Larry Matney
Gerald Findley is one of many accomplished woodcarvers in the PebbleCreek Woodcarvers Club. The picture shows Gerald with a carving he completed during the summer of 2017. The piece is titled Revenge of PebbleCreek and is based on a book and carving by Floyd Scholz titled Peregrine Falcon: Dynamic Carving and Painting Techniques for a New Era.
The carving is a Peregrine Falcon capturing a pigeon in flight. The birds are carved life-size. The falcon is carved upside down and mounted to the base using a stainless steel rod in the wing. The piece took over 400 hours to carve and paint. It was completed over a nine month period.
This carving is currently displayed in the Quail Room of the Creative Arts Building. Feel free to stop by and see the carving whenever the room is open. During January 2018 the Woodcarvers Club will have an additional display case and this carving may be displayed there with additional carvings by club members. The carving is too tall for the current Woodcarvers Club display case configuration.
Gerald had never carved before moving to PebbleCreek about 12 years ago, and has been carving with the club for about nine years. This year he is teaching classes on how to carve a comical Burrowing Owl and how to carve cottonwood bark into whimsical houses. Talk to the club members and give woodcarving a try. You may find that you are a budding sculptor.
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 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 carving. 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 2017/2018 carving season. Contact Joel Hawkins via email at [email protected] for information on classes and updates to the schedule.
Comical Owls 1:00 to 4:00 P.M. on M-T-W-F, November 13 through 29; Relief Carving 9:00 a.m. to noon on M-W-F, December 4 through 22; Corn Maiden Kachina 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. on M-W-F, December 4 through 22; Chess Set 9:00 a.m. to noon on M-W-F, January 8 through February 2; Northwest Helmet 9:00 a.m. to noon on M-W-F, February 5 through 28; Kachina 9:00 a.m. to noon on M-W-F, February 5 through 23; Trout 9:00 a.m. to noon on M-W-F, February through March 9; Moon Mask 9:00 a.m. to noon on M-W-F, March 5 through 23; Cottonwood Bark 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. on M-T-W-F, March 5 through 23