Woodcarvers Club completes Kachina carving class

Larry Matney

PebbleCreek Woodcarvers Club members completed a Kachina woodcarving class on January 31, 2018.

Kachinas are part of the heritage of Southwest Native Americans and represent messengers that interact between pueblo people and great spirits that bring things like good weather, abundant game and a bountiful harvest. Tribes have special ceremonies where men dress as these Kachinas and perform sacred rituals. Kachina dolls have been carved for thousands of years and are used to teach tribal members about Kachinas. They have also become a source of income for some tribal members that carve Kachinas intended to be sold outside the tribe. Kachinas are beautiful works of art and also represent a special connection to Southwest Native American culture.

The Woodcarvers Club meets in the Quail Room in the Creative Arts building on the Tuscany side of PebbleCreek. The club has general meetings on the second Tuesday of each month at 9:00 a.m. from October to April. If you are interested in woodcarving stop by to see completed work and meet club members. Most members have had little or no experience carving prior to taking one of the club’s classes. Carving equipment is available for use during your first two classes to see if you like it. So, stop by the Quail Room and see what you can create from a block of wood.

The Woodcarving Club has the following carving classes scheduled for the remainder of the 2017/2018 carving season. Contact Joel Hawkins via email at [email protected] for information on classes and updates to the schedule. Formal classes are not scheduled during the summer but if you are a PebbleCreek resident during the summer stop by the Quail Room and there will be someone there to get you started carving. There are projects that teach you basic woodcarving skills and before long you could have your own Kachina or other special keepsake.

Moon Mask (9:00-noon on M-W-F, March 5-23)

Cottonwood Bark (1:00-4:00 p.m. on M-T-W-F, March 5-23)

The Woodcarving Club offers a large variety of carving classes. During the first part of the carving season the club has completed classes on carving the following: bark carving, chess set pieces, comical owl corn maiden kachina decorative spoon kachina northwest Indian helmet pumpkin caricature relief carving trout and wood spirits.