Cherry Ridge Carvers

Welcome to our 21st year for the Northeast Woodcarvers Roundup.  The dates are July 16 through the 20th, 2023. The Roundup is held at Cherry Ridge Campsites, 147 Camp Road, Honesdale PA .

The Roundup is a gathering of woodcarvers interested in learning and sharing the craft and art of woodcarving.  There are several of these types of events held throughout the US and they offer an exciting opportunity for the beginning to advanced carver.
Also, to a look at the FAQ page, it will help answer some of your questions.
If you are staying at the campgrounds please make sure to make your reservations early call the campgrounds directly at 570-488-6654. If you are searching for other places to stay, check our page titled “Overnight Accommodations”.

Check back often for updated information.

See you in July.

Class Information – Watch for Updates

Jim O’Dea – Jim will be teaching all four days this year. Jim has a large variety of projects available for the beginner to advanced. He will also be bringing his assortment of woodcarving items and tools for purchase. Additional class information will be provided as we get it.

     
Jim O’Dea has nearly 50 years’ experience carving human caricatures, carousel horses, realistic freshwater fish, whales and many other subjects. During this period he has studied woodcarving with several master wood sculptors across the USA and Canada. Jim has taught woodcarving for over 20 years, including evening courses at Ledyard High School, Ledyard CT; weekend classes at the New England Carousel Museum in Mystic, CT; the New England Woodcarvers Retreat at the University of Rhode Island; the Florida Woodcarvers Roundup, Clearwater, FL; the Lake Placid Woodcarving Experience at Lake Placid, NY; the NorthEast Woodcarvers Roundup in Honesdale, PA; The Michigan Woodcarvers Roundup at Evart, MI; the Indiana Woodcarvers Summer Camp,Bremen, IN; The Buckeye Woodcarvers roundup at Fletcher, Ohio; and numerous classes for the Mystic Carvers Club in Mystic, CT, Rainbow Woodcarvers Club in Niagara Falls, NY; the Southtowns Woodcarvers Club in Hamburg, NY; the Peace River Carvers Club in Arcadia, FL; the Myakka River Carvers Club in El Jobean, Fl, and the North Port Woodcarvers in Northport, FL. Jim lives in Rotonda West, FL and spends summers on Grand Island, NY. See Jim’s web site with useful information to those pursuing woodcarving as a hobby here.

Chris O’Dea - Chris has taught for several years at the Roundup.  Her past projects have been the quilted Christmas socking.  Watch for updates to her class information.

Harold Kaltenbach – Bark Houses ” Harold will be teaching Monday through Thursday. He will have a variety of blanks to choose from. Please bring all your tools, no tool to big or too small and have an open mind to think outside the box. Class size max 14. Carving gnome homes from single pieces of cottonwood bark and also double pieces of bark for advance carvers.

 

Floyd Rhadigan - “Caricatures” - Floyd is Back he will be teaching on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, Max of 15 students. Caricature Carver with 40 years experience woodcarving and teaching for 37. Floyd lives and works full time as a woodcarver in Clinton, MI where he has a studio and store that is in a old bank built in 1873. He also travels around the U.S. teaching caricature carving. Floyd has 60+ roughouts available which range in price. Generally 1 or 2 projects can be completed in a day. Floyd uses knives and palm gouges – a glove is a must!. Floyd is a past President of the Caricature Carvers of America. He has been featured on the covers of all three major woodcarving magazines and took Best of Show, First and Second at the 2006 Caricature Carvers of America Show held at Dollywood, Pigeon Forge, TN.    See several of his other carvings at his website

Floyd has won numerous awards including Woodcarving Illustrated’s 2016 Wood Carver of the Year. He teaches woodcarving all across the Country. He is looking forward to carving with new and old friends. Floyd will be teaching every day at the Roundup.

 

Mike Bloomquist - Mike will be teaching 4 days this year- Max 10 students each day. Monday will be the Cottonwood Bark Woodspirits,   For many the most challenging aspect of woodcarving is carving the human face. Here is an opportunity to participate in a centuries old carving tradition, and pick up carving tips involving the face that are universal to other woodspirit carvings such as driftwood and walking staffs. Easy to remember rules of proportion and placement of features will be discussed and exercised, as well as the history and tradition of the woodspirit. Tuesday will be “Shroom spirits” (Shroomies), Wednesday and Thursday will be his Flat Plane potpourri choice of projects. Check back for more information.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See more of Mike’s carvings by Clicking here Mike Bloomquist began carving fishing lures in 1985. After failed attempts carving a wood duck and a draft horse, he learned how to really sharpen tools from a Rick Butz video and realized what many others found enjoyable about the art. Then, in 1994, he attended a woodcarving show sponsored by the Mohawk Valley Art and Woodcarving Assoc. Inspired by the variety and level of talent, woodcarving reached addiction status for him that year, and now serves as an excellent example of a hobby gone horribly out of control. While Mike started out in the Scandinavian Flat Plane style of woodcarving, his skills now encompass several forms including wildlife, folk art, fantasy, in-the-round, relief, and an occasional abstract. His pieces have been adopted for collections in Canada, England, Germany, Iceland, and across the United States. He enjoys teaching, demonstrating, and writing about woodcarving and proudly takes credit for Shanghaiing his friend Harold Kaltenbach into teaching at the very first year of the NEWR.

 

Arland Zeiler – Beginner Woodcarving – Arland will be teaching techniques for the beginning woodcarver. Students will be using a knife only. They will learn the characteristics of wood and different terms related to woodcarving. This is an excellent class for those that wish to learn woodcarving. Offered -Monday only. Arland will also be offering classes in 2 different styles of letter openers one day and mouse cup hanger or mushrooms. A new project will be the bracelets shown below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arland has been teaching beginning carving at the Roundup for many years. He also has been teaching beginning carving to Boy Scouts for more years than he can remember.

Ken Kuhar – Ken will be teaching three days this year. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. He will be teaching caricatures. He will be able to accommodate 8-10 students each day.

      

 

 

 

 

 

Ken began carving in 2006 and has been a familiar face at the NEWR for many years.  He is a member of the Lancaster Woodcarvers Club and the Conewago Wood Carvers Club.

John Griscti – Chip Carving -Monday,Tuesday and Wednesday- Students will learn to identify the differences between various Chip carving knives, and what features are best for the beginner and advanced chip carver. Each student will learn the correct way to hold their knife and will then start carving several basic designs. Each student will then progress to more complex designs such as rosettes – Both advanced and beginner chip carvers are welcomed.  There will be different projects to choose from. Pictures below are samples of John’s Chip Carving projects.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maura Cooper – Relief Carving,  Maura will be teaching HAIDA/BC art relief carving. She will be teaching at least one day at the event.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maura has been teaching various styles of woodcarving for many years and is a regular attendee at the Roundup.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don Swartz- Don will be available all four days.   Don’s projects this year include a Scottish Elf Santa, a Shake me I Rattle Santa and Design and Carve a Whistle. He will have some tools, books and wood along.
Don lives in Lancaster PA is the owner of Hillcrest Carving, a carving supply store located near Lancaster. Don has also had at least two instructional projects published in Woodcarving Illustrated magazine.

Leon Standish – Leon will be our sharpener again this year. If your tools need a tune up bring them to Leon’s station. Leon not only sharpens tools but is an accomplished woodcarver. So he knows what type of edge to put on your carving tools.

Jen Nailor will be available for a non-carving class. She will be teaching two days this year. These will be a one day class making an gourd/pine needle bowl. The other day will be making a pine needle baskets. Anyone taking the pine needle class is asked to bring a small pair of scissors and nippers – wire cutters to trim off the pine needle ends if they have them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joan Lech – Joan’s projects are a Polar Bear and Spoons this year.  Joan always has some creative projects for attendees to work on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Claudia Hill – will be teaching two classes this year. Stay tuned for more class information.

Bill Hoban – Bill will be teaching magic wands and ornaments in the same style with some additions.  This is a great beginners project.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Linda Gilpin Snyder  – Linda will be teaching Pyrography on a wood project.  She will have 2 burners available. if you are interested in taking the class and have a burner please bring it.  The single temperature burners will work for this class.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bob Muller – Bob will be teaching Relief Carving this year on at least 2 days.  There will be several projects to choose from. If someone has an idea for a project we can try to work it into a relief carving.  Tools needed are gouges and v tools along with at least one knife.  Mallet size tools work best for relief carving because of their length.  Class size is limited to 9 people each day.  Stay tuned for pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bob has been woodcarving since 1998. He has carved many different styles of carving including Cottonwood, Caricature, Animals and Relief.

 

 

 

Charlie Brooks - Charlie will be teaching a Snowman project. Class participants will have at least three patterns to choose from.  These would be great beginner projects. He will be doing these on Monday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Charlie hails from Missouri and has been a regular attendee at the Roundup for years. In recent years he has been carving near his home.

Maxine Ernest - Maxine is a new instructor for the NEWR, but has been a regular attendee for many years.  Maxine will be teaching “Candles with a Face”.  Carved from a 1″x1″x 4″ block of wood with the face carved on a corner. This a great beginner class and a fun project for anyone interested. She will be teaching this on Tuesday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mary Evans -  Mary will be doing a class on the Moravian Stars, 8 point and 16 point.  This starts out as a square block of wood and ends with a beautiful Christmas decoration.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sharpening Class – Bob Muller will be teaching sharpening techniques. This is a 45 minute session on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings before the classes start. We will start with sharpening tools and then basic knife sharpening techniques. Then the following days will be gouges and the V-tool. We will identify common mistakes and problems with some of the tools. We ask that all beginners attend this class.