Thank You To A Few Authors!

[Hooked on Carving]

I would like to thank a couple of Fox Chapel authors who litterally have me hooked on carving. I first met Chris Lubkemann on a family trip to Lancaster PA where he was offering demonstrations on an Amish farm(Next door to a shopping center who'd figure). He had a dynamic personality and was great with my two kids and asked about my NY Met hat. At the time he was selling his carving tree branches book but I didn't purchase. A couple of months later I bought the book and tried carving roosters. I was able to do a couple but I was always getting knots in the wrong places and decided to try something else after a couple of cuts with protection!(Sorry Chris!).

My next book purchase was carving Santas From Around The World by Cyndi Joslyn. I carved my sister for Christmas, a Santa Claus ornament from basswood and the wood was great to work on with a sharp knife and no blood loss. It was amazing how the paint and the doodads created an amazing work of art! The instructions were excellent for a beginner like myself!
I purchased a Lora Irish book about relief carving animals. I really liked a pattern on her web-site of a bear rowing down a water fall and thought it would be perfect for my brother's vacation house upstate. I carved when ever I had the time so it took me about a year and a half to finally finish. The best thing was the pattern had all the different levels colored out. By trial and error I have learned a lot and when I presented my brother with his carving he loved it so much he displayed it in his apartment, instead of his vacation home, so he could look at it all the time! Thanks for the great books and who would have figured a chance meeting would have given me such a nice hobby! My next project is a little adventure some, I am going to try and carve my sons face on a basketball player with his jersey and number painted on. Thanks again for all the great books and helpful advice!

[papasar]

Mets hat? Upstate? Sounds like a New Yawker. Welcome and where are you from?
Bill K.

[Robert Cahill]

welcome I saw a video on diy that lubkemann did. I envy your experience.

[Hooked on Carving]

I'm from Staten Island! Chris was a pisser, a real kid at heart. He Showed me a huge slingshot he wanted to rig up using medical tubing and was asking the kids what they would want to try and shoot with it. It was an experience for all ages!