Yesterday morning I went to a Great Decisions discussion group with Suzy. She has done these groups for several years and enjoys them, so I had her sign me up too. There is a book of articles about various world issues, each week a different topic. This week it was Mexico.
Before leaving Palm Creek I finished chip carving a design on a wooden box. I carved the same design on all four sides, plus the lid. It came out pretty good. I still need to sand it and stain it when I get home. My next project will be some coasters. I bought the blank coasters on-line and downloaded patterns to carve on them.
I have been to the wood carving group here at Voyager a couple of times. At first, an old curmudgeon guy took me under his wing and offered to help me do better with my chip carving. He meant well, but he really isn't a chip carver. He immediately started teaching me about working with the grain of the wood. However, that’s not really what you do in chip carving. The online videos I watched last summer and fall never mentioned trying to work with the grain of the wood, nor did the guy who first taught me.
Today, not just one, but two, experienced chip carvers came in. One of the men (Dick) has been doing it for a few years and seems to be pretty good; the other one (Peter) is phenomenal! He uses a razor blade for his carving, and his work is simply amazing. I will never be that good, but Dick was very encouraging and told me I just have to keep practicing in order to get better. The group meets three days a week, so I’ll have ample opportunity to practice while I’m here. Just have to do a lot of repetitions of a few patterns. Maybe I won't start on those coasters until next year.
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