Local carvers ready for state show

Members of the Plains Wood Carving Club are in the final stages of getting their pieces ready for this year's Montana State Wood Carvers Show in Missoula this weekend. Five club members plan to compete in the annual show on Saturday and Sunday.

"I'm very proud of our Plains carvers. They have been very faithful and diligent to both improve themselves and invest in one another," said Tom Collins, who heads the local club and has been the primary coordinator for the Missoula show for seven years. "Their skills have improved as a number of them have jumped skill levels by earning best of division awards and best of class awards. Two have even earned best of show awards," said Collins, who added that it is rewarding to belong to a group that is both talented and social.

Collins, who competes in the expert level, plans to enter two pieces this year, one in the caricature division and one in Montana Challenge Division. His entries this year will range from eight inches to nearly two feet tall, both from basswood. He'll also have a display only carving. Collins took home three ribbons last year with two relief carvings and a cowboy sculpture.

Club members competing this year also include Heather Allen, Janet Brandon, and Karen and Sean Ryan. This is the second year for Allen to participate in the competition. As a new carver last year, she received two blue ribbons. This year, she's entering a horse head in the relief division as a novice.

Allen has been working on the 6X6-inch horse relief for about 14 months. She's working with MDF (medium density fiberboard) wood for her horse, which was just about done last Tuesday. "It carves easy, but one wrong move and it flakes off," said Allen of the MDF composite wood. She's also carving a three and a half inch dog licking its nose from basswood. She won't have it done before the Missoula show, but plans to enter it next year.

There are just over a dozen people in the Plains Wood Carving Club, which meets on Tuesday evenings from 6:30-8:30 in the VFW to work on their projects, socialize and get tips from each other, particularly the veteran carvers, like Collins, a carver of over 10 years, and Brandon, who's been doing it for some 20 years. "Our weekly club gatherings are relaxed, yet intentional. We learn, we laugh, we encourage, and we improve. It's an honor to be part of it," said Collins.

Brandon nabbed the Best of Division last year and Best of Show the previous year. This year she's entering only one piece, a six-inch tall seahorse from butternut wood, which she'll put in the Fish and Water Mammal Division of the intermediate class. Brandon started working on her project last autumn. She's done carving the seahorse and at last Tuesday's club meeting she worked on filing and sanding the piece.

She started spraying the first of four coats of varnish on it last weekend. She said she might have to do more sanding after the first coat of varnish, which makes the flaws stand out. Brandon seldom paints her pieces because she likes to show the natural wood grain. Brandon said she has to get in the mood to carve and has to be motivated to carve a certain piece. "I have to get into a zone to work on my stuff," said Brandon. She also said she can't just carve anything, but has to be drawn to a subject. Like many carvers, she's constantly looking through magazines and books for ideas.

Sean and Karen Ryan are also entering works in the Missoula show. Sean, who's been carving for over four years, has four pieces, from a three and a half inch dog to a foot-long carving he calls "Birdman," which he started carving before last year's show. He's also doing a scroll saw piece that he didn't want anyone to see until show time. It was a scroll saw piece called "Montana - God's Country," which netted him a Best of Division and Best of Class. Because of his 2022 accolade, he must enter this year's work in the intermediate class. In addition, his winning scroll saw carving was featured on the cover of this year's show brochure.

His wife didn't enter last year, but for this show she has a seven and a half inch hiking bear she carved from basswood, which has taken her about 10 months to complete. She also had a small character chicken and a bunny at the meeting, but doesn't plan to enter them.

Club member Jean Nemeth had planned to enter a pair of owl carvings, but wasn't pleased with her progress and decided not to enter. She nabbed a Best of Division with a three-inch tall frog two years ago. Two new club members worked on carvings last Tuesday, but aren't planning to enter anything this year. Scott Johnson and Teresa Hawley both worked on relief pieces at last week's meeting. Johnson picked up carving several years ago, but stopped. He started again in August and is working on a caricature head, too. He's also working on a Christmas tree ornament for this year's "Ornament Tree" project. Karen Ryan also made ornaments for the tree. The Ornament Tree items will be displayed and sold at the show. Proceeds go to the Montana State Woodcarvers Association to offset the show's expenses.

The 2022 show had more than 150 entries from carvers throughout the Northwest, including 80-90 Montana carvers, but Collins said they're hoping for 200 entries this year. The skill levels include youth (14 years old and under), novice, intermediate, advanced, and expert. Collins said the intermediate level usually has the largest entries, followed by the advanced level. Carvings are judged on creativity, workmanship, anatomy and shape, detail and finish, and presentation. The cost is $5 for the first entry and $2 for each subsequent entry

This year's show will be open to the public on Saturday, May 6, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, May 7, from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a $5 admission fee. Children under 12, accompanied by an adult, are free. Carving pieces will be judged Friday starting at 7 p.m. Collins said there will be some "wonderful entries" this year with great creativity and skill displayed. The association added an "Artistic Merit" award for each skill level this year, said Collins.