Capital Woodcarvers Association

Janet Cordell presented an animal carving class sponsored by Capital Woodcarvers Association. The 3-day class met at Shirley’s shop on June 4,5 and 6, 2024. Nine beginning to advanced carvers took this class. Animal roughouts were provided. Some attendees chose to carve an articulated doll.

Like many instructors, Janet focused on sharp tools as the most important parameter in making a good carving. She dealt with varying skill levels of participants though a combination of group instruction and individual attention. Students found that she was very patient but didn’t “baby” the students. She gave lots of feedback. She was critical, but kind in her comments. Janet handled multiple skill levels and people working on several different projects well. Her sense of humor was also evident when she quipped, “I know a lot about bears, but I don’t ever want to see one.” When one of the participants broke the protruding front teeth off her bear, the comment was, “carve a fish and put it in the mouth”.

Overall, the participants felt the course was nicely paced, and they appreciated Janet’s ability to work with a variety of skill levels and projects with everyone feeling that they had the attention they needed to succeed in their carving. All were gratful for the increase in their personal carving skill level.

Here are pictures of the instructors model of the finished bear, the instructor the progress during the workshop and the class products.