The Craft of Carving

Gary Gay sets a progression blocks resembling Jimmy Carter on display after a club meeting Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, in Cape Girardeau.

Ben Matthews ~ Southeast Missourian

River Valley Woodcarvers welcome those interested in woodcarving

All you need to learn how to carve is a carving glove and a carving knife, a U-gouge and a V-tool, a dash of patience and some good folks willing to teach you.

Bring your patience and interest in the craft, and The River Valley Woodcarvers can lend you the rest. The organization is dedicated to promoting the art of woodcarving in Southeast Missouri, and they enjoy teaching people who have never tried the art before, as well as those who have some experience. They invite all who are interested to their monthly meetings.

Sharon Ledure works on a carving at a carving session in Jackson.

Ben Matthews ~ Southeast Missourian

Sharon Ledure, co-founder of the club with Dave Ledure and Kenny Schiwitz, says it takes approximately five hours to make a Christmas tree ornament. While each carver has his or her own style and type of work they like to produce, the general process for carving is the same. Ledure says it begins by deciding on a pattern — she often uses outlines from coloring book pages — and then drawing it onto a piece of wood. Most carvers use basswood, she says, because it is a soft wood that carves more easily than other hardwoods, yet retains its shape. After the outline is drawn, it is cut out and carved. Finally, the carver can paint the piece using oil paints and then antique it, finishing it with a polyurethane spray.

“It’s kind of a dying art,” says Dave Ledure. “There’s not a lot of young people coming along to pick up the craft.”

This is one reason why the River Valley Woodcarvers enjoy talking about carving at their monthly Thursday meetings, as well as teaching others how to carve during their Saturday workshops, which are held once a month at members’ homes. They welcome new members to both of these events.

Carved items sit on a table during a woodcarving session in Jackson.

Ben Matthews ~ Southeast Missourian

“I just enjoy making something,” says Schiwitz. He has been woodcarving for 31 years and learns more about the craft through attending woodcarving seminars across the country, as well as through good, old-fashioned practice. He is currently working on perfecting how to carve birds, after taking a workshop at a seminar. “It’s something new and something different. It’s a whole learning process, and that’s what’s interesting.”