RIDGWAY – Carvers were treated to a free seminar Monday morning
to help them with tips and hints from professional carvers during
the seventh annual Ridgway Chainsaw Carving Rendezvous.
Bob King is part of the Echo carving team out of the State of
Washington. He has been carving for over seven years and said, “I
was taught by the school of hard knocks.”
King said he gets something from everyone he watches carve and
hopes that he’s able to give something back. He stressed safety
first during his portion of the seminar. Having gone to many
competitions around the globe over the past several years, he has
seen many accidents that could have been prevented. He also urged
everyone to use their chainsaw to do as much work on the carving as
possible and then use the smaller hand tools to finish the
sculpture.
Technical aspects of the use of chainsaws rounded out his
presentation.
For his part, Dayton Scoggins of Mississippi is one of the
world’s best carvers, having won or placed in every competition
around the world he has attended the past two years.
Scoggins gave a demonstration on the use of hand power tools and
burning to finish carvings. He answered questions from the carvers
and explained how he made several of the cutters for the tools he
uses. His most sought after pieces are nesting turkeys.
At last year’s rendezvous auction, Scoggins’ sculpture commanded
the highest price.
Scoggins’ wife Michelle said he began carving full-time four
years ago after leaving his job as the captain of a riverboat. They
kept hearing on a carving Web site about the Ridgway Rendezvous and
attended that year.
“We’ll never miss one,” Michelle Scoggins said. “It started us
and we are very grateful.”
She explained the main differences between competitions, carving
as entertainment and the rendezvous.
“Competitions you spend the entire time on one piece. For
entertaining, you get paid per day. Ridgway is learning, networking
and fun with no pressure. It’s just the best thing in the whole
wide world if you are a carver.”
The rendezvous continues through Saturday, with another seminar
this morning.
