A Yukon Christmas

Last year my brother in law suggested we all come visit him for Christmas in the Yukon. All my adult children thought it was a grand idea. I informed them of the -40C and the expense being a negative kind of person. I also suggested that we forgo Christmas gifts in order to better afford the expense of flying to the Yukon at Christmas.

It did not turn out so bad. The weather was warmer than usual with -24C being the coldest during my stay. It actually went up to +2C before the kids came home but than dropped down to -35C to give them a taste of cool. My second son and his wife flew over from Brisbane where it was 37C so had to experience the most extreme temperature swing.

We went tobogganing and snow shoeing and I got to use a kick sled. We went to a world class dog sledding operation and went out for a few rides with dogs that are training for the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod. You'll have to google those names. All I will say is the run they are training for is about a 1000 miles. The woman Michelle Phillips finished 8th in her first Yukon Quest 10 years ago with -60C. I could tell she was tough when I met her. I did not know her history till later.

We had to drill a hole in lake ice to get water pumped to the house a few times while we were there. That was about 18 inches of work to get through.

The most exciting part of my trip was on the last day. We went to one of the lakes on the route that the miners used to get to the the Klondike Gold Fields. I was in search of gold of my own and I hit pay dirt. Yukon Cottonwood bark. I was able to scavenge a a cooler load and more to fill half a suitcase. I brought it back home with me and now the fun will begin.

Enjoy the photos and next time I'll post some finished bark pictures.

Happy Carving! (as Floyd Rhadigan likes to say)

Carving Shows

Here is a list of Carving Shows you might want to consider taking in.

The Desert Woodcarving Show and Sale in Mesa, Arizona February 14 & 15, 2015.
http://www.desertwoodcarvingshow.com

The Kitsap County Woodcarvers Show in the Bremerton area of Washington on
March 14 & 15, 2015. https://sites.google.com/site/kitsapcarvers/


I wouldn't mend taking in the Mesa show myself. I imagine the weather might be nicer there than here at that time of year.

Artistry in Wood Conclusion

Just a few parting shots from the Dayton Airport. The pilot wouldn't do a flyover of the Expo centre on the way out but trust me it's still there. And next year there will be another show and some nice people are carving some extraordinary things to amaze you. I'll sure try to go again. Been shovelling a lot of rain since I got home. Welcome back to the wet side.

Artistry in Wood Part 4 And the Winners Are!

This fine piece of wearable art caught my eye. It was not entered in the show but it's a good example of caricature carving.

Best of Show

Second Best of Show

Third Best of Show

Another Division Winner by Vic Hood

Division Winner

Rick Jensen. Need I say more? We made this man an Honorary Canadian in 2013.

A Christmas tree full of ornaments. The winning Raffle ticket gets them all. Over 170 ornaments and a tree topper.

So here are a few more pictures to look at. If you haven't started carving the winner for next years show you are probably behind a fair ways. Not all the names of the winners are listed. That is on purpose. I want you to go to the links that will be listed and check out all the official pictures and credits on the Dayton club website. In addition I will post a link to the rest of my pictures now that the worst of them are eliminated. I took pictures of booths and not specific carvings. So if you want a closer look at something you are going to have to go to the show. As for copying something it's all right to carve a replica if you are practicing a skill set but give credit to the originator of the idea. Best of all create your own idea and watch people copy you. Here are the links to the Dayton Artistry in Wood Competition Results Pictures http://www.daytoncarvers.com/competitions.html  Note the 2014 pictures may not be there for a while It takes a while to upload them and the club members are a little tired now that their huge show is done for 2014 so be patient.  In the mean time you can check out pictures of previous years winners.
The link to my personal pictures is https://www.flickr.com/photos/98346140@N02/sets/72157646968953803/   Just paste the web address into your browser and you should be able to get to the sites. If you need help ask a librarian. My pictures are not for commercial use and if you copy them be mindful how you use them. Enough said.

Artistry in Wood Part 3

Just a few of the sights at the show this year. I'm still editing a lot of the prints and even if I wanted to it would take forever to load them onto a blog so I will include a link in a later post to see the rest of my pictures. They may not have a caption and they sure don't include all there is to see but maybe just a little bit to help you appreciate the amazing size and variety in this show.

Artistry in Wood 2014 Part 2

After dessert I walked from the Pike Place Market area to the light rail station and caught a train to SeaTac airport and booked into a nearby hotel.

Chocolate Brownie

It was to early in the morning but I was up at 3 to get to the airport for 4  and the usual routine of checking bags getting a boarding pass and clearing security to wait for a plain for about an hour or so.The flight was bumpy and the landing in Chicago O'Hare was not the smoothest but we all got off the plane without help. A walk to the next gate and the connecting flight to Dayton. We were a little delayed but only by a few minutes as the plane was not quite ready. The weather was fine on this stretch and we arrived on time. I picked up a rental car and drove to my friends house for a social evening and a good sleep prior to my first day of helping with the show.

Dayton area sunrise

The sun rose and we were at the Expo centre by 9 AM to help wherever we could as there were still many things to be done. Preparations had been ongoing since Wednesday with help from the Dayton Carvers Guild and the Western Ohio Woodworkers (WOW).

Exhibitor Packages ready for pickup on Friday morning 

A view of the Bid table and the many booths ready to be occupied

Club Members work to prepare the Entry area table

A view towards the Raffle and Club tables 

We worked all day with a break for lunch and we never got out of the hall till around 8 PM but it was ready for the crowd at 10 AM in the morning. The judges had all the carvings in the judging area and  would work till about 1 AM in the morning before they went home. They were up for breakfast at 6 AM and the Photographer was already busy taking pictures of all the carvings and would not finish until just before the start of the show.

Most of the exhibitors start arriving in the afternoon on Friday and club members man the overhead doors and patrol the Expo centre to help with problems and make sure that all the exhibitors have the correct  number of tables and chairs and get into the right location. Some even get a hand with their  booth set up by generous club members. The Vendors who have a good deal more floor space and items for sale usually are the first to arrive and have a few helpers and friends that help them get their heavy loads in and set-up  for the Early start on Saturday morning.

 Many of the club members go home tired on Friday night and have to recharge for an early start the next two days. I know that when I left Dayton after this years show I was very tired as the work is physically demanding over a long stretch. It is rewarding in the life of club members. Many great friendships start and revolve around the show and club life. There are no nicer people than carvers.

A trip to Dayton Artistry in Wood 2014

I decided last year that I would make the trip to Artistry in Wood held November 8 & 9, 2014 in Dayton, Ohio. As the show neared and the time came to make the bookings I did question "why am I going? "but having had so much fun there before I decided to give it one more go. I was not to be disappointed. This year I decided to take the train from Bellingham to Seattle. Cost was $24.00. The trip was priceless. The views from the train were typical West Coast spectacular. There was abundant viewing of birds and boats. The window through which I took the pictures were a little dirty from the recent two inch two day rain shower whereby the trees of the Wet Coast get watered.

Coastal views

Ballard Locks Seattle

Walking from the Train station to Pike Place

Post Alley in the Pike Place Market area

Etta's Restaurant featured Salmon dish topped with Shitaki mushroom Relish