Capital City Carvers

Florida Woodcarvers Roundup 2009

The dates are March 25 to 29, 2009 (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday). The Roundup will be held at Hillsborough River State Park near Tampa, FL on Rt. 301 between Tampa and Zephyrhills.

A woodcarving roundup brings together a number of quality instructors to provide daily classes from which carvers can choose. It is only at a roundup where you can see so many different instructors and choices of short classes. A carver can choose a different class each day or spend a couple days with the same instructor. Advance registration (with fee) ensures the classes of your choice. You can attend the roundup for one or two days, but will have to sign up for those classes in the morning of the day of the class. Most classes are held outdoors in a casual and relaxed setting. There is a daily-instruction fee that varies from instructor to instructor. The carver also pays the instructor for any materials used. The park has a topnotch campground for RVers and tenters. The rest of us stay in motels in Zephyrhills or on the edge of Tampa.

CLASS DESCRIPTIONS: The list of instructors, complete class descriptions, and costs are available on the website: www.geocities.com/podea_2000.This is a very brief overview of the instructors and classes being offered.

Charley Phillips - Flowers. Charley is known for her delicate floral carvings on many practical and useful items.

Don McHugh - Carve a realistic duck head in one day. The hooded merganser duck head can be carved with your choice of power tools or hand tools.

Claus J. Tiesman - Power Carving an Eastern Blue Bird. This is 3 day class completing the bird from a blank to painting.

Barbara Mann - Carving Santas, Wizards and Wood Spirits. The park service will not permit cypress knees in the park, so Barbara will use basswood rough outs typical of the cypress knees she has used in the past.

Jim O'Dea - Carving an Eagle in the Maritime Style and Carving your own Human Face Study Stick. The eagle is a 26 inch wide relief carving. The face study stick is an introduction to face carving for the beginning woodcarver with little or no experience doing human faces.

Tony Erickson - Small Bark in the Round Whimsical House - Hummingbird Feeder. These are different one day classes. The whimsical house carved in the round uses two closely matched pieces of Montana cottonwood bark. The hummingbird feeder project is a whimsical feeder carved from a hand shaped basswood blank.

Bill Hastings - Sign Carving - Tips, Tricks & Techniques. The sign carving boards are in aspen and can be carved in one day.

Floyd Rhadigan - Caricatures. Floyd offers numerous blanks from which the student can pick and Floyd will provide guidance. Generally 1 or 2 projects can be completed in a day using knives and palm gouges.

Chris Howard - Realistic Face. Chris has roughouts of a girl, mountain man and several Native Americans and a few other busts.

Pete LeClair - Caricatures. A two day bottle stopper class (Buster -no hat) on Wednesday and Thursday followed by three one day classes (Abram -with the hat).

Jack Miller - Carving Wading and Shorebirds and Painting Wading and Shorebirds. Carve the bird one day and come another day for a painting class. Jack will also offer an evening demonstration on fashioning bird feet and legs from copper wire.

Leah Goddard (Leah Wachter) - Carving Realistic Animals and Painting Your Own Carving. Leah offers a one day class, Wednesday through Saturday on carving and texturing a realistic fox, squirrel, rabbit, mouse or whimsical bookworm using hand tools and a woodburner. The other class is a 1 day class on painting your own carving, conducted on Sunday only.

John Williams - Chip Carving. John will be teaching 1 day classes on Chip Carving all 5 days. An assortment of plates, jewlery boxes, a walking cane, etc. are available.

Mary Weinheimer - Basic Beginner Power Carving and Soap Carving. Basic beginners power carving class on Wednesday teaches how to use the machine. Learn the Norwegian art of Kolrosing on Thursday. On Friday carve your choice of pigs. Projects for all skill levels Saturday carve a whimsical set of mermaids, babes and bubbles for your bath's walls. Sunday join Mary to make a butterfly or dragonfly pin or magnet. Soap carving class will be held Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday afternoons.

Curt Lilley - Fundamentals of Woodcarving class for the very beginner who has never used hand tools (knives, gouges, etc) each morning Wednesday through Saturday.

Carolyn Marek - Woodburning (Pyrography). Learn how to start with a drawing (pattern) & translate it to fully finished finely detailed woodburned projects. Woodburning class will be held on Friday, Saturday, & Sunday.

Bob Marek - Relief Carving. Bob will offer a choice of three projects: a sea scape with boat and lighthouse, a wolf in the woods, and a choice of two different mule profiles.

ROUNDUP PRE-REGISTRATION: The period for preregistering is between Dec. 1 and March 15. Download a pre-registration form from the website, send it with a check or money order for $20 as directed on the website.

RESERVE A CAMPSITE at the State Park: Read the information on the website before you reserve a campsite. Campsites last year were gone by Jan. 24.

The MICROTEL INN & SUITES in Zephyrhills is providing a GROUP RATE to the Woodcarver's Roundup. For the period March 24 thru the morning of March 29: $60 for a single queen bed room and $74 for a 2 double bed room. Free breakfast, Internet and local calls. Phone the Microtel directly at 813-783-2211 and ask for the "Woodcarvers Group" rate. The website lists other motels and campgrounds in the area.