Bruce Henn's 2008 display (he is one carver worth meeting!)
Well it's November and that means its time for the Dayton Carvers Guild's Artistry in Wood show held at the Dayton Exposition Center located at the Dayton airport (click on the link at the right to find more particulars). This year they will be featuring a Spit-N-Whittle which will be sponsored by Woodcarving Illustrated where carvers will be on hand carving and available for questions. As far as demonstrations go I would check out Don Mertz whittle-doodle demonstration. The man can carve wonderous things with only a knife.
For those who have never been to Dayton its something every carver should attend at least once if possible. To describe the goings on, its held in a large arena where vendors and carvers have there wares on display for sale. While the carvers are competing against each other and it is a tough competition, each carver and vendor must rent space for their displays and each must apply for a space. The carvers offset this by selling their carvings. If you are a collector this is the primary show to go to as the diversity of carvings is quite vast.
It also can be a good show to attend for the purchase of Christmas gifts. If you are a carver it gives you a chance to see other's work, ask questions, and learn. It also gives you the chance to mingle with many vendors (visit the Heinecke booth on Saturday if you want wood it goes extremely fast), compare prices, and tools available.
If in the future you are considering a display the overwhelming opinion is this is a fantastic weekend. It has been mentioned by many participants that the only dissenting comments related to the Saturday night dinner. Since I have not experienced this personally I will reserve comment.
As for the carvers displaying their works, they are a cordial if not jolly bunch of folks and your interaction with them will be for the majority a pleasant one.
Having said this it's now up to you to get up and go, it truly is worth at least one visit, if not many more.
As is customary a portion of the proceeds from the show support a local Dayton charity. Bravo Dayton Carvers Guild, Bravo!!
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