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2011 Best Carving Design Contest: Walking Sticks and Canes Category Winners

2011 Best Carving Design Contest: Walking Sticks and Canes Category Winners

People’s Choice Janice Sloan’s footed canes were inspired by visits to medical supply houses and assisted living facilities. “Those businesses were always overrun with three-footed canes, but they were so dull and uninteresting that I began to imagine what a real footed cane might look like,” Janice said. “These two […]

by November 8, 2011 Best Carving Design Contest Archive
2011 Best Carving Design Contest: Stylized Category Winners

2011 Best Carving Design Contest: Stylized Category Winners

People’s Choice Henry Neiblum created a fun carving that blurs the line between a caricature and a stylized piece. The smooth flowing lines of All Mine! imply movement and convey emotion—a classic technique in stylized carvings. This movement and emotion set the stage for the funny scene. “He’s an ordinary […]

by November 7, 2011 Best Carving Design Contest Archive
2011 Best Carving Design Contest: Santa Category Winners

2011 Best Carving Design Contest: Santa Category Winners

People’s Choice and Editor’s Choice The editors agreed with the readers that John A. Guillozet’s Bell Santa is the top entry in the category. The editors liked the overall composition of John’s carving and felt that the elements were carved and painted well. John used knives and gouges to carve […]

by November 6, 2011 Best Carving Design Contest Archive
2011 Best Carving Design Contest: Relief Category Winners

2011 Best Carving Design Contest: Relief Category Winners

People’s Choice Jerry Mifflin took home two well-deserved awards for his Lake Norman Survival Mantel: People’s Choice Best of Contest and People’s Choice in the relief carving category. “The concept for my mantel was an underwater scene depicting the natural food chain in a bass fishing lake,” Jerry explained. “My […]

by November 5, 2011 Best Carving Design Contest Archive
2011 Best Carving Design Contest: Junior Category Winner

2011 Best Carving Design Contest: Junior Category Winner

People’s Choice and Editor’s Choice For the second contest in a row, a carving by 14-year-old Jimmy Miller has earned recognition from the editors. This year, Jimmy earned the People’s Choice award for the junior category as wel for his Bearded Manl. “As far as I can remember, I was […]

by November 4, 2011 Best Carving Design Contest Archive
2011 Best Carving Design Contest: Chip Carving Category Winners

2011 Best Carving Design Contest: Chip Carving Category Winners

People’s Choice Mickey Hudspeth created his winning Jewelry Chest from mahogany with inlaid and chip carved basswood ellipses and drawer fronts. “I like to make chests, boxes, and bowls that are heavily chip carved,” Mickey said. “I chip carved the inlays before gluing them into the recessed holes in the […]

by November 3, 2011 Best Carving Design Contest Archive
2011 Best Carving Design Contest: Caricature Category Winners

2011 Best Carving Design Contest: Caricature Category Winners

People’s Choice Dan Slater created The Soloist as a wedding present for a friend. “The design was inspired by a friend of mine who plays the violin,” he explained. The mouse is entirely handcarved from basswood and painted with acrylic paints. The piece is about 5″ tall. Dan turned the […]

by November 2, 2011 Best Carving Design Contest Archive
2011 Best Carving Design Contest: Realistic Category Winners

2011 Best Carving Design Contest: Realistic Category Winners

People’s Choice Gary Bos carved this realistic bust called New England Whaler from a piece of butternut. Gary used a clear finish on the 14″-tall piece, except for the small amount of paint he used to accent the pipe and the waves at the base (not shown). “When I first […]

by November 1, 2011 Best Carving Design Contest Archive

Shopmade Work Positioner

Work Positioner By Mike Pounders Using a work positioner allows you to carve with both hands, which provides greater control and power. This positioner is simple to make with a few pieces of plywood and some hardware. To start, face-glue two pieces of 1/2″ (13mm)-thick plywood together or use 3/4″ […]

by October 7, 2011 Shop Tips

Formula for Success

When Gary Tatman was six years old, his grandfather gave him his first pocketknife. “We would spend summer days sitting on a bench under a huge oak tree in the backyard, whittling small branches into toothpicks. I still have the pocketknife,” said Gary. Seven years later, Gary’s father took him […]

by August 16, 2011 Features