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BATON ROUGE
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Thursday, June 26,
2008
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Livingston-Tangipahoa
LIVINGSTON-TANGIPAHOA
Carving out time together
picture in original article by
ROGER ZETTLER/Advocate
Earl McCallon of Hammond shaves
wood from a star he carved during a meeting of the Cut-Ups Woodcarving Group
held Wednesdays at First United Methodist Church in Hammond. At 86, McCallon is
one of the more mature carvers in the group. The youngest wood carver is
13-year-old Julia McCurdy of Amite.
 picture
in original article
ROGER ZETTLER/The Advocate
A group of
woodcarvers meets at the First United Methodist Church in Hammond. Carvers of
all ages and abilities are invited to attend the group, Cut-Up Woodcarving
Group.
·
By
ELLYN COUVILLION
·
Livingston-Tangipahoa writer
·
Published:
Jun 26, 2008 -
UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.
HAMMOND — In a large meeting
room of First United Methodist Church, woodcarvers worked contentedly on a
Wednesday afternoon absorbed in their craft.
“It makes me think of everyone
sitting around the cracker barrel, whittling,” just like in the old days,
woodcarver Nancy Williams said.
The Cut-Ups Woodcarving Group
has been meeting from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesdays since October when George
and Shirley Will founded the group.
George picked up woodcarving
about 25 years ago, specializing in caricature figurines.
“He’s a natural,” said
Shirley, who began carving a few years back.
The couple, both members of
First United Methodist, began offering woodcarving classes, after the church
recommended hosting activities for seniors.
“It’s evolved. It’s
wonderful,” Shirley said of the group that regularly attracts 10 or more
participants to each class.
Some are beginners; some are
experienced, but they work at their own pace and learn from each other, several
said at a class in late May.
Jim Davis has been carving for
10 years and has periodically traveled to the John C. Campbell Folk School in
North Carolina for classes.
At one Wednesday meeting, he
worked on a 4-inch-high Santa figure donned in pajamas.
“I’m a student. I will always
be a student of woodcarving. I learn from people every time I sit down with a
carver. I learn from everyone,” said Davis, who has sold several of his pieces.
Like Davis, Vernon Johnson has
traveled to woodcarving lessons out of state — in Texas, Arkansas and Alabama —
in the eight years he’s been carving.
His wife Dottie carves, too.
“I can’t draw; I can’t paint”
but she can carve, Dottie said.
“I think you have to visualize
the finished piece in your wood,” she said.
The class members bring their
woodcarving tools to class in tool chests or cloth tool bags.
They use carving knives with
different-sized blades, as well as a “V-tool” with a V-shaped blade used for
cutting channels in the wood, and a “U gouge,” with a U-shaped blade that can
carve hollows and curves.
Each carver wears a sturdy
glove on the hand that holds the wood to protect themselves from cuts.
On the hand that holds the
carving knife, each carver wears a thumb protector for the same reason.
During the class, Corky
Henneman asked his neighbor Tootie Calmes for her advice on the dog figure he
was carving.
“The back of my dog looks like
he’s been in a fight,” Henneman said.
Calmes handed him a smaller
knife that he began using to smooth out his work.
“You can get closer to the
wood,” Henneman observed, after using the knife for a minute.
“I just like it. I like what
comes out of it,” George Wills said of woodcarving. “It’s not a frustrating kind
of project.”
“To carve something, you keep
cutting until what you want falls out or you run out of wood,” Wills said.
There is no charge for the
class; members pay a minimal fee for the wood that George Will supplies.
The class meets from 1 p.m. to
3 p.m., on Wednesdays in the Ciruiti Hall building at First United Methodist
Church, 2200 Rue Denise, Hammond.
For more information, call
George or Shirley Will at (985) 340-0080, Johnson at (985) 345-7872 or Davis at
(985) 345-3048. |