of the van except my CPAP unit (I have apnea), and our air mattresses. Didn't want to go back to tent after lunch so we went back to our class and worked hard the rest of the day lowering each of the 4 main levels and beginning some detailing. We weren't able to complete the carving today, but we know eoungh now to do so. Thanks Dave (and Lora)!

We then went back to the main hall to eat dinner. Then . . . I had the job of going to check on the tent. All afternoon - pouring and some thunder. Sure enough - our air mattresses were soaked and our once hydro-phobic tent material must now be hydro-phyllic - because when I opened the zippered door - OUT POURED a lake of water. <sigh> So we faced the prospect of either - finding a motel, sleeping sitting up in our van, or . . . bugging out to home (an hour & 40 mins away). We chose this last option, so now I am writing from home. We'll get up early and go back for class tomorrow and hopefully to a nicer day. We take down that old tent and put up our nicer new but smaller tent and stay tomorrow night.

So that's the news from Lake In My Tent ChuckT.

!

[chuckt]

Well, not sure anyone is reading these so I'll keep this one short. Went back for the last two days of NEWR and had a GREAT time and GREAT weather. Took Mike Bloomquist's bark carved woodspirit class on day two and really enjoyed it. I and 2 other decided to carve our faces in sticks instead of bark and it was challenging to keep up with the bark carvers but worked well.

Day 3, we took another class with Mike on Adirondak Hermit's in the Swedish Flat Plane style. Lot's of fun and Mike is GREAT teacher. If you ever get a chance to take any of his classes, do so.

All in all, despite the drenching on Monday, we had a great time. I highly recommend NEWR especially for any beginner carvers out there. Beautiful location, good food reasonably priced, lot's of cool classes to take, and lot's of wonderful people to meet. I'll post pic's of my carvings in the WIP thread since I didn't get them fully completed.

Never did manage to find Phil or see his Escher relief's in person. So Phil - if you read this, where were you hiding? ;-)

ChuckT

[Dundee]

I reading and waiting to see your pic's of the gathering. Sounds like the closest event of it's kind that I know of. Looks like a 2.5 hour drive for me. Do they allow dogs?

Thanks
Chris