Jim Hiser demonstrates his carving techniques at Fox Chapel’s booth during the Lancaster Wood Carvers annual show (March 2017).
Club celebrates the Luck o’ the Irish
The Lancaster County Wood Carvers held its 44th annual Woodcarving and Wildlife Art Festival on March 18-19, 2017. The club welcomed 58 exhibitors and nearly 900 guests. As always, the exhibitors were a mixture of woodworkers, supply vendors, and artists who do wildlife-themed artwork, including painting and some charming crocheted critters.
Perhaps thanks to the “Luck o’ the Irish” theme, a looming snowstorm bypassed the show, giving the exhibitors and attendees sunny but cold weather. However, the show did fall a week after a late-season nor’easter, leading the event’s chairman, Andy DiPace, to wonder if the weather kept some patrons and exhibitors away. A number of visitors from New York, New Jersey, Ohio, and other surrounding states made it clear that many carvers will travel no matter what the weather!
Al Jordan of Rochester, NY, won the Best of Show award with his sized Barred Owl.
Each year the show includes a silent auction in support of the club’s youth outreach program, a raffle to support the charity S.O.A.R. (Support Our American Recruits), an awards dinner, and a competition. Congratulations to Al Jordan of Rochester, N.Y., who won the Best of Show award for his life-sized Barred Owl. Scroll down to see a list of the other winners.
Home School Student Jourdan Hullinger won first place for her chip-carved basswood plate.
The club is particularly proud of this year’s Home School Student competition entries. Jourdan Hullinger won first place for her chip-carved basswood plate. Second place went to Josiah Maier for his carved cobra, and Julia Healy took third place with her carved armadillo painted in the Mexican Oaxaca folk-art style. The club has been teaching carving to home-schooled students for many years, creating dozens of youth carvers along the way.
Mike Dieter, left, was awarded the Herrington Carver of the Year Award Awarded by the club’s president, Pete Kovarovic.
The club also presented its annual Herrington Carver of the Year Award, which recognizes a member as “Active Membership, Recognition as a Carver, Improvement of Skills, and One Who Promotes Carving.” Congratulations to the 2017 winner, Mike Dieter, who carves Santas and shore birds.
Mark your calendar to join the Lancaster County Wood Carvers at next year’s show, their 45th, on March 17-18, 2018. Click here for club information, and click here for show information. Want to see your show on the WCI website? Click here to learn how to submit your photos!
